I would like to comment on Tuesday’s Perspective article about grading. I was the president of the Faculty Senate and executive secretary of the University Council when this idea was introduced and am quite familiar with its history.

The question of whether a more finely divided grading scale might be a good idea was first raised at the Faculty Senate. The senate had one of its committees study the issue; we gave the entire faculty a chance to express their views. There was, at that time, a broad consensus that finer gradations would be useful, but no consensus on any particular system was reached.

The Faculty Senate then sent the issue to the University Council. The University Council requested that existing university committees at both the graduate and undergraduate level review the issue and make recommendations. This process is currently under way. All these committees have student representation; in addition, the student advisory groups in the colleges and the Student Association will be asked for their input. There may also be other groups involved.

The reason why this is timely has to do with the student services software. Our existing system is quite ancient and extremely difficult to modify. The university has been in the process of acquiring a new system from PeopleSoft, which should be in place in another couple of years (pending merger developments). At the time the new system is implemented, there will be a de facto decision as to what grading scheme(s) to incorporate. The process of discussing the issue ensures that this decision will be made by the university – students, faculty and administrators – and not simply by default.

If this issue is of concern to you as an NIU student, I would strongly encourage you to get involved in one of the student groups on campus that will be considering it. Several colleges have a very difficult time finding students to serve on their advisory councils; by not serving, you are forfeiting your voice in this and other crucial matters. Student involvement in shared governance is essential; one of my major frustrations when I was executive secretary was the difficulty in finding students who were willing to be involved. Your voice really does matter, but you have to raise it in the proper forum in order to be heard most effectively!

In closing, I would like to applaud the interest the Perspective writer shows in this issue. I hope that some of you who agree with her will become part of our shared governance system – it has more potential for student involvement than many other universities provide. Take advantage of it!

Suzanne E. Willis

Acting associate dean, NIU Graduate School