UIC: a tough school!
Apr 23, 2009 23:55:43 GMT -6
Post by Big D on Apr 23, 2009 23:55:43 GMT -6
Just do a google search for "grade inflation" and you will realize that it has been, and continues to be, rampant. From Ivy League down, it is more rare to find a school that doesn't inflate grades...and Illinois universities are BIG offenders of hiking them up!
Let's look at some average GPAs from some Illinois schools over the years according to gradeinflation.com...
University of Chicago
1965: 2.50
1999: 3.26
Northwestern
1970: 2.97
1971: 3.01
1972: 3.05
1973: 3.13
1974: 3.10
1975: 3.09
1976: 3.04
1977: 3.00
1978: 3.03
1979: 3.04
1980: 3.02
1981: 3.04
1982: 3.03
1983: 3.04
1984: 3.05
1985: 3.05
1986: 3.05
1987: 3.09
1988: n.d.
1989: 3.12
1990: 3.17
1991: 3.20
1992: 3.21
1993: 3.23
1994: 3.23
1995: 3.25
1996: 3.27
1998: 3.32
1999: 3.35
2000: 3.35
2001: 3.38
2002: 3.35
2003: 3.35
2004: 3.36
2005: 3.39
2006: 3.37
2007: 3.40
2008: 3.41
SIU
1991: 2.88
1992: 2.87
1993: 2.87
1994: 2.88
1995: 2.90
1996: n.d.
1997: 2.98
1998: 3.03
1999: 3.03
2000: 3.06
2001: 3.08
2002: 3.07
2003: 3.07
2004: 3.06
2005: 3.06
2006: 3.07
UIUC
1967: 2.77
1999: 3.12
2002: 3.17
2005: 3.1943
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"Like Harvard and many other Ivy League schools, U of I suffers from horrible grade inflation. “It’s notorious,” says a professor. “One introductory-level teacher was known for giving half the class As and the other half A-pluses. It’s a pact. Students don’t harass the professor and the professor gives them easy grades.” Of course, not all professors are willing to compromise, and lazy students sometimes get burned by taking a class from the “wrong” professor.
The university climate does not have a marked intellectual quality, and professors have noticed. “I have students who fall asleep or read the newspaper in my class,” says one professor. “A lot of them just don’t show up.” Other professors report students’ intellectual activity to be, well, largely inactive. “Most seem to be interested in graduating and instrumental learning that can aid their career,” says a professor. A colleague says, “Some students do get very involved, but I would say those are the exception, not the rule.” A student adds, “If you’re smart, that’s cool. But a lot of people just try to get by. They don’t want to put in the effort."
www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/2004/uofil-uc.pdf
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What about UIC you ask? "Average grades at the University of Illinois at Chicago have remained constant since 1973 at a C-plus/B- minus level."
Link
Granted the article's from 2000, but nevertheless, it shows UIC as the only "major" school in Illinois to not suffer from grade inflation. Other highlights from this article?
* Students at Northwestern University's College of Arts and Sciences can rejoice in the knowledge that almost half the grades will likely be A's. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, more than 40 percent of undergraduate grades are A's.
* At Loyola, the undergraduate grade point average has gone from 2.42 in 1964 to 2.77 in 1983 to slightly above 3.0 in 1999.
* At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 24 percent of the grades given to undergraduates in 1967 were A's, with C's running at 28.4 percent. Last spring [1999], 42.4 percent of the marks were A's, with only 15.9 percent C's.
* Undergraduate grades have also gone up at the University of Chicago, known for its intellectual rigor. Officials say systematic records haven't been kept, but separate studies there show that GPAs in lower-level courses were at 2.5 in 1964-65, while last year [1999] the GPA for all courses was 3.26.
* DePaul University declined to give grade figures, but a spokeswoman said they probably mirrored other schools' data.
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Another article states that A's and B's make up 80% of the grades given out at UIUC.
www.carnegiefoundation.org/perspectives/sub.asp?key=245&subkey=576
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What does all this mean? Well, for one, it's further proof that you're going to work hard for your grades at UIC. You will learn there. And, an 'A' at UIC means more than an 'A' at any other university in the state.
Where is grade inflation factored in in the USNEWS rankings? Is this not important? A university's integrity counts for nothing? When is UIC going to get the respect it deserves?
Funny how all of the highly reputable schools suffer from major grade inflation and then you have schools like UIC that are going to make you bust your hump to get an 'A'. Take pride in your school and in knowing that you made it through the toughest grading school in the state!
Let's look at some average GPAs from some Illinois schools over the years according to gradeinflation.com...
University of Chicago
1965: 2.50
1999: 3.26
Northwestern
1970: 2.97
1971: 3.01
1972: 3.05
1973: 3.13
1974: 3.10
1975: 3.09
1976: 3.04
1977: 3.00
1978: 3.03
1979: 3.04
1980: 3.02
1981: 3.04
1982: 3.03
1983: 3.04
1984: 3.05
1985: 3.05
1986: 3.05
1987: 3.09
1988: n.d.
1989: 3.12
1990: 3.17
1991: 3.20
1992: 3.21
1993: 3.23
1994: 3.23
1995: 3.25
1996: 3.27
1998: 3.32
1999: 3.35
2000: 3.35
2001: 3.38
2002: 3.35
2003: 3.35
2004: 3.36
2005: 3.39
2006: 3.37
2007: 3.40
2008: 3.41
SIU
1991: 2.88
1992: 2.87
1993: 2.87
1994: 2.88
1995: 2.90
1996: n.d.
1997: 2.98
1998: 3.03
1999: 3.03
2000: 3.06
2001: 3.08
2002: 3.07
2003: 3.07
2004: 3.06
2005: 3.06
2006: 3.07
UIUC
1967: 2.77
1999: 3.12
2002: 3.17
2005: 3.1943
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Like Harvard and many other Ivy League schools, U of I suffers from horrible grade inflation. “It’s notorious,” says a professor. “One introductory-level teacher was known for giving half the class As and the other half A-pluses. It’s a pact. Students don’t harass the professor and the professor gives them easy grades.” Of course, not all professors are willing to compromise, and lazy students sometimes get burned by taking a class from the “wrong” professor.
The university climate does not have a marked intellectual quality, and professors have noticed. “I have students who fall asleep or read the newspaper in my class,” says one professor. “A lot of them just don’t show up.” Other professors report students’ intellectual activity to be, well, largely inactive. “Most seem to be interested in graduating and instrumental learning that can aid their career,” says a professor. A colleague says, “Some students do get very involved, but I would say those are the exception, not the rule.” A student adds, “If you’re smart, that’s cool. But a lot of people just try to get by. They don’t want to put in the effort."
www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/2004/uofil-uc.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What about UIC you ask? "Average grades at the University of Illinois at Chicago have remained constant since 1973 at a C-plus/B- minus level."
Link
Granted the article's from 2000, but nevertheless, it shows UIC as the only "major" school in Illinois to not suffer from grade inflation. Other highlights from this article?
* Students at Northwestern University's College of Arts and Sciences can rejoice in the knowledge that almost half the grades will likely be A's. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, more than 40 percent of undergraduate grades are A's.
* At Loyola, the undergraduate grade point average has gone from 2.42 in 1964 to 2.77 in 1983 to slightly above 3.0 in 1999.
* At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 24 percent of the grades given to undergraduates in 1967 were A's, with C's running at 28.4 percent. Last spring [1999], 42.4 percent of the marks were A's, with only 15.9 percent C's.
* Undergraduate grades have also gone up at the University of Chicago, known for its intellectual rigor. Officials say systematic records haven't been kept, but separate studies there show that GPAs in lower-level courses were at 2.5 in 1964-65, while last year [1999] the GPA for all courses was 3.26.
* DePaul University declined to give grade figures, but a spokeswoman said they probably mirrored other schools' data.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another article states that A's and B's make up 80% of the grades given out at UIUC.
www.carnegiefoundation.org/perspectives/sub.asp?key=245&subkey=576
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What does all this mean? Well, for one, it's further proof that you're going to work hard for your grades at UIC. You will learn there. And, an 'A' at UIC means more than an 'A' at any other university in the state.
Where is grade inflation factored in in the USNEWS rankings? Is this not important? A university's integrity counts for nothing? When is UIC going to get the respect it deserves?
Funny how all of the highly reputable schools suffer from major grade inflation and then you have schools like UIC that are going to make you bust your hump to get an 'A'. Take pride in your school and in knowing that you made it through the toughest grading school in the state!
