University Times

"There has been a steady increase in high grades (A's and B's) over the past eight years at the University of Pittsburgh and at most universities in the United States….High grades should be used only to symbolize outstanding academic achievement and not to reward students for satisfactory work or to compensate for a variety of […]

Arts and sciences faculty will consider modified College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) general education requirements at a meeting tomorrow, 1:30-4 p.m., in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room. If faculty approve the modifications and related administrative changes, the revised curriculum would apply to students entering CAS next fall. The current CAS curriculum was adopted […]

Are college students smarter than they used to be, or are A's and B's just easier to get these days? It's the latter, according to national study. A report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) offers clear evidence of grade inflation — defined as an upward shift in grade-point averages without a […]

The Staff Association Council (SAC) approved by voice vote new members and re-nominated members at its April 10 meeting. The members will begin serving two-year terms in July, subject to eligibility confirmation by Human Resources, ordinarily a formality. New members include: Amedeo Agresti, Admissions and Financial Aid; Christina Bennett, IACUC-Institutional Animal Care; Sean Bridges, College […]

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences study said that grade inflation appeared most noticeably at Ivy League institutions, particularly Harvard. A study of undergraduate grades at Harvard, released last November by that university's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, showed that almost half of all grades were A or A-minus. The report details 16 years […]

With the May 5 UPMC Health System/City of Pittsburgh Marathon approaching, experts at the Center for Sports Medicine offer the following tips for marathoners and other distance racers. Fluid replacement and nutrition: "If you are dehydrated, you will not finish the race," says registered dietitian Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at UPMC Health System. […]

As Pitt recruits more undergraduates with sky-high SAT scores and hypertrophic high school QPA's, some professors have noticed increasing shock, disbelief and anger among students who earn lower-than-A grades in their courses. Indirectly, the profs say, students' indignation can translate into grade inflation, as faculty face the choice: Appease students by awarding high grades, or […]

Pitt has established the region's first Huntington's disease (HD) Clinic. The clinic will offer genetic testing and counseling and conduct research on the disease that affects 30,000 Americans, with as many as 1,500 western Pennsylvanians considered at risk for developing the disease. A fatal, degenerative brain disorder that primarily strikes men and women between the […]

In an interview this week, Provost James Maher talked about Pitt grading policies and practices. "I don't think there would be anything to be gained from my office accusing certain professors or academic units of inflating grades," Pitt's chief academic officer said. "My approach is to press faculty, generally, to keep looking at their grading, […]