October 31, 2000
Mail ballot at UCSC reaffirms earlier grades vote
By Jim Burns
The members of the Academic Senate at UC Santa Cruz, polled via a mail ballot
this fall, have reaffirmed an earlier vote implementing UC's conventional grading
system. The results of the most recent vote were announced late yesterday by senate
chair Roger Anderson.
The grading legislation continues to permit UCSC undergraduate students to take courses
on a Pass/No Pass (P/NP) basis. But, beginning with new undergraduates entering in
fall 2001, no more than 25 percent of the UCSC course work that they apply toward
graduation credit can be taken on a P/NP basis. No such threshold will exist for
current students or new students entering UCSC before then.
In the mail-ballot tally released October 30, 240 senators voted in favor of changing
UCSC's grading system; 154 opposed the legislation.
A mail ballot, which can be requested following an in-session vote in order to secure
the sentiment of the entire senate membership, had been sought by 27 senators following
the senate's meeting last February. At that meeting, the senate voted 154-77 for
the grading legislation. The mail ballots were first distributed to senators last
spring. But the returned ballots were never tallied because a senate committee determined
that the mail ballot language differed slightly from the legislation that had been
voted on at the meeting.
The language of the mail ballot was subsequently rewritten, and ballots were distributed
to senate members earlier this month.
The grading legislation that has been adopted does not affect UCSC's current requirement
that narrative evaluations be written for all students in all courses. Still pending
before the senate as unfinished business, however, is legislation proposed in a special
meeting last December that would make the writing of "narratives" optional
for faculty.
The discussion of UCSC's Narrative Evaluation System will resume at a special meeting of the senate, scheduled for November 27; the senate's regular fall meeting will take place on November 9.
Previous Currents stories on the grades/NES:
Senate letter regarding new 'mail ballot' on grades (September 25, 2000)
Student protest delays discussion of narratives until fall quarter (May 31, 2000)
A message concerning the senate's 'mail ballot' (May 29, 2000)
Count of 'mail ballot' on grades placed on hold pending ruling (May 15, 2000)
Senate's vote on grades goes to 'mail ballot' (April 10, 2000)
Academic Senate adopts UC's conventional grading system (Feb. 28, 2000)
Debate on NES continues at Convocation on Teaching (Feb. 21, 2000)
Annual Convocation on Teaching will focus on NES (Feb. 14, 2000)
NES forums continue; decision expected at senate meeting (Jan. 31, 2000)
First 'narratives' forum produces two quite different perspectives (Jan. 24, 2000)
Continuing the discussion of the NES (Jan. 10, 2000)
Senate narrowly postpones vote on narrative evaluations (Dec. 6, 1999)
Proposal to eliminate 'narratives' goes before Academic Senate (Nov. 22, 1999)
