A Fringe Benefit in Grades

THE relatively obscure faculty citation for outstanding academic achievement seems to have received a significant boost from discussion of the grading system which took place this winter. The Committee on Educational Policy had recommended adoption of a grading plan based on ranks of honors, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory, and had called for increased use of the citation as a means of further defining levels of individual performance.

For whatever reason, both upperclass and freshman citations, whose number had been declining slightly over the past three years, more than doubled for the winter term this year. The freshman total jumped from only 17 in the fall to 43 in the winter, while upperclass recognition rose from 75 citations in the fall to 144 for the winter.

Dean of the Faculty Leonard Rieser could not account for the change but explained that the discussions "have made us realize that we grade rather severely and that citations are an opportunity to give the student more extensive recognition of unusual achievement than would otherwise be possible." Meanwhile, a decision on the proposed grading changes is expected early in May.

In his January address to the Alumni Council, President Dickey pointed to citations as one proof of the concern that the best of the faculty teacher-scholars have for undergraduates as individuals, and a quick scan of the citations from any one term shows that the largest number of such awards do come from the higher-ranking faculty.

A number of the largest introductory courses regularly cite their first four finishers, and occasionally an instructor will cite a student for outstanding improvement even though he may not be giving the man an A in the course. But most citations praise individual pieces of scholarly work done within the framework of the course, or they serve to mark unusual all-around brilliance. Professor John Wolfenden recently remarked about a certain junior that "Although his home is on the College records as Wilmington, Del., [Smith] is intellectually from Missouri and his skeptical interrogations of the instructor made a solid contribution to the course as a whole."

The citation may also recognize significant accomplishment outside the classroom, such as assistance on research projects. Professor John Kemeny last August cited a junior and a senior for helping to design the time-sharing system for the College's new computer facilities. He wrote: "They have made a large contribution to teaching and research at Dartmouth College and many hundreds of faculty and students will profit from their work."

Three government professors cited a senior this fall, "for his maturity and skill in dealing with people," while assisting them in a survey of Congressional attitudes. Their three-paragraph letter explained that "we have been so struck by [Jim's] qualities that we wanted to contribute some special item to his permanent record.... We hope this will help to convey something of his talents and character."

Not only is the citation useful and effective for the student as a powerful faculty recommendation, but perhaps more importantly, it shows a quality of mutual respect developing in the classroom here that will not be readily found elsewhere at the undergraduate level. More important than the generosity of the gesture is the atmosphere that makes it possible, wherein a faculty member can come to know a man well enough to want to go beyond the grading system on his behalf. In short, the citation represents the best that Dartmouth promotes in the teacher-pupil relationship.