No fireworks at deflation showdown

Discussion remained civil in the Whig Senate chamber last night as Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel and USG president Alex Lenahan '07 faced off in the latest public forum on grading policy.

Other than Malkiel's slight head shake over a perceived misinterpretation of the policy, the discussion transcended the heated debates common throughout campus since the policy's implementation in 2004. Last month, Malkiel and Lenahan publicly sparred over the policy in lengthy emails to the entire student body.

Stressing earlier reports and statements to the student body, Malkiel said that the grading initiative is a "faculty policy," not the result of administrative or personal initiatives.

But Lenahan questioned whether the policy allows the faculty to accurately measure their students' performances.

"There is pressure put on professors to conform to this grading standard," Lenahan said, citing instances where professors have used the policy to justify giving out few A's and many B's and C's. "It doesn't seem to be a mere suggestion."

But such pressure is not the result of the policy itself, Malkiel countered. "There were no instructions to the faculty about how grading should be done," she said. "If there's pressure, it comes from other faculty members, it doesn't come from the administration."

Moderated by Whig-Clio officers, yesterday's debate allowed Malkiel and Lenahan to speak without interruption. They entertained questions from the moderators and some of the 15 or so students in the audience. The students were eager to take advantage of the forum, forcing moderators to end discussion before all questions could be answered.

Student questions centered on competition with peer institutions that have yet to implement grade deflation policies. Officials from other Ivy League schools, Stanford, M.I.T. and the University of Chicago have met to discuss grade inflation, Malkiel said, but no other university has taken a decisive step.

"I think it's part of my role to encourage my fellow deans to pay attention to this issue," she said, but "every institution has to do this in its own way."

She added that employers and institutions outside the Princeton community have applauded the University's initiative and that this is reflected in the increased number of seniors being admitted to graduate and professional schools and sought-after careers in the corporate world.

Lenahan, however, questioned the effect of the policy's implementation.

"What students really care about is how the policy has affected the academic environment," he said. When departments are encouraged to give out approximate percentages of A's and B's, this "places the focus on competition with other students in the class."

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Lenahan also mentioned the Oct. 5 survey in The Daily Princetonian, which found that 67 percent of students in the Classes of 2006 and 2007 thought the grading policy had a negative effect on the campus environment.

Malkiel said she understands students' frustration, but that eventually, "We'll make the transition, and people will calm down."

The open discussion was organized by Whig-Clio co-presidents Aaron Spolin '08 and Shriram Harid '08.

"We wanted [Malkiel and Lenahan] to talk face-to-face," Spolin said. In previous dialogues, he said, "it seemed as though they were talking past each other."

Harid added, "There haven't been many opportunities for this type of dialogue before ... Until the rift [between faculty and students] is bridged, there will be more discussions."