Dean’s list controversy triggers investigation

Faculty Senate to make recommendation on dean’s list standards

After controversy among students and faculty regarding St. Bonaventure’s dean’s list standards, the Faculty Senate has taken up the issue.
Dr. Pauline Hoffmann, associate professor in the Jandoli School of Communication, and Carole McNall, assistant professor of journalism in the Jandoli School, submitted a request to the Faculty Senate for discussion surrounding dean’s list standards.
Hoffmann said that she and McNall submitted a request because Dr. Denny Wilkins, professor of journalism, brought it to their attention.
“I have watched the undergraduate GPA climb for 23 years,” said Wilkins.
Wilkins said that when he began teaching at Bonaventure, the average undergraduate GPA fell between a 2.8 and a 2.9.
Director of Institutional Research Ann Lehman previously declined to comment on last semester’s average undergraduate GPA at Bonaventure.
Dr. Dennis DePerro, university president, said at a faculty town hall meeting that the average undergraduate GPA for the fall 2018 semester was a 3.1, as per Dr. Stephanie Vogel, associate professor of psychology.
Vogel said she hopes the university will continue to be more transparent about similar data points.
As the average undergraduate GPA continues to increase, so will the number of students on the dean’s list.
Wilkins said he sees the high saturation of students on the dean’s list as an issue.
“When you have… half of our undergraduates on the dean’s list, it seems that the dean’s list is common, rather than rare and cherished,” said Wilkins.
“People are starting to notice that this might be a problem, so the fact that it’s becoming a bigger issue and [the university] is taking charge of it is a good thing,” said Jamie Bjarnar, a freshman undeclared liberal arts major.
After brief discussion around the issue in last Friday’s Faculty Senate meeting, the issue was directed to the Academic Standards Committee.
Chair of that committee, Dr. Althea Kaminske, said that she and her committee will investigate the issue and formulate an official recommendation to submit to the Faculty Senate.
Kaminske said that her committee is representative of much of the university’s faculty, as it includes members from the Jandoli school, the school of business and the school of arts and sciences.
“I think it’s exciting that students can apply pressure—positive pressure, in my opinion—to the university, and they actually will do something about it,” said Jeremy Castro, a sophomore journalism major.
Students and faculty alike are curious to see the outcome of the committee’s investigation.
Kaminske said the investigation she will conduct is intriguing to her.
Bjarnar said that he believes the Faculty Senate should raise the dean’s list cut-off. He said that he thinks students will be inclined to work harder if the standards are raised.
“Raise [the cut-off] … Right now, I think it’s too common. It should be aspirational, it should require more than being average, because being average right now is 3.1. That’s very close to the dean’s list,” advised Wilkins.
Vogel said she believes the committee should take other local schools’ dean’s list standards into consideration when looking into Bonaventure’s.
Once the committee has formulated a recommendation, the Faculty Senate members will vote on the matter.
“Generally speaking, [McNall] and I will talk ahead of time and, because we represent the J-school in the Senate, we’ll ask folks what they think,” said Hoffmann. “We have a pretty good idea that folks here would be in favor of increasing [the cut-off].”
The Academic Standards Committee will convene after spring break to begin its investigation.
“I’m hoping we can come back with some sort of answer or recommendation by the end of this semester,” said Kaminske.