Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) Jay Hamilton highlighted concerns about current campus grading policies during the Faculty Senate meeting on Thursday. A representative from the “Promoting Academic Communities and Engagement” (PACE) project highlighted classroom attendance issues. Senators also remembered former faculty member Philip G. Zimbardo during a memorial resolution and passed a bylaw about remote proctoring during exams.
Hamilton, human biology professor Lianne Kurina, English professor Michele Elam and Associate Vice Provost for Education Cassandra Volpe Horii presented a report on “Critical Issues for Undergraduate Education.” They also offered suggestions for faculty to address what Hamilton described as issues in grading and classroom attendance.
Kurina, who gave the PACE presentation, explained that the project aims to “[address] the disconnect between instructors and students regarding expectations in the classroom.” The project was formed this fall in response to a decline in student participation and engagement with instructors, such as decreased student attendance at office hours.
Kurina outlined six strategies professors can use to help increase engagement in their classroom, emphasizing the importance of requiring attendance for undergraduate students.
“Students need to be in class to learn,” Kurina said. “What students don’t realize is it matters to other people that they are there.”
Some senators raised concerns regarding requiring attendance for student athletes, who may have away games, and students enrolling in classes with identical meeting times. These concerns did not lead to revisions in the suggestions, but indicated possible issues within the proposal.
Hamilton encouraged senators to consider the purpose of grades. He highlighted the use of grades as an “incentive to spend effort during a course” but also warned that they may prevent students from “exploring new fields or following curiosity due to GPA concerns.”
He claimed that grade inflation exists at Stanford among other elite institutions, and noted that it can pressure professors to grade a certain way to ensure students continue to enroll in their courses.
Civil and environmental engineering professor Stephen Monismith raised concerns regarding faculty members “trimming down the coursework to try and make it work” with students’ capability and willingness to complete coursework.
Hamilton responded by explaining that the reduction of coursework in classes can be seen across disciplines. He noted that required classes, such as COLLEGE 101 with large amounts of reading, push students to return to old classroom expectations.
Some faculty members also expressed support for moving the study list deadline to the end of week two as opposed to week three of each quarter.
The Faculty Senate also remembered Philip G. Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology who passed away at the age of 91 on Oct. 14, 2024. Zimbardo is most infamous for his 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment.
“Zimbardo, a true pioneer of the field of social psychology,” said professor emeritus of psychology Ewart A.C. Thomas, who introduced the presentation. Beyond the experiment, Zimbardo was recognized for his teaching through numerous awards and honors. He retired from teaching at Stanford in 2003.
The Senate also passed Bylaw 8754, which prohibits the remote proctoring of exams. This would include proctoring by software or humans via the internet unless in “accordance with [Board on Conduct Affairs (BCA)] guidance developed in consultation with learning technologies and spaces, the Office of General Counsel and other campus stakeholders.”