Laude Inflation?

Last winter the faculty changed the criteria for calculating the cutoff grade-point averages for the laude honors. Effective immediately a three-year (rather than a one-year) average will determine academic honors. As a result, the GPA cutoffs given for students graduating in June 1998 were lowered. The new cutoffs are as follows:

Summa cum laude: 3.82 and above

Magna cum laude: 3.67 to 3.81

cum laude: 3.47 to 3.66