Did you know Northeastern’s GPA requirement to graduate with Latin honors rose at the beginning of the year?
If not, you are far from alone. As The News reported in January, the policy change – raising the standard for cum laude from 3.25 to 3.5, magna cum laude from 3.5 to 3.7 and summa cum laude from 3.75 to 3.85 – took many students by surprise, even though it was approved by the Faculty Senate in 2010. Since The News publicized the policy change, it has become clear that shockingly few graduating seniors were aware that their GPAs may no longer make the cut to graduate with honors.
The administration has retorted that the policy change has in fact been publicized. This is true; administrators communicated the shift three years straight – in the university’s Undergraduate Catalog.
The Undergraduate Catalog is a relic of the pre-Internet days at the university. Its main purpose is to list all the courses offered by the university. In the modern era, however, all this information can be easily found online through Banner. There is an online version of the catalog, but modern practices give students little reason to go browsing through it.
The university’s attempt to communicate the policy change has been pitiful. Students should not be expected to read through the catalog for the off chance there might be a substantial policy change buried within its 716 pages.
Generally the school is quite good at communicating with its students. When classes are canceled students get alerts immediately to their phones and email. The school’s public relations arm, “news @ Northeastern,” provides thorough coverage of all goings on at the school from sporting events to the latest work from faculty members. To the ire of many, Husky email accounts are flooded with dozens of messages from the school weekly about anything and everything.
But no one bothered to mention some students who thought they would be graduating cum laude were woefully mistaken.
In the past few weeks, disgruntled seniors have begun to organize to save their honors. Student leaders have led efforts to persuade the Faculty Senate to revisit the change. Faculty Senate President Richard Daynard said he has been inundated with emails from concerned students urging the body to reconsider.
The Senate was well within its right to raise the requirements for Latin honors. Northeastern’s previous criteria were less stringent than those of comparable universities. According to Senate minutes, 54 percent of students graduated with honors in 2009. It makes no sense for students who are below average, as were four percent of students in this case, to receive honors. Under the new policy only an estimated third of students would graduate honors. The intention of the change is understandable and agreeable.
Unfortunately, because the university failed to communicate the policy change to its student body, it would be unjust let the change stand for the time being. In a just society, the addressee of a policy has a right to be informed of the effects the policy will have on him or her.
The Faculty Senate agreed to take the issue up again Wednesday, Daynard said. It should amend the new Latin honors policy so it applies to students matriculating in 2014, who should then be actively informed of the requirements.
