Identifies and discusses three current and emerging problems in graduate admissions: lack of understanding by applicants about admissions procedures, lack of information available to applicants about graduate programs, and lack of information about applicants available to those persons making decisions about admissions and appointments. (JMF)

Grades from 112 students in 3 business courses integrated in block format were compared with those of 151 other business majors. High achievers did not self-select into blocks. Grading rigor did not suffer and grades were more correlated in block presentation, possibly because of content integration. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)

Examines how risk management is reworking the doctoral supervisor/candidate relationship. Examines "soft marking" (grading) as a specific domain in which risk minimization is producing new relational identities for both supervisors and students involved in doctoral studies programs. (EV)

Responds to an article in the same issue of the journal. Discusses five interrelated issues: whether required speech communication courses should be skills or theory; to what extent skills should be emphasized; the effect on the academic integrity of the communication discipline; the effect of grade inflation; and attracting high-quality majors.…

Explores the story of a former mathematics profesor at Temple University who says he was fired because he upheld academic standards; the college says he graded too hard. (EV)

The Indiana University Expanded Grade Context Record system generates a student record that includes the elements of a traditional transcript plus additional information that places grades in a broader context, including class grade distribution data and the percentage of majors in the class. The system was developed in response to concerns about…

With reports that some of the nation's finest universities have been handing out A's like lollipops at Halloween, the lowering of standards in higher education has become a hot topic. But grading standards in primary and secondary education have received remarkably less attention. There are two major questions related to grading standards. First,…

Over the last decade the proportion of students in higher education obtaining aggregate marks over 60 per cent has steadily increased. Whilst standards of learning and teaching may have improved due to the existence of quality assurance agencies and the efforts of individual higher education institutions a significant factor remains that could…

A third survey of grade trends was made in summer, 1979 to verify whether the slight drop in college grade-point averages (GPAs) detected in 1975 represented a break in the 15-year trend toward higher grades. Responses were received from 180 colleges from a systematic sample of 361 colleges which offer graduate degrees (a 50% return). The results…

Grade reports of Southeastern Louisiana University from 1970-71 through 1978-79 were examined to determine whether grade inflation occurred in relation to scores on the American College Testing (ACT) program. Both ACT and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores have been declining nationally, while university registrars report that student grades at the A…

This practicum examines the phenomenon of academic grade inflation which has occurred in recent years in many two- and four-year institutions of higher education. After a review of the literature, possible grade inflation at Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is examined. The research clearly indicates that very significant…

A methodology for efficient measurement of the occurrence and direction of grade inflation using the techniques of price indexing is presented. (MSE)

To determine whether the phenomenon of the lenient or easy grader exists in the setting of the clinical clerkship, the grading patterns during six consecutive years of faculty members in a department of medicine were examined. (MLW)

It is suggested that grades given by education professors are higher than grades which would be earned in other academic fields. Results of this study show that, at the institution being studied, education students (sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduates) had significantly higher GPAs than students in other disciplines had. (JN)

Relationships between students' grades and their evaluations of instructions were analyzed for 283 accounting students. Students in intermediate accounting who took introductory courses in which the teacher was more highly rated did worse than those from introductory courses in which the teacher was less highly rated. (Contains 38 references.) (SK)