Allyson Vena

Louisville, Kentucky

Junior

For starters, whether it may be a 90% or a 100%, an A is an A. If you object to this being the case you are probably not a current student of WKU. The proposed thought of the plus/minus system is supposedly geared towards increasing student effort. What? We’re not giving enough effort as is? Please. There are plenty students who give more than enough effort and still can’t quite reach the 100% level. Think of the students who use their time getting involved to help out the University, think of the students who join as much as possible because they are told it will help them out in the future, think of the students who must work two jobs just so they can pay for books, tuition and clubs they desire to join, and think of the students who participate athletically so they can represent Western proudly. College is about time management and experience. Employers will not be looking at fractions of grades when looking for a deciding factor to hire one person over the next. Most employers look for a well rounded worker who fits the position at hand. An interviewee with a B, amazing qualities and lots of involvement is more likely to get the job rather than another interviewee who has no personal skills and not one ounce of involvement, but has a “plus” sitting next to his or her B. The plus/minus system is elementary. The plus/minus system is a way to show a second grader how to strive to do their best while learning that education is important. We came to college because we knew that education is extremely important in todays society. That’s why were here! Data supposedly shows that the plus/minus system will not cause GPA’s to drastically change. For a student who works exceptionally hard to keep their KEYS money coming in every semester, every little .2 matters. Students depend on that extra incentive. They worked hard for it in high school and now they are going to have to watch an A- take it away. No, they won’t. An A- is still worth the full four points and whoever wants to say that it should only be worth 3.7 is kidding themself. The plus/minus system is going to take away from the hard work that students put out each and every day here at Western.