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academics, education, GPA, in the news

University of Michigan Won’t Count Freshman First-Semester Grades: What Parents Need to Know

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university of michigan freshman grades

If you are the parent of a high school student who has spent years working toward college admission, you’ve probably heard the message loud and clear: work hard, earn good grades, and your effort will pay off.

So what happens when a university tells students that their grades during the first semester won’t count toward their GPA and won’t appear as traditional letter grades on their transcripts?

That is exactly what the University of Michigan freshman grades policy will do.

Beginning in fall 2027, the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) will launch a first-semester “grade covering” pilot for incoming first-year students. Instead of having traditional letter grades appear on their transcripts, students will receive either a P (Pass) or NC (No Credit) for their first-semester courses. Their actual grades will still be assigned by professors, and students will receive feedback on their academic performance, but those grades will not be included in the student’s GPA or appear on the external transcript.

The university says the goal is to help freshmen adjust to college, reduce academic pressure and encourage students to explore subjects without worrying that one bad grade will permanently affect their academic record.

And I understand the reasoning.

The transition from high school to college can be brutal.

Students go from having parents, teachers and counselors reminding them about assignments and deadlines to suddenly being responsible for managing their own lives. They are juggling roommates, laundry, meals, social lives, jobs, activities and an entirely different level of academic independence.

But as a parent, I can’t help asking another question:

What happens to the student who actually wants to earn an A?

Continue reading University of Michigan Won’t Count Freshman First-Semester Grades: What Parents Need to Know →
college planning, social networks

Colleges and Pinterest

 

I’ve been out of the loop for more than a few months but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been listening to the buzz about Pinterest. I’ve stuck my feet in the water and have determined that it’s a visual social site. It’s all about the pictures and the action those pictures invoke, resulting in “pins” on boards. It’s an interesting concept that seems to have taken off and is boasting the title of “the fastest growing social media site”.

It’s no surprise that colleges have jumped on the bandwagon, posting pictures of their campuses to attract incoming students. However, collected data from comScore shows that the average 18-to-24 year old college student is not listed at the top of the list of visitors using Pinterest, falling behind the age group of 25-to-34 years. That hasn’t stopped colleges from getting on board and “pinning” everything from student activities to dorm room photos.

Here are just a few examples of some colleges who have taken the plunge:

The University of Washington’s Athletic Department has their own “Huskies” account, pinning everything from “The Best 4 Years of Your Life” to “Party Like a Husky” to “Huskies in Hollywood”.

Rutgers University has an account specifically directed to the interested applicants. Some of their boards include: Rutgers Traditions, Where “R” We?, Study Abroad and Notable Alumni.

 

University of South Carolina appears to be relatively new to Pinterest, but has started with pins related to their campus, sports activities and South Carolina events.

 

My personal favorite, however, was passed along to me by the parents of an incoming freshman to the University of Wisconsin. That college has set up a page for parents, perhaps the smartest use of Pinterest to date by a university, especially since a large number of Pinterest users are the parents (moms) of those college-bound teens.

 

If you’re interested, take a peek at these colleges and do your own search for the colleges that interest your student. Whether you like Pinterest or not, you have to give kudos to the colleges who are embracing this new technology. Only time will tell if it’s an effective tool to attract new students and/or inform parents.