Tutors Propose Solutions To Pass-Fail Honors Fix

Several senior tutors yesterday suggested that the Administrative Board allow freshmen and sophomores to change their pass-fail courses taken this semester to graded status, in order to avoid jeapordizing their chances for honors degrees under new regulations approved last week.

The normal deadline for changing the grading status of courses was March 8.

John R. Marquand, senior tutor of Dudley House, said yesterday "I think it is unlikely that the Ad Board would make adjustments for individuals on an ad hoc basis. It is more likely that the board will move back the deadline across the board for all students."

Marquand said another solution to the problem would be for the Faculty to amend the new regulations to make them effective for members of the class of 1978 rather than for the class of 1979 as currently planned, Marquand said.

Marquand said he hopes the Faculty will introduce legislation for some sort of amendment to the new regulations, but said "pretty much nobody will actually be prevented from graduating with honors."

Sophomores and freshmen have plenty of time to pick up an extra graded course, he said.

Michael S. Horn '63, senior tutor of Currier House, said yesterday "I am hopeful that individually something might be done to at least mitigate the effects of the new requirements."

However, Horn said the deadline for altering grading status has been strictly adhered to in the past, and that chances of the Ad Board accepting a petition to push it back are "virtually nil."

Obvious Changes

William A. Graham Jr. '70, senior tutor of Winthrop House, said yesterday "the dates that the requirements go into effect are one of the obvious things that need to be changed."

Both the Ad Board and the Faculty Council originally rejected the amendment to the regulations that makes the requirements effective for the class of 1977.

Both Graham and Marquand also said they would like to see the Faculty take into account only graded courses outside a student's concentration rather than all courses outside the concentration in the requirement for honors degrees.