Macalester's mean grade point average rose in the fall semester of 2002, continuing a five-year streak of climbing grades. According to Provost Dan Hornbach, the upward trend reflects a nationwide change that began in the 1980s.

The Institutional Research Office, headed by Dan Balik, distributes a report biannually summarizing grade point averages by department as compared with previous fall or spring semesters, respectively. The most recent summary, published on January 16 of this year, highlights a five-year consecutive increase in the overall GPA.

According to the report, the average GPA last semester was 3.39, 0.05 higher than in the fall of 2001. Balik said that average grades are consistently higher in the spring semester.

In the binannual report, each of the college's 33 departments and programs are ranked in order from highest to lowest mean GPA. Russia has the highest average grades (3.70 mean GPA) and is followed closely by Environmental Studies (3.69 mean GPA). The Chemistry department has the lowest average GPA, 3.09.

The report states that since last fall twenty departments demonstrated increased grades, while ten departments showed a decrease.

According to Balik, the report is issued to the Provost's office, the department chairs and various administrative officers for review. Other than highlighted trends, the report is just a summary of information and does not pose to initiate any action or reforms.

"There is no real consensus that anything is either wrong or need to be fixed," Balik said. He recalled the distribution of faculty opinions on the issue of grade increases two years ago and said that the topic comes up periodically within EPAG (Educational Policy and Governance Committee), formerly the Curriculum Committee.

At this point, there is not agreement within the community on whether or not the higher mean grade point averages represent a case of grade inflation.

Hornbach commented, "Certainly grades are going up," but was quick to point out that Macalester is not an aberration. "We seem to be a following a national trend. It's hard to tell whether to be concerned about it or not."

Hornbach pointed to a survey conducted by Franklin and Marshall that ranks the average GPAs of many of our comparison schools. "We looked at how Macalester compared with those other schools, and we're right in the middle of the pack. We know grade inflation has been a national issue."

Vasant Sukhatme is the Chair of the Economics Department, which prides itself on not inflating grades (their mean grade point average is just above that of Chemistry, with 3.16). He is confident that average grades have risen beyond the corresponding rise in abilities, at Macalester as well as other schools, and is cognizant of the inherent dangers.

"It is important that grades convey certain information to the outside world, and if As are given out wholesale, than that information loses significance," he said.

As Hornbach also notes, there is more discrepancy surrounding what causes the inflation than whether or not it exists.

According to Balik, increasing selectivity in admissions does not necessarily have any correlation with higher grades being distributed. "It can't be true that all of the sudden the entire population is getting smarter," he said.

For others, improving academic quality of students is a sufficient explanation on its own for the increase. David Lanegran, Chair of the Geography Department, said that it is unreasonable to expect a broad distribution of grades with such a strong student body. "When you set out to get high achievers, its naïve to think you're going to get the traditional distribution," he said.

Hornbach agreed. "High quality students tend to lead to grade inflation," he said, adding that professors that have taught at state universities before Macalester are used to a broader range of student abilities.

Lanegran offered another explanation for steadily increasing grades, citing the fact that many colleges, including Macalester, have fewer requirements. When students are choosing their own classes, he said, it makes sense that they would get better grades.

Because grade point average inflation is in fact so common, the dangers for graduates when applying for jobs or to graduate schools is not as serious.

As Hornbach notes, what he terms the "consumers of our students" are aware of these issues and make judgments accordingly. He said that often, employers don't even request copies of college transcripts anymore.

As long as the quality of classes is maintained, which Hornbach believes it is, he said that there is little pressing concern. Department Chairs should be having conversations within their departments, he said, and EPAG will discuss the issue.

"Until you know what the real cause is, trying to find a solution is difficult," he said. Solutions that have been discussed in the past include recentering grades, which he admitted is unpractical, and including average class grades next to individual grades on student transcripts.

Peter Weisensel, Acting Chair of the History Department, suggests that a possible solution would have to be as broad as the problem. "I would caution people that when we challenge our grading practices, there's a lot of unfairness if other campuses aren't challenging theirs. The solution needs to be much broader, and there has to be some group discussion," he said.

Both Weisensel and Lanegran said that they were in consistent conversations with faculty concerning grading practices and felt confident that there was no real concern within their respective departments.

"We're still dealing with individuals, one at a time," Lanegran said.