A new proposal has been made to the Faculty Senate concerning midterm grades for all students.  

The proposal had three different options for midterm grades and was submitted at the beginning of the spring semester. It is currently in the Faculty Senate’s Academic Affairs Committee (AAC).  

Midterm grades for all students is a campaign goal of ASWSU President Riley Myklebust and Vice President Amanda Spalding. Currently only freshmen and first year transfer students receive midterm grades.  

“(The AAC has) actually been working with a representative from ASWSU … they’re discussing various options with the whole issue,” said Faculty Senate Chair David Turnbull.  

One option is to require midterm grades for all students, he said.  

“Right now with freshmen and transfer students we’re talking about five or six thousand students,” said Daniel Vickoren, the ASWSU Director of Academic Affairs and the representative working with the AAC. “If it expands to all students at one time, that’s about 20,000 students, that’s a big increase.”  

The idea with this option is all students can benefit from knowing where they are in class, he said. It will give the students the opportunity to adjust their study habits throughout the semester.  

The second option is to start midterm grades for a freshmen class and then carry over the requirement as they move through their college years, Turnbull said. 

An aspect of this option will be to issue midterm grades to all students who receive a C- or lower in class, Vickoren said.  

“Anybody who was basically in danger of possibly failing a class, they would also receive a midterm grade kind of as a warning shot,” he said. “Let them know, ‘hey you need to put more effort in.’”  

The third option is to give midterm grades out to only the students who request them, Turnbull said.  

“We spoke with some people from zzusis,” Vickoren said. “They said they think it’s possible for us to be able to go in and when you’re registering for your classes there will be an extra button next to each class and you could select which classes you wanted midterm grades for.” 

 The second and third options for the Faculty Senate are a middle ground that ASWSU is using to work with the staff, he said. They are both working together to find an option that will not cause a sudden increase in work for faculty members.  

“I know that I’ve talked to several faculty members who said that in their department they already do this kind of thing,” Turnbull said. “They give out midterms to all their students.” 

Turnbull said grades may not be available in classes that involve student’s majors rather than general education requirements.  

“This proposal is a significant step in fulfilling our campaign goal,” Myklebust said in an email to The Daily Evergreen. 

Academics are an essential part of the student college experience, he said. Since grades are so important, all students should have access to them.  

The Faculty Senate cannot discuss the proposal unless there is a specific motion on the floor, Turnbull said. This is the job of the Academic Affairs Committee and Vickoren.  

After the proposal is discussed, the faculty will vote on it during their following meeting, he said.  

Two years ago when midterm grades for all students were proposed to the Faculty Senate, it was turned down by the AAC, Vickoren said.  

“Riley and I are very focused on this proposal and will address alternative options for this goal if the proposal fails to make it through the Faculty Senate,” Spalding said in an email to The Daily Evergreen.