Confused by wikipedia

[screwitlah]

<p>[Brown</a> University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_university]Brown”>Brown University - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>how does brown’s grading system work? I’m really confused by the following statement on the grading system (I’m an international)</p>

<p>

The Brown “New Curriculum,” instituted in 1969, eliminates distribution requirements and mandatory A/B/C grades (allowing any course to be taken on a “satisfactory/no credit” basis). Moreover, there are no pluses (+), minuses (-), or grades of D in the grading system.

</p>

<p>then later:</p>

<p>

Following a student rally in support of reform, President Ray Heffner appointed the Special Committee on Curricular Philosophy with the task of developing specific reforms. These reforms, known as the Maeder Report (after the chair of the committee), were then brought to the faculty for a vote. On May 7, 1969, following a marathon meeting with 260 professors present, the New Curriculum was passed. Its key features included the following:[16]</p>

<p>Modes of Thought courses aimed at first-year students
Interdisciplinary University courses
Students could elect to take any course Satisfactory/No Credit
Distribution requirements were dropped
The University simplified grades to ABC/No Credit, eliminating pluses, minuses and D’s. Furthermore, “No Credit” would not appear on external transcripts.

</p>

<p>if they allow "any course to be taken satisfactory/nocredit, then how could the University still simplify grades to ABC/No Credit? so which one is real - satisfactory/no credit, or ABC/no credit without pluses and minuses and Ds? do the two systems exist together, and how do they work together if so?</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

[tetrisfan]

<p>Yeah both systems exist together, and you rightly inferred that there are no +'s and -'s. However since I’m not a student, I really can’t shed some light on GPA calculation and such.</p>

[sly_vt]

<p>Students decide whether they want to receive a grade of ABC/NC or S/NC for each class they take. That decision is made early in the semester – something like 4 weeks in. So you can decide to take one class S/NC and the other 3 ABC/NC, – or all four S/NC, or two S/NC, etc. </p>

<p>Brown does not calculate GPA.</p>

<p>And Modes of Thought classes no longer exist.</p>

[modestmelody]

<p>Modes of Thought died a slow death and were gone basically by the 80s.</p>

<p>Any course you want can be taken for a grade:
A B C or NC</p>

<p>or pass/fail:
S or NC</p>

<p>That’s all there is to the grading system.</p>

[screwitlah]

<p>whoa, i see. that is cool! i think i’d enjoy myself. thanks :)</p>

[AVosMarques]

<p>Would you be able to tell me what a “Dist A” is? My daughter (a freshman) did not know.</p>

[Muffy333]

<p>I think it is an A “with distinction”</p>

[volleysnap]

<p>Do many students at Brown take classes S/NC? Students were allowed to take classes pass/fail at my high school, but i am not aware of anyone who actually did that EVER.</p>

[modestmelody]

<p>I’ve taken a pass/fail course pretty much every semester.</p>

<p>Many people I know take S/NC.</p>

[justbreathe]

<p>It’s pretty common. I haven’t elected to take any S/NC yet(the one class I considered it with, I ended up getting an A in anyway, so hoorah), but I might eventually.</p>