emerald
Vo! 83, No 33
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Tuesday, October 20, 1981
T
Departments deal A’s unevenly
By PHIL LEMMAN
Of thm Emerald
Reports from the University regis
trar's office indicate that taking classes
in certain University departments or
schools may increase the probability of
a student getting above-average
grades
In the "Profile of Students” report for
1980 spring and fall terms and 1981
winter term. some academic
departments more than doubled the
University average percentage of As
and Bs awarded
A breakdown of grades given to all
University undergraduates during
those three terms shows approximately
20 percent of grades given were As, 26
percent Bs. 18 percent Cs and 19 per
cent Ps (pass) The remaining 17 per
cent includes 5 percent withdrawals. 3
percent Ds, and less than 2 percent
each for Fs no pass, mcompletes. Ys
(no basis for grade) and Xs (incorrect
or no grade reported)
The report shows professional
schools such as business, education
and music tend to award high grades
more often averaging as high as 41
percent As in the music school Gener
ally, school officials credit entrance
standards and large percentages of
upper-division students and majors in
classes to explain the high grades
The average GPA of students enter
ing the education school, ranked 13th
nationally, is 3 2. up almost a full letter
grade since minimum GPA standards
were adopted four years ago. school
officials say
In the journalism, business and
education schools most of the
coursework in the major is done in the
student's junior and senior year
Reports from the registrar's office show
that upper-division students get slightly
better grades
Professional schools are not alone in
awarding above-average grades
Several departments reported grades
noticeably above average during the
period studied
The Department of Military Science
averaged almost 89 percent A and B
grades during the study period, with the
percentage of As given showing a sub
stantial increase in the last three years
The department reported an average of
about 40 percent As in 1977, then in
creased to more than 75 percent during
the study period
One explanation might be a complete
turnover in teaching staff in 1977, says
a former head of the department who
asked that his name not be used
Lt Col Steve Wolfgram, who took
command of the department in June,
attributes the grades to small class size,
close personal contact between faculty
and students and many one-credit
classes
Wolfgram says he expects students
to be able to get an A grade from a
one-credit class, saying "it is not terri
bly difficult material "
"We do not give gifts," he says
Department grades are based on lab
exercises in land navigation and
leadership skills, and classroom work
in military organization and philosophy
The Women's Studies Program,
which also had a recent staff change,
averaged 38 percent As and 37 percent
B grades given during the study period
Mary Jo Wagner, acting director,
says the program offers "the only
courses that women take at the
University that deal directly with them."
This leads to high student motivation,
which combined with small class size,
account for the above-average grades,
she explains
Reorganization of the program was
necessary because it had gotten the
reputation as a mickey," says Barre
Toelken, first-year director of the Folk
lore and Ethnic Studies Program
Toelken, with 14 years experience
teaching in the program, says grading
standards were lowered in an attempt
to make ethnic classes available to
ethnic students who were here without
graduating from high schook The
Folklore Program gave 65 percent A
and B grades during the study period
Bogus term papers may not pay
By ANN PORTAL
or ttw EimraW
University students who purchased
"canned" term papers from a Seattle
company may end up paying more than
they expected
A recent consent decree issued by
U S District Court Judge John Voorhees
in Seattle opens the door for prosecution
by any academic institution requesting
the names of students who purchased
papers, according to one of Voorhees'
clerks
Penalties for convicted University
students could range from changed
grades to revoked degrees, according to
Vern Barkhurst, associate dean of
students and student conduct coordina
tor
Will the University attempt to identify
and prosecute current or former
students?
"Yeah, I would think so,” Barkhurst
says
Advertisements tor Pacific Research
term papers were abundant on campus
last year
Voorhees' decree gives legal backing
to an agreement between the U S Postal
Service and Pacific Research, the term
paper supplier
According to the agreement. Pacific
Research will turn over to any "academic
institution or faculty member thereof”
the names and addresses of students
who purchase papers, the date pur
chased. and even a copy of the paper
The decision to prosecute would be up
to professors who received fake term
papers, Barkhurst says, adding that the
charge would be dishonesty A formal or
informal hearing would result
English prof Glen Love, chairer of the
academic standards committee, says he
thinks most professors would prosecute
If one of his students has turned in a
provably fake paper, Love says he will do
whatever is necessary to at least revoke
credit for that course
However, the decree says only that
Pacific Research must disclose informa
tion it has, Voorhees' clerk says While
the company now must keep detailed
records, there is no indication in the
agreement that such information was
kept in the past
Attempts to reach the Seattle firm by
phone Monday were unsuccessful
The Seattle decree comes on top of HB
2513, approved by the Legislature this
year, which makes it illegal to sell or offer
for sale bogus work for academic credit.
Love says the two actions take care of
both ends of the fake term paper prob
lem
"I would imagine that would effectively
end the term paper mill at the Universi
ty," he says
PE options
may alter
requisites
By DEBBIE HOWLETT
Ol the Emerald
State-mandated budget cuts may
force radical changes in the University’s
physical education curriculum.
But department head Michael Ellis
says the changes may be the best thing
that could happen to the activities
classes
When the Legislature's House Ways
and Means Committee voted last spring
to suspend general funding for physical
education activity classes, the depart
ment began to consider sacrificing part
of its curriculum to balance its budget,
Ellis says
Part of the sacrifice under considera
tion is a proposal to eliminate physical
education classes from the list of requir
ements for a baccalaureate degree
Dropping the five-credit requirement
would affect the entire student popula
tion.
Dropping the requirement would save
the University $141,000 says Provost
Richard Hill. That savings could in turn
save other programs at the University.
Hill says
Besides the proposal to drop physical
education as a requirement, Ellis has
some ideas to restructure the physical
education program so more activity
classes are avaialable
Ellis says he wants to install a plan that
would function in a manner similar to
Community Education classes The
classes would offer something for most
of the students at a reasonable cost, he
says
An example he gives is a class such as
“Improving your tennis serve " Ellis says
it could be short, sweet and cheap In
other words, the class might be three
hours in total time and cost four or five
dollars
Other activities would range from en
tire term courses, with credit, to seminars
focusing on one subject Ellis says this
plan would allow for classes that are not
currently offerred
Under this new arrangement, Ellis
says, the department would function as a
business, “similar to something like
Court Sports.”
This supply and demand arrangement
would present a “much broader range
for the students and place the power of
shaping the program in the hands of the
students,” he says "
“Students are going to say, Oh! goody
goody, we don’t have to take PE.,’ " Ellis
says, "but I believe this attitude is just a
short term situation In the long run, we’ll
have just as many students participat
ing ”
Offering evidence, Ellis says that in the
early 1960s a snow storm hit Eugene that
shut down the entire town. "They (dorm
administrators) were begging us to open
the facilities for the dorm students
because (the students) were a holy terror
over there in the dorms.”
The resulting interaction between
students, faculty and community
members would benefit all of Eugene, he
adds
The department would also operate as
a department of recreation for all phases
of activities including intramurals, Ellis
says