The optional plus/minus grading system is under review by a University committee and could become mandatory in the future.
The Student Faculty Policy Committee is looking into possibly revising the three-year-old system. The committee will make their recommendations to the Academic Senate in the fall.
"The main issue is whether or not the system works best if you allow plus/minus grading to remain optional," said committee member Jerry Kingston, an economics professor.
The plus/minus system - first used in fall 2004 - adds an A+, A-, B+, B- and C+ to the previous letter grading scale.
ASU originally began the plus/minus system to keep students competitive with those at other universities using the system.
Faculty members are allowed to decide which grading system to use because the instructor knows what will best reflect student performance, according to an Academic Senate implementation team report.
Some students like art sophomore Jennifer Broderick said the University should move to a consistent grading system, whether it is plus/minus or a standard scale.
"It should be consistent across the board," Broderick said. "Not [the current system where] some classes have it and some don't. That is ridiculous."
Beth Miller, who graduated from ASU in 2006, said she didn't like the inconsistency because instructors did not always make it clear which system they were using.
"Many times we were not informed that the professor was using the system until after we had been graded," she said. "Usually this resulted in lower grades."
Multiple grading systems also creates a problem when comparing transcripts to determine things like which students should receive academic awards or get into graduate school, Kingston said.
Two students taking the same course could each earn a 98 percent, but if one is in a plus/minus class and the other isn't, transcripts would show the plus/minus student with an A+ and the other with just an A.
Transcripts do not currently disclose whether a class uses a plus/minus or the standard system, Kingston said.
Kingston said he does not use plus/minus grading in his classes because of the additional work in calculating grades.
"It's just not an effective use of my time," he said. "And I don't want to have to tell a student that they missed an A+ by one point."
But regardless of whether plus/minus becomes mandatory, there is no significant movement to change the system itself, Kingston said.
The committee surveyed students about the plus/minus system earlier this year, and while the official findings have not yet been presented to the Academic Senate, Kingston said the consensus was positive.
"There does not appear to be a groundswell of support that suggests students want to change the system," he said.
Journalism sophomore Jillian Sloan said she likes the plus/minus system because it reinforces the hard work she has put into a class.
"There's a difference between a 91 and 98 [percent]," she said.
Kingston expects the faculty survey results will be available this summer and the committee will make its recommendations in the fall, although he said the official agenda is coordinated by chair Rojann Alpers, who could not be reached for comment.
Reach the reporter at: steven.bohner@asu.edu.
