Senate Bill 12-13-03
| Bill ID: | 12-13-03 |
| Name: | Calculation of Commencement Honors |
| Proposed: | 05/14/2012 |
| Sponsor: | Benjamin Kurtz |
| Proposal: | My area of concern is the manor for which final class ranking are computed . First I must state, I understand as to why final semester grades are not used to compute honors as per graduation ceremonies; but I don't believe this reasoning should justify why true class rankings can't be computed for printed diploma. Specifically, I believe there to be an intrinsic value as to having cum laude printed on a diploma. I believe that once printed on the diploma, issued by the University, that finality has occurred and it is implied by any and all looking at the diploma, that the individual has indeed graduated in the top ten percent of his or her college. It is not assumed by future employers or graduate programs that this implies that said individual was in the top ten percent of his or her class up and until his or her last semester. In furtherance, I believe a potential graduate has a "Property" interest in their diploma and thus should have adequate due process in challenging their ultimate final position within their class. My proposed remedy is neither overly burdensome or costly; I would suggest that after all grades are posted for the final semester( for which the college must wait in order to issue diploma) that a re-calculation of final class standings is done, and diploma's are printed and awarded accordingly. It is inherently unfair that a student could potentially graduate with a higher GPA than a fellow student, and yet the aforementioned may not have cum laude printed on his/her diploma while the other would. |
| Active? | No |
| Policy: | http://www.umd.edu/catalog/index.cfm/show/content.section/c/27/ss/1584/s/1544 |
Status
| Status: | Completed |
| Completed On: | 04/15/2013 |
History
| Status: | Complete |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate |
| Received: | 2013-03-28 |
| Decision Date: | 2013-04-04 |
| Decision: | The Senate voted in favor of the report. |
| Next Step: | Presidential Approval |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2013-03-06 |
| Decision Date: | 2013-03-13 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to place the item on the April 4th Senate agenda. |
| Actions: | The SEC reviewed the APAS Committee's report and recommendations at its meeting on March 13, 2013. |
| Next Step: | Senate Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Academic Procedures & Standards (APAS) Committee |
| Received: | 2012-09-10 |
| Decision Date: | 2013-02-22 |
| Decision: | To revise the Undergraduate Catalog to reflect a new process for calculating Latin honors. |
| Actions: | The APAS Committee discussed this charge at its first meeting on September 17, 2012. The committee consulted with the Dean for Undergraduate Studies at the September meeting. The committee sent an inquiry regarding commencement honors data to the Office of the Registrar. The committee reviewed the data at its meeting on October 5, 2012. The committee continued to discuss this topic at its meetings in November and December 2012. The APAS Committee sent draft recommendations to the Office of the Registrar for review and comment in January 2013. The APAS Committee met with the Registrar at its meeting on February 22, 2013. At its meeting on February 22, 2013, the committee voted unanimously in favor of recommending that the Undergraduate Catalog be revised to reflect a new process for calculating Latin honors. They outlined the new process in a report for Senate consideration. |
| Next Step: | SEC Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2012-08-22 |
| Decision Date: | 2012-08-29 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to charge the APAS Committee with reviewing the proposal. |
| Next Step: | APAS Committee Review |
| Related Files: |