Grades have always been one of those stressors that almost every student faces on a daily basis. We live in an increasingly competitive world. College tuition rates continue to skyrocket while acceptance rates plummet, and new college graduates are faced with a competitive job market and lower paying salaries.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, college students are faced with new challenges as many courses are still stuck in the chaos of the online world. A recent study on remote learning for college-level students indicates that learning outcomes were “reduced for students in the purely online section relative to those in the face-to-face format by 5 to 10 points on a cumulative final exam.”
Ohio University decided in 2021 to pursue an opt-in Satisfactory grading system for Spring Semester. This allowed students to protect their GPA from being impacted if distance learning and the pandemic caused a lowering in their grades. However, in Fall 2021, OU decided to return to a normal grading system.
Many programs at OU are highly dependent on receiving certain letter grades to succeed. Some even go as far as to kick a student out of a certain program if they receive less than a B letter grade in a course or even a single exam.
“No retakes,” Kyle Ayres, a junior in the aviation program at Ohio University, said. “One chance is all you get.”
He expressed various concerns regarding the final exams in AVN 1100 and 3100. “If I were to have gotten below an 80% on those finals, I would have to retake the entire course, and I wouldn’t have the time or money for that” Ayres said. "I would have had to drop out.”
The problem is that tests are not an accurate representation of a student's true knowledge of course material. Exams tend to be a one-size-fits-all effort to prove what information a student retains about a subject matter. They do not take into account any external factors: environmental or personal. Psychological, physical, socio-economic and educational factors have been proven to affect performance in examinations. What could be a bigger external factor than a pandemic?
The OU nursing program also works in a similar way; however, this program follows even stricter guidelines. According to the School of Nursing Undergraduate Student Handbook, “Academic failure results from achievement of a grade lower than an 80% ... in any nursing course. Failure to maintain this requirement may result in dismissal from the program.” The School of Nursing has not changed any of these guidelines during the pandemic.
With a nation still in the midst of COVID-19, many college students find it extremely difficult and stressful to perform well in coursework. Current studies indicate that COVID-19 has had a major implication on academic success in recent years. A recent study notes, “The highest frustration felt by our students was the stress they felt due to change in teaching methods, followed by significantly increasing workload, ambiguity about course expectations, poorer quality of education, and concerns about completing the academic year successfully.”
Specific programs at OU, such as nursing and aviation, have yet to change grade requirements as they pertain to courses and their exams. An exam or subsequent course grade lower than 80%, which results in a failed class tied to a GPA or a dismissal from a college program, will consequently have a major impact on future career choices.
Aviation and Nursing are both career choices that depend on critical thinking, extensive knowledge, and experience to keep people safe. However, since strict grading criteria based on exams do not demonstrate these aspects well, OU should implement more experience-based grading and practical assessments to make sure its students are on the right track.
As more external factors continue to restrict college students' abilities to perform well in classes and exams, why do OU programs such as aviation and nursing refuse to create alternative assessments that better show their students' knowledge.
The world is continuously adapting to navigate the pandemic, so why shouldn’t OU programs do the same?
Especially if their students' careers depend on it.
Katie Trott is a junior studying creative writing at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Tell Katie by emailing her at kt008918@ohio.edu.
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