On June 5th of this year there was a notice from Hongik University. Since the whole semester was confusing for everyone due to COVID-19, the school decided to offer some flexible ways of grade evaluation. Because of the pandemic, students had to take lessons online and study by themselves. The notice was about three modified grade evaluation systems: a relaxation of the curve, the abandonment of credit, and allowing students to change their grade to "P (Pass)." The spotlight was on the last one, changing one’s grade to "P." That is, if the students got a grade higher than a D0, they could change that grade to "P." This looked like we had a chance to hide our real grade into a better-looking grade. As this "P" system gives you the credit, and does not have an effect on your GPA, students had to think over their situation. The fact that this notice was announced just before final exams week made everyone feel restless. This whole situation was not expected, including this changed grade evaluation system. What did the students think about this change? I conducted a survey to learn their opinions.
*This survey was done from 20.07.23-20.07.27 with 51 Hongik University students.
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Others: School of Economics, Performing Arts, Oriental Painting, Korean Language and Literature, Electronic & Electrical Engineering
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* 1 (Very Unsatisfied) – 5 (Very Satisfied)
You can see that about 80% of the students were satisfied with the changed grade evaluation system. The question about the “P (Pass)” system specifically also showed that students were about 70% of satisfied with the change. But still some were unhappy. The graph showed students were happy with the changed system for the most part. However, we should look at some opinions of students who were not satisfied with the changes.
Students’ opinions about the “P (Pass)” system
- What they Liked or Disliked
Liked
NHW (Freshman): As a freshman I was not used to the way of studying things in university, therefore it was quite a pleasing system for me.
LTH (Senior): I think it is a great solution for students who are feeling lethargic during this pandemic. They can maintain their grade for some classes which aren’t the same quality of the quality of class before quarantine.
SYE (Senior): There was a subject I studied a lot but still almost failed. By changing that grade to a “P,” I could have a much better GPA. If these online courses continue next semester, I want this system to be used again.
Anonymous (Freshman): Due to COVID-19, students had to study online. Due to the different circumstances, students attended classes at their own places, the quality of each class varied, and did not reach the quality of the face-to-face classes. The “P” system was a good reward for students who experienced such problems.
Disliked
NYM (Senior): There are some unfair effects on some students when choosing scholarship recipients. So, I want the original grade system, before changing anything to “P” to be the criteria for receiving scholarships.
LSM (Senior): Some subjects need laboratories or workspaces. There should be some solution for this, not just changing the grade evaluation system. The changes of grade evaluation system are not enough. There should be countermeasures for opening up these places.
Anonymous (Senior): There were a lot of changes that happened too quickly especially for me being an open major student. Some departments notified students about “P” grade restrictions on entry to those majors after students have chosen to change their grade to “P.”
Anonymous (Freshman): The relaxation of the curve allowed 40% of the students to have an A. In this situation, letting students to change their grade to a “P” wasn’t necessary and it sometimes inflated their grades and GPA.
The rapid changes due to COVID-19 were hard to keep up with. However, both students and the school tried their best during the pandemic. As the situation is not over yet, we still need more ways to solve the problems which occurred during the last half of the year. The changes in grade evaluation was quite a big issue for students. It turned out to be a worthwhile attempt.
So, how could it be improved, in order to meet everyone’s needs? We do have a lot to do to prepare for now and for post-corona. We need changes in our everyday lives and the school needs a lot of changes: tuition, scholarship, and classes that need workspaces, and so on.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts about the changes that have been made so far. Though we are not meeting each other in school we can still make our school life better.
Choi Seoyoung think0412@naver.com
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