GPA Inequity

I have long thought that the GPA system at Mizzou is unfair to the highest achieving students. I finally decided to do something about it, so I emailed three of my professors and the MU Chancellor. Here was my letter to the Chancellor:


Hi,

I am a sophomore Finance major here at Mizzou. I am writing to you because I believe the GPA system is an inequitable system that hurts the highest achieving university students. My problem with Mizzou's GPA system is that A- grades are given a lower than 4.0 score whereas A+ grades provide no benefit. Any student who receives a B-, C-, or D- can make up those grades with a B+, C+, or D+ because those three "plus" grades are given extra weight in the GPA system. When I was a freshman, I earned an A+ in a five credit hour Spanish course. However, I received only equal weight on my GPA as any student who earned a flat A. Yet, when I earned an A- the next semester in multiple courses, my GPA irrevocably dropped below a 4.0. That simply is not a just representation of my academic success. If I can be docked GPA points for an A-, then I should be given more than a 4.0 for an A+. However, I am sure that the university does not want to inflate scores above a four point scale, so I propose that the university change the weight of an A- to simply 4.0. Essentially, the current system promotes underachieving because students have no incentive to achieve maximum success. After all, reaching great success of an A ultimately provides the same reward as maximum success of an A+. Educational systems should provide incentives to promote academic success instead of inhibiting it. If this is ever changed, it would be great if Mizzou retroactively boosted all current students' GPAs according to the new standard.

I hope you thoughtfully consider this change,
Michael Alexander


My first two replies from professors were, "I already stated in the syllabus how I'm grading. It is not going to change." Hopefully I get a different response from the Chancellor or my other professor. I'll keep you updated on it.