Faculty Mulls Transcript Changes

Faculty Council members yesterday discussed a proposal to expand undergraduate transcripts and include the enrollment and average grade next to the individual student's grade for each course.

The mean course grade, which under yesterday's proposal would appear as an approximate letter grade, would both indicate the relative performance of students and respond to the issue of grade inflation, several council members said.

"One of the ways to cope with [grade inflation] without telling professors how to define grades is to put information on the telling professors how to define grades is to put information on the transcript that helps readers interpret," said Assistant Professor of the Classics Cynthia Damon.

"It's not viewed as a solution to the fact of grade inflation but as a treatment which allows it to continue without causing further detriment," Damon said.

With the mean grade printed on the transcript, Damon said, professors could more easily use a wide grade scale, since student grades would appear in reference to the course average.

"The main purpose to having the mean would be to have a relative scale," said Professor of Government Gary King. "What it comes down to logically is whether grades are on an absolute scale or a relative scale."

In addition to the average letter grade, Council members also discussed the possibility of printing a numerical grade average, a median grade or a histogram showing the grade distribution for the course.

But the proposal also raises issues of privacy, King said.

"If everyone in the class gets an A and we report that the average grade is an A, then you know the grades of everyone else," king said. "There are all sorts of privacy issues."

And these questions of privacy extend to the faculty as well, Damon said. "Some professors feel that it's perhaps not anyone's business what sort of grading scale they use," she said.

With the mean grades available for specific course, students could potentially seek out classes with high average grades, and students might also compete more strongly for above-average grades, Damon said.

"There's a fear that it would generate competition among students," Damon said. "And if you were very concerned about your grade point average you could consult your peers" and make course choices influenced by the grade distribution.

Even apart from the threat of increased competition, said professor of Sociology Theda Skocpol, the effort to address grade inflation might only fuel the trend of grade inflation.

"My personal opinion is that giving information to professors about grade inflation simply causes more grade inflation," Skocpol said. "The amount of time that's going to be spent arguing among students and faculty...I'm not sure it's going to be proportional."

NSEP Participation

The Faculty Coucil also voted yes- terday for Harvard to participateinstitutionally in the National Security EducationProgram (NSEP).

Instituted as a pilot program nationwide lastyear, the NSEP provides funds from the U.S.Department of Defense for undergraduate andgraduate students to take part in foreign-areastudies.

Although Harvard students have applied andparticipated in the program independent of theUniversity during the current academic year, withyesterday's decision students will apply for thefellowships through a University-wide procedure.

"People in area studies feel that federalsupport for education in foreign area studies isof great importance," Professor of Chinese HistoryPeter K. Bol said of the program.

But Council members expressed concern aboutinstitutional participation in a program whosesafety remains questionable.

"The fact that the program is currently housedin the defense sector is in certain countriessomething that could be held against students andscholars," said Bol, who chaired a Faculty Councilsubcommittee on the NSEP issue. "They could befalsely targeted as agents of the U.S.government."

Whether to accept government money is itselfnot the question, Skocpol said. "I think that theproblem is not should we be taking money," shesaid. "The problem is will we be misperceivedbecause of the particular source of the money."

"The problem is how people are perceived whenthey go into certain area of the World that arepolitically viable," Skocpol said. "The problem iswill they be perceived as working for thegovernment. The safety of students could be anissue."

Bol said the current interest of the Faculty ofArts and Sciences lies in trying to shift thefunding from the Department of Defense to theDepartment of Education.

"A priority of people who do area studies is tosee that this change comes about," Bol said. "Ifthe program is moved to the Department ofEducation it's much harder [for foreigngovernments] to make that argument [thatparticipants in the NSEP program act as agents ofthe U.S. government]."

Associate Professor of History and of SocialStudies John J. McCole also said faculty membershope that the program will relocate within thegovernment.

"There are many people in academia and atHarvard who feel very strongly that they wouldlike to see this shifted to the Department ofEducation rather than be defense andintelligence-related," said McCole, who served onthe Council's NSEP subcommittee.

"You'd like to see this be support forincreasing our knowledge and appreciation of theworld and other cultures rather than aninstitutionalized recruiting program for thegovernment," McCole said

Instituted as a pilot program nationwide lastyear, the NSEP provides funds from the U.S.Department of Defense for undergraduate andgraduate students to take part in foreign-areastudies.

Although Harvard students have applied andparticipated in the program independent of theUniversity during the current academic year, withyesterday's decision students will apply for thefellowships through a University-wide procedure.

"People in area studies feel that federalsupport for education in foreign area studies isof great importance," Professor of Chinese HistoryPeter K. Bol said of the program.

But Council members expressed concern aboutinstitutional participation in a program whosesafety remains questionable.

"The fact that the program is currently housedin the defense sector is in certain countriessomething that could be held against students andscholars," said Bol, who chaired a Faculty Councilsubcommittee on the NSEP issue. "They could befalsely targeted as agents of the U.S.government."

Whether to accept government money is itselfnot the question, Skocpol said. "I think that theproblem is not should we be taking money," shesaid. "The problem is will we be misperceivedbecause of the particular source of the money."

"The problem is how people are perceived whenthey go into certain area of the World that arepolitically viable," Skocpol said. "The problem iswill they be perceived as working for thegovernment. The safety of students could be anissue."

Bol said the current interest of the Faculty ofArts and Sciences lies in trying to shift thefunding from the Department of Defense to theDepartment of Education.

"A priority of people who do area studies is tosee that this change comes about," Bol said. "Ifthe program is moved to the Department ofEducation it's much harder [for foreigngovernments] to make that argument [thatparticipants in the NSEP program act as agents ofthe U.S. government]."

Associate Professor of History and of SocialStudies John J. McCole also said faculty membershope that the program will relocate within thegovernment.

"There are many people in academia and atHarvard who feel very strongly that they wouldlike to see this shifted to the Department ofEducation rather than be defense andintelligence-related," said McCole, who served onthe Council's NSEP subcommittee.

"You'd like to see this be support forincreasing our knowledge and appreciation of theworld and other cultures rather than aninstitutionalized recruiting program for thegovernment," McCole said