Grade distributions, professor reviews available on Pick-a-Prof Web site
By Jacqueline Womack
The Collegian
A new learning tool has become available to students, one that could help predict the grade they’ll receive in a class.
The Web site Pick-a-Prof will now post grade distributions for classes on campus, allowing students to see just how many As and Bs a professor gives in a class.
The site — with whom Associated Students has a contract — helps students pick classes at their college by giving them information such as reviews of professors by other students.
According to Jeronima Echeverria, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, the company had been attempting to get the grade distributions at another college.
“There was a request for grades at another CSU campus and they [that campus] said no,” she said. “Then it went to the legal counsel for the [CSU] Chancellor’s Office and it was determined that it was a valid public records request.”
Echeverria said individual students grades aren’t made public, only the distribution for the class.
Distributions are only made for classes with ten or more students who are enrolled for a grade.
Gabriel Leon, a dietetics major, was ambivalent about the new feature.
“I think it’ll be beneficial but I think it’s kind of cheating and kind of not fair to the teacher,” he said.
Leon said professors may be teaching a certain way because they feel that’s the best way.
Tristan Bufete, the Associated Students senator for Academic Affairs, said AS has had a contract with Pick-a-Prof since May 2003 and that AS chose the service to let students have the chance to review professors and read the reviews of others about homework load, lectures and other class-related activities.
Bufete said AS didn’t have anything to do with Pick-a-Prof’s effort to get grade distributions.
History professor Dan Cady said he didn’t have a problem with the service.
“I think transparency is a good thing for professors, administrators and politicians alike,” he said.
He said that there could be consequences, though.
“Professors may respond by grading harder and there may be more pressure to put on them to keep grades points lower,” Cady said. “Grade inflation is a disease and maybe this might help cure it.”
Echeverria said professors don’t have anything to with the process of giving the grade distributions.
“Professors — by law— can’t distribute the grades of their students,” she said.
Biology major Nicole Coomes found the idea appealing.
“People choose their classes based on how professors grade, because they’re not going to take a class if they know the teacher only gives a few As,” she said.
Echeverria said she didn’t think the service would have a big impact.
“In my experience, it’s more common for students to ask their friends about professors,” she said.
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