Get on with it

The ongoing process of amending the current P/D/F system is a fine example of students and administration working together. It is exemplary that a student-initiated policy has been pushed through the U-Council, the Faculty Committees on Course of Study and Examinations and Standing, and now has been met with the unanimous approval of the faculty at large. Changes in the current grading policy have been long awaited, and finally appear to be imminent.

Though these amendments are now truly in the works, it will be up to the University to make sure students are informed not only of the policy changes, but also of the P/D/F system in general. Advisers should let students know about their range of choices when considering grading options for their courses, allowing their advisees to make educated decisions. After all the work that has been put into these current changes, the system should be used to its full potential.

All of these are moot points, however, in the face of the implementation problems described by Dean of the College Nancy Weiss Malkiel. She contends that programming difficulties resulting from the addition of the P/D/F amendments to the Registrar's current computer system could delay the policy's realization.

It would be deplorable if the P/D/F policy changes, worked over for months by both students and faculty, were somehow impeded by a simple computer glitch. The University should hire a consultant or utilize its ample supply of computer science majors. The last thing it should do is allow technical problems to interfere with a major piece of policy affecting the entire student body.