Since the pilot program for the plus/minus grading system was implemented in 2006, University reports suggest overall student performance is stagnant, a University official said.

Student grade point averages “virtually remained the same,” Jere Morehead, vice president for instruction, said at a faculty forum Wednesday held to gauge the success of the program.

The average GPA decreased from 3.172 to 3.160 in 2006, and the average GPA increased to 3.170 in Fall 2007, Morehead said.

“If the intention is to increase (academic) rigor, then one would expect grades to start going up,” said Brian LaHaie, associate professor and graduate coordinator for environmental design.

Among the six faculty members who attended the forum, some said motivation in students to maintain their grades with the plus/minus system increased or showed no change.

“I can’t say personally I’ve seen any increase in motivation because of the chance to get a plus,” LaHaie said.

Medical schools may find students with B pluses more competitive than those with Bs or B minuses, said Alan Langford, director of premedical studies.

University faculty are not given recommended numerical cutoffs for plus/minus grades, allowing them to issue letter grades at their own discretion.

A faculty member said this puts added pressure on professors.

“Adding new grades means more grade cutoffs and more borderline students,” said Steven Lewis, an associate professor for physics and astronomy. “Deciding where cutoffs are is difficult.”

The Educational Affairs Committee was reluctant to implement University-wide recommendations for grade cutoffs, Morehead said.

“It’s hard imagining at a university this size that there is a ‘one size fits all,’” Lewis said.

The fate of the C minus was among components of the plus/minus grading system debated at the forum.

“The challenge is if (students) make a C minus in a required course, it would make students repeat the course,” Morehead said.

The percentage of faculty distributing C minus letter grades is low, with 1.76 percent of faculty assigning the grade in Fall 2007, according to a report by the Office of Institutional Research.

“Eliminating the C minus and keeping the C plus seems like we’re skewing things up,” Lewis said.

Keeping the A minus and not having an A plus, he said, makes a big difference as well.

The grading system is more punitive than positive, said Katy Bowers, the Student Government Association president.

“After the initial shock, students have boiled down their concerns to the necessity of the C minus,” she said.

“We’d like to see it eliminated in May 2009.”

The pilot program for plus/minus grading was implemented into University curriculum in March 2006 by the Board of Regents. At the end of a three-year trial period, the University will decide whether to continue with the program or revert to the previous system.

The University will hold a student forum to discuss the grading system Feb. 12.