Wall Street Journal publishes op-ed titled ‘Coddle U.’
The University of Michigan’s decision to keep letter grades off the transcripts of some first-year students — and off their grade point averages — continues to draw national attention weeks after the policy was first made public.
Critics have accused the Ann Arbor school of shielding students from reality, warning the move could backfire, according to reporting by Bridge Michigan distributed by the Associated Press. The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed titled “Coddle U.”
University administrators say the change is intended to ease the transition into college. U-M said the policy is designed to “foster an environment where college students can acclimate to the demands of a University of Michigan education and pursue new academic challenges.” Under the plan, participating students will still see the letter grade they earn in each class; those grades will not appear on transcripts or count toward their GPAs.
On the Ann Arbor campus, students have responded with cautious optimism. According to reporting by Bridge Michigan’s Isabel Lohman, students generally agreed that transitioning to college can be hard. They were less certain, however, about whether “pass” and “no credit” should replace traditional letter grades on their transcripts.