4 ms·

One of the Cal Polys has an engineering program which curves the average grade to a C+ which automatically disqualifies the average from many engineering jobs.

cobookman 8y ago
That's similar to Georgia Tech. Undergrad Eng courses are curved to a C+. With the average GPA being a bit below a 3.0. We used to joke at all the pre med students as to why they chose Georgia Tech as just about every other school had gpa inflation. And grad schools don't take Tech's lower grades into account.
- hashkb 8y ago
  Which was totally fair given how the HOPE scholarship works. Not that I am bitter.
  - amdsn 8y ago
    Except now STEM courses are weighted as of 2017 in all GA university system schools: Effective fall 2017, when calculating the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship postsecondary Grade Point Average (GPA), an additional weight of 0.5 will be added to grades of B, C, and D for approved degree level science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses I think it's good since it doesn't affect their Institute GPA but can help them keep the scholarship. I knew a lot of people who lost HOPE/Zell and the increased financial burden made keeping their grades up that much harder.
    - hashkb 8y ago
      That's still stupid. The freshman writing courses at GT are harder than graduate CS at UGA or Valdosta. Edit: Valdosta doesn't offer graduate CS. But imagine that it did.
a_c_s 8y ago
A curve distorts grades: they tell you how the person performed relative to their peers not relative to their mastery of the material.
- dwaltrip 8y ago
  This really depends on how difficult the tests in the course are. I don't think it is uncommon for tests to be written such that with a student a strong command of the material will not score 100%.
- walshemj 8y ago
  Well it tells you how well they did to the rest of the cohort grade inflation means you cant easily compare candidates across time.

cobookman 8y ago

That's similar to Georgia Tech. Undergrad Eng courses are curved to a C+. With the average GPA being a bit below a 3.0. We used to joke at all the pre med students as to why they chose Georgia Tech as just about every other school had gpa inflation. And grad schools don't take Tech's lower grades into account.

hashkb 8y ago
Which was totally fair given how the HOPE scholarship works. Not that I am bitter.
- amdsn 8y ago
  Except now STEM courses are weighted as of 2017 in all GA university system schools: Effective fall 2017, when calculating the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship postsecondary Grade Point Average (GPA), an additional weight of 0.5 will be added to grades of B, C, and D for approved degree level science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses I think it's good since it doesn't affect their Institute GPA but can help them keep the scholarship. I knew a lot of people who lost HOPE/Zell and the increased financial burden made keeping their grades up that much harder.
  - hashkb 8y ago
    That's still stupid. The freshman writing courses at GT are harder than graduate CS at UGA or Valdosta. Edit: Valdosta doesn't offer graduate CS. But imagine that it did.

a_c_s 8y ago

A curve distorts grades: they tell you how the person performed relative to their peers not relative to their mastery of the material.

dwaltrip 8y ago
This really depends on how difficult the tests in the course are. I don't think it is uncommon for tests to be written such that with a student a strong command of the material will not score 100%.
walshemj 8y ago
Well it tells you how well they did to the rest of the cohort grade inflation means you cant easily compare candidates across time.