"Plans to end a decades-old policy of concealing the first-semester grades of freshman at Johns Hopkins University from graduate school admissions officers and future employers are drawing outrage from students.
Hopkins has been one of the few schools nationwide that “cover” the grades of their newest students, shielding them on transcripts and keeping them out of grade-point averages as the freshmen make the transition to college.
But as nearby Goucher College considers joining the small club, Hopkins is planning to get out." …
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/grading-policy-change-draws-protests-at-johns-hopkins/2016/05/31/cd9273ac-2752-11e6-a3c4-0724e8e24f3f_story.html
Personally I don’t care as much about covered grades as an institution. I’m more annoyed about the lack of transparency and suddenness of the announcement. Regardless, I’m excited to see if the student body will be able to get behind an issue and effect change on campus. Given the student backlash at the end of last semester this issue may actually stimulate the generally apathetic campus.
However I will say that it’s quite hypocritical of the administration to say that “some graduate school admissions officers or employers may frown on [covered grades]” when just two years ago they swore up and down that graduate and med schools both knew about, and were fine with, the covered grades policy.