Rewarding Excellence: Taking Away The Guaranteed ‘A’

Much has been said and written in recent years regarding grade inflation. Any discussion on that topic is beyond the scope of this paper, and most engineering faculty have already developed their own views on the matter. Opinions vary as to the significance of the rising GPAs, however the fact remains that more students are receiving grades that are higher than those given in years past. The advocate would say that teaching effectiveness and student quality have improved in recent years and the GPA rise is deserved based on merit. Other educators would offer data that does not support those claims.