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Why don’t they just eliminate attendance as well and just have students pay $100k for the degree directly and the students can sign a pledge promising they lear

Why don’t they just eliminate attendance as well and just have students pay $100k for the degree directly and the students can sign a pledge promising they learned all the material? Pass/Fail already exists as an option if students want to use that. Grades aren’t about proving learning, they are a demonstration of competence. I took many classes with prerequisites that required a C or even B in other classes before allowing me to take it. This was because of demand for classes as well as out of necessity of prior knowledge. It was possible to get a waiver from the professor, and some did. But many wouldn’t even meet because they were too busy to meet individually and assess a student’s knowledge. How will this work without grades? It seems like this is just opting for short term happiness and pushing the actual reasons for grades down the road.

nine_k 3y ago
I think instruction and examination could and should be split. Independent assessors could accept anyone, much like you can take a foreign language proficiency test now, or a driver license test. Some common standards will be adopted, or emerge where absent. Certain kind of examination will take pretty long to be comparable with what a university can assess. A course project, one that demonstrates some breadth and depth of knowledge of the course's material, may take weeks or months to complete. Which, on the other hand, should be fine, both in a traditional university setting, and outside it.
- sidewndr46 3y ago
  This is actually how independent study worked at the university I went to. You got a big stack of material to learn. There were designated study group times with a room provided, but that was if you wanted to show up and discuss with other students. At the end of the semester some guy showed up and gave you an oral exam followed by a written exam. They were usually a professor at another nearby university that actually offered the course. If you passed both you got a passing grade for the course.
musicale 3y ago
Neither assessment nor feedback require letter grades. Some schools without grades use a portfolio system where you have to complete projects in various areas and some sort of capstone project or thesis to graduate. Graduate programs largely work that way as well. They may have a qualifying process, but actual letter grades are largely irrelevant. Students still get feedback on their projects, and they graduate with a CV and work portfolio that they can show to employers or graduate programs.

nine_k 3y ago

I think instruction and examination could and should be split. Independent assessors could accept anyone, much like you can take a foreign language proficiency test now, or a driver license test. Some common standards will be adopted, or emerge where absent. Certain kind of examination will take pretty long to be comparable with what a university can assess. A course project, one that demonstrates some breadth and depth of knowledge of the course's material, may take weeks or months to complete. Which, on the other hand, should be fine, both in a traditional university setting, and outside it.

sidewndr46 3y ago
This is actually how independent study worked at the university I went to. You got a big stack of material to learn. There were designated study group times with a room provided, but that was if you wanted to show up and discuss with other students. At the end of the semester some guy showed up and gave you an oral exam followed by a written exam. They were usually a professor at another nearby university that actually offered the course. If you passed both you got a passing grade for the course.

musicale 3y ago

Neither assessment nor feedback require letter grades. Some schools without grades use a portfolio system where you have to complete projects in various areas and some sort of capstone project or thesis to graduate. Graduate programs largely work that way as well. They may have a qualifying process, but actual letter grades are largely irrelevant. Students still get feedback on their projects, and they graduate with a CV and work portfolio that they can show to employers or graduate programs.