The University of British Columbia Department of Psychology currently has a scaling policy in which courses are scaled to an average of 63-67%, with a standard deviation of approximately 14%. Students pursuing Psychology in the Faculty of Arts as well as students pursuing Behavioural Neuroscience in the Faculty of Science are all currently subjected to this scale.
As of Summer 2017, UBC will now grant a 'BSc Specialization in Behavioural Neuroscience' as opposed to the previous 'BSc Specialization in Psychology'.By this, the university is acknowledging the difference between the Psychology programs in the Faculty of Science compared to the Faculty of Arts. The policies that follow along with this change should also be remodelled.
We believe students in the Behavioural Neuroscience program at UBC should not be scaled in accordance with this policy. The program is relatively small at UBC, with a total of approximately 130 students each year. In contrast, the Psychology program in the Faculty of Arts is one of the largest programs at UBC with a total of approximately 1800 students each year. With the drastic difference in spots available between faculties, admission to the Behavioural Neuroscience program is already highly competitive.
The Department of Psychology at UBC has specifically put the scaling policy in place to "reduce grade inflation and maintain equity across course sections". Since there is only one section of approximately 40 students in each Behavioural Neuroscience-specific course, the purpose of this policy does not apply. Furthermore, no other program in the Faculty of Science applies the same scaling policy; comparing students within different Majors in the Faculty of Science is not possible.
Comparing one specific cohort of science students using a policy designed for the large group and broad range of students from the Psychology program in the Faculty of Arts is inequitable.
Updates
March 14, 2017
Seeing this much momentum behind our demand for policy reform is exhausting but necessary. This movement is proving that we are not alone in questioning why these outdated metrics still govern our academic lives.
Reached 100 supporters
March 14, 2017
16 Comments
I am in behavioural neuroscience and I work very hard in class so i find the scaling very unfair.
Unless all other majors in the Faculty of Science are subjected to the same scaling criteria I see no reason as to why the UBC BNS program should be included.
I fully support this student initiative to eliminate scaling policy for grades within the BSc Specialization in Behavioral Neuroscience -- a policy that in my opinion hinders learning tremendously and obviates the educational goals of the program.
It is unfair to have only one science major use a strict scaling policy. This hinders our chance at admisions into grad school and other faculties which consider grade point average.
Marks in UBC science courses are already hard enough to come by. Why lower a grade from the one actually earned and artificially impair a student's chances at grad schools?
scaling isn’t right or fair, everyone should be given a fair chance at getting proper grades
ban scaling or up to 75 kek
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The University of British Columbia Department of Psychology currently has a scaling policy in which courses are scaled to an average of 63-67%, with a standard deviation of approximately 14%. Students pursuing Psychology in the Faculty of Arts as well as students pursuing Behavioural Neuroscience in the Faculty of Science are all currently subjected to this scale.
As of Summer 2017, UBC will now grant a 'BSc Specialization in Behavioural Neuroscience' as opposed to the previous 'BSc Specialization in Psychology'.By this, the university is acknowledging the difference between the Psychology programs in the Faculty of Science compared to the Faculty of Arts. The policies that follow along with this change should also be remodelled.
We believe students in the Behavioural Neuroscience program at UBC should not be scaled in accordance with this policy. The program is relatively small at UBC, with a total of approximately 130 students each year. In contrast, the Psychology program in the Faculty of Arts is one of the largest programs at UBC with a total of approximately 1800 students each year. With the drastic difference in spots available between faculties, admission to the Behavioural Neuroscience program is already highly competitive.
The Department of Psychology at UBC has specifically put the scaling policy in place to "reduce grade inflation and maintain equity across course sections". Since there is only one section of approximately 40 students in each Behavioural Neuroscience-specific course, the purpose of this policy does not apply. Furthermore, no other program in the Faculty of Science applies the same scaling policy; comparing students within different Majors in the Faculty of Science is not possible.
Comparing one specific cohort of science students using a policy designed for the large group and broad range of students from the Psychology program in the Faculty of Arts is inequitable.
Updates
March 14, 2017
Seeing this much momentum behind our demand for policy reform is exhausting but necessary. This movement is proving that we are not alone in questioning why these outdated metrics still govern our academic lives.
Reached 100 supporters
March 14, 2017
16 Comments
The scaling is very unfair for BNS students as the course designs and contents are way harder than other art psychology courses. Scaling our grade down according to Arts courses is absolutely disrespectful to our hardworking and passion.
I am in behavioural neuroscience and I work very hard in class so i find the scaling very unfair.
Unless all other majors in the Faculty of Science are subjected to the same scaling criteria I see no reason as to why the UBC BNS program should be included.
I fully support this student initiative to eliminate scaling policy for grades within the BSc Specialization in Behavioral Neuroscience -- a policy that in my opinion hinders learning tremendously and obviates the educational goals of the program.
It is unfair to have only one science major use a strict scaling policy. This hinders our chance at admisions into grad school and other faculties which consider grade point average.
Marks in UBC science courses are already hard enough to come by. Why lower a grade from the one actually earned and artificially impair a student's chances at grad schools?
scaling isn’t right or fair, everyone should be given a fair chance at getting proper grades
ban scaling or up to 75 kek
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The scaling is very unfair for BNS students as the course designs and contents are way harder than other art psychology courses. Scaling our grade down according to Arts courses is absolutely disrespectful to our hardworking and passion.