Column
Letter
grading
gets an F
By Beau Dure
■ The Chronicle
Duke U.
Every term they come in the mail.
No student is immune, as their uni
versity's grand farce visits the mail -
box and makes an indelible mark
on each student's permanent
record.
The “grand farce’ is, of course, the
awarding of letter grades
Letter grades have dominated
American education for many
years, rendering it nearly impossi
ble to imagine life without them.
Students literally grow up with
grading, and those five magic let
ters become an unholy obsession in
college.
Yet, some colleges have taken a
bold step forward.
Several colleges, such as
Hampshire in Massachusetts and
Evergreen State in Washington, do
not offer grades. The schools
instead give written evaluations of
students' work. Unfortunately,
these schools are the exception and
not the rule.
Proponents of letter grading say
the system challenges students to
learn the material or suffer the con
sequences. It also indicates ability,
so future employers or institutions
may compare students, they say.
But using grades to motivate
students is simply a means of
patronizing them. Why should
students need an artificial incen
tive? By the time they reach uni
versity level, the need to crack the
whip should be gone. Teachers or
personal goals — not letter grades
— should provide the motivation
to succeed.
Hampshire College avoids this
problem by using written evalua
tions. If a student tries something
new and does not succeed, his effort
is explained in words, not as a D-.
Teachers may assess students by
describing not only class perfor
mance, but also the factors that
made that achievement satisfacto
ry or unsatifactory.
The difference between letter
grading and written assessments
should mean little to students who
go to college to learn, explore and
eryoy. But to many, it means all too
much.
ENTREPRENEURS
Definitely not for the birds
A student at Oklahoma State U. came up with a way to
keep her cat entertained and make some money at the
I same time: the “Kitty Video."
Page 12
MONEY
.2
Books = bucks
Textbook costs have risen steadily during the last 10
years, making up a large part of students’ budgets. A U. of
Kansas report examines why books are so pricey.
Page 14
Financial aid not meeting college costs
Money awards can’t
keep up with rising
tuition, inflation
By Joseph Zyble
■ The North Wind
Northern Michigan U.
Although the amount of financial
aid awarded to students nationwide
set a record last year, it is not keeping
up with the skyrocketing costs of high
er education.
The College Board, an educational
research organization in Washing
ton, D C., reported that, although the
amount of federal student aid
reached a record $27.9 billion in
1989-90, neither student aid nor
family incomes kept pace with rising
college costs in the 1980s.
In its annual report, released in
August, the board stated that federal
aid, adjusted for inflation, has
declined 3 percent smce 1980.
Although state and institutional
aid have increased, it has not been
enough to cover costs that in 10 years
have risen 40 percent at public uni
versities and 59.5 percent at private
institutions, according to the report.
These costs include tuition, fees,
room and board
More loans, less grants
According to Kathy Swift-Musser, leg
islative director for the Michigan
Student
Financial
Aid
Figuras m constant 1969
doSam adjusted lot
inflation and growth
— i l 8 8 8 8 8 2 2 8
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NIK KAIYJUN WESTERN MCRAlD WESTERN MICHIGAN U
Collegiate Coalition (MCC) in Lansing,
an organization representing students
at public universities, the amount of
financial aid in the form of student loans
is increasing annually.
“Students are relying on loans
more and more,” she said. “In the
past you would get scholarships and
grants; a small portion of that was
loans. Students can now have a
tremendous debt when they gradu
ate. It can curtail their plans after
graduation, and possibly affect then
whole lives.”
The College Board reported that
student loans now make up 48 per
cent of the federal financial aid pro
gram. And Northern Michigan U. is
following the national trend.
“Ten years ago we could meet the
full need of students without asking
them to take out a guaranteed stu
dent loan,” said Bob Pecotte, NMlTs
director of financial aid. Today, he
said, that is not possible.
Defaults decrease grants
Another reason that guaranteed
student loans are playing a larger
role in the federal program is the
high rate of loan defaults.
“The federal government might be
in favor of increasing (its allocation
for grants) if the student loan default
rate were lower,” said James Moore,
spokesperson for the office of post
secondary education at the U S.
Department of Education. The gov
ernment is currently paying offhun
dreds of millions of dollars worth of
student loans. “It would help the whole
process if students paid off their loans,”
Moore added.
See AID, Page 14
Watch the Birdie!
Student’s ‘Kitty Video’
keeps felines entertained
By Randy Hartsock
■ Daily O'Collegian
Oklahoma State U.
For cats that have grown bored with
rubber mice, shredding couches and
turning their owners' Van Goghs into
collages, there is another form of enter
tainment to keep their furry minds occu
pied: the “Kitty Video."
Created by Oklahoma State U. grad
uate student Jane Talkington — with
help from Kitty, her cat — ‘Kitty Video”
from lazy Cat Productions features 30
minutes of chirping birds.
The idea of making a video tape for cats
came to Talkington in June 1988
"I was watching a bird documentary
on one of the cable stations, when all of
a sudden my cat, Kitty, realized what
was on the television,” Talkington said.
“He perched himselfin frontof the tele
vision and started meowing and clawing
at the screen,’ she said. ‘He even looked
behind (the television) to see where the
birds were.’
It was her feline friend's reaction that
gave Talkington the idea of making a
video for cats and, after making sure
there wasn’t already one on the market,
she set off to produce one of her own.
After making a prototype tape to
determine what types of feathered fowl
would cause feline felicity, Talkington
hired a videographer to make the docu
1werr/
•turn
mentary-quan
ty produc
tion
When
Talkington
first put
the video
on the mar
ket, it sold
in retail
stores in
Colorado,
MIW MOREU THE RED & SUCH U Of GEORGIA
iTexas and
’Oklahoma, as
well as
RAHOV HARTSOCK. DAJIY O COUFGlAN (JMAMOMA STATE U
Student entrepreneur Jane Talkington plots
strategies tor a sequel to “Kitty Video” with
her cat Kitty.
through a retail advertisement in Cat
Fancy magazine.
But since attending a trade show in
Chicago, Talkington said “Kitty Video’
has gone nationwide. It is currently fea
tured in mail-order catalogs, including
Neiman Marcus’.
“We were probably the most notorious
of people (at the trade show),’ Talkington
said. “Everyone was in disbelief. CNN
featured ‘Kitty Video’ as one of the most
innovative products at the show."
See KITTY, Page 14