The faculty at the Haas School of Business developed a grading policy for all degree programs. The policy has three goals:
- To ensure that grading is fair and consistent across courses;
- To encourage students to take their coursework seriously; and
- To hold faculty accountable to the rigorous standards of the Haas School of Business.
All instructors are required to follow this grading policy.
Core Courses
Effective Fall 2012, the maximum mean GPA in any class section will be 3.45. The grade distribution is flexible as long as the mean does not exceed this cap.
Electives
For electives with enrollments of 18 or more students, the maximum mean GPA will be 3.50. The grade distribution is flexible as long as the mean does not exceed this cap.
Deviations for classes with fewer than 18 students must be approved in advance by the Dean’s Office. In the event of such an approved deviation from the policy, the mean GPA of any course should not exceed 3.65.
If you have questions about the Berkeley Haas grading policy, please refer to the FAQ’s listed below.
FAQs
1) Why does Berkeley Haas have a curve?
Berkeley Haas courses do not have a forced “curve.” There is a grading policy which requires that the mean GPA not exceed the stated caps above. In the past, grading curves were used in Berkeley Haas classes, as is the case across the campus and in large prerequisite courses. The variance of curves used in the Berkeley Haas classes and issues of grade inflation led the faculty to develop a recommended distribution for courses back in 2006, which had a mean GPA of about 3.00. Now, there is no longer a forced curve for Berkeley Haas courses. The grade distribution is flexible as long as the mean GPA does not exceed the cap.
2) Do other business schools use curves/mean GPA guidelines?
Most business schools (and other professional schools) have such policies. Berkeley Haas has a grading policy that is comparable to other peer top-tier business schools.
3) Is this a new policy? When did it begin?
Berkeley Haas has always had grading policies. However, they have been inconsistently used across various courses, including multiple sections of the same course. The new policy allows for consistency and enforcement school-wide. It also removes the forced grade curve and provides more flexibility in performance by class.
4) Who created the policy?
The Faculty Policy and Planning Committee (P2), which is an elected group of faculty responsible for long-range planning, proposed the policy at the request of faculty and students. The Proposal was adopted by the Faculty at the Faculty and Academic Planning (FAP) meeting on April 29, 2011. It was later amended on October 21, 2011 and May 3, 2013 for courses to move from a forced distribution to a maximum mean GPA of 3.45 and 3.50/3.65 for core and electives, respectively. This more closely reflects the historical mean for core and allows for evaluation based on the performance of the class.
5) What are the main reasons behind creating a policy?
- To establish clear and consistent academic standards within and across the undergraduate and graduate professional degree programs at Berkeley Haas
- To establish clear and consistent academic standards across multiple sections of the same course, particularly when sections are taught by different instructors
- To establish clear and consistent guidance on grading policy for ladder-rank and professional faculty teaching in Berkeley Haas undergraduate and graduate professional degree programs and to set expectations for students
- To encourage students to come to class, and to come to class prepared
- To be responsive to requests from student leadership for clear and consistent grading standards
- To enforce the existing grading policy in the undergraduate and full-time MBA programs
6) Is this a pilot?
No, it is a school-wide policy.
7) Are there any exceptions to the policy?
The policy states that faculty wishing to violate the grading policy must explain in writing why the course, and the distribution of students who are enrolled, warrant a deviation. Written approval from the Senior Assistant Dean for Instruction and Dean of the Haas School must be obtained to proceed with a different mean GPA for the class. In the event of such an approved deviation from the policy, the mean GPA of any course should not exceed 3.65.
8) Can it be overturned?
The policy was created and approved by faculty who are members of the Academic Senate. Therefore, any changes must be made by the same faculty governing body.
9) Why doesn’t the UG mean GPA match the MBA mean GPA?
The MBA students are generally more experienced, homogenous, and highly selective advanced degree-seeking students. It is expected that their performance would be higher than undergraduate courses that include non-business majors.
10) How is it implemented?
The Senior Assistant Dean for Instruction reports a list of violators, their courses and the complete grade distribution of their course to all Berkeley Haas instructors. Such violations are considered when making non-ladder faculty appointments or reappointments, and when discussing teaching in ladder faculty merit cases.
11) How have the faculty been advised of the policy?
The policy has been added to the Berkeley Haas bylaws and distributed to the faculty by the Dean’s Office. It has also been communicated to all professional faculty by the program offices and Senior Assistant Dean for Instruction.
12) Won’t this foster competition? Why should I work collaboratively in teams?
Competition and collaboration have always co-existed at Berkeley Haas, and there is no evidence that students will collaborate less in courses with the policy. In this case, the grading policy is based on the historical average so a significant shift in grades is not expected.
13) Are employers being notified?
Employers are very familiar with the rigorous nature of the Berkeley Haas curriculum. As many recruiters are Cal alums, many are aware that Berkeley Haas has had a recommended grade distribution.
14) Won’t this put me at a disadvantage when competing for jobs against other schools that don’t use curves?
Many of the top peer institutions also have similar grading policies. There is no data from the Career Center confirming that the number of students securing employment has decreased even with the previous recommended grade distribution.
15) How will you measure the intended positive effects of this policy?
By reviewing whether grading across programs is more uniform and consistent.
16) Why should I be at Berkeley Haas versus another program since the environment will be more competitive than usual?
It is understandable how perceived “new” policy can create anxiety, particularly for prospective Berkeley Haas students. The change in environment might be an issue of perception because the grading will not, in fact, significantly change. So with all things being relatively equal, Berkeley Haas will continue to provide benefits for students in a professional school setting and learning community.
17) Where should I go to express my concerns?
You can share your concerns with the VPs of Academics or you can contact the MBA Program Office.
Grades in the MBA program are based on the four-point system:
A = 4
B = 3
C = 2
D = 1
F = 0
For plus and minus grades add 0.3 or subtract 0.3, except A+ which maintains 4 on the scale.
A student may petition for a grade of Incomplete (“I”) in an instance when the student is unable to complete all of the requirements for a course due to circumstances beyond their control. It is the student’s responsibility to request the instructor’s permission to receive an Incomplete and develop an agreed-upon timeline to make up the missed work.
The student should also discuss their plans for satisfying all course and graduation requirements with their Academic Advisor to ensure all necessary administrative steps are completed for removing the Incomplete from the student’s transcript. After all required work is completed, the student must petition the instructor for a final grade.
All coursework must be graded, and all Incomplete grades removed by the last day of finals of the semester in which the student intends to graduate. Late coursework automatically postpones the conferral of the degree to the following semester.
C- is the lowest grade that is allowable to count a Haas core or elective letter-graded class toward your degree. If you receive a grade lower than C-:
- In any course, those course units will not count toward the 51 units required for graduation
- In a core course, you must repeat the course
- In an elective course, you may repeat the course, although it is not required
You may not repeat courses for credit in which you receive a grade of C- or higher.
If you repeat a course, your grade-point average (GPA) will be recalculated when the grade for the repeated course is posted to the official record.
In the spirit of being #StudentsAlways, the Program Office supports MBA students to take classes (MBA and non-MBA) that challenge their comfort zones while being cognizant that all letter grades impact overall cumulative GPA. The spirit of S/U grading is designed to give students the opportunity to take courses that might stretch them without the possibility of a negative GPA impact.
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) is the graduate equivalent of Pass/Fail. The lowest passing grade for an S/U course is the equivalent of a B-. Except for a few unique courses offered at Haas, most MBA courses must be taken for a letter grade to count towards the 51 units needed to graduate.
Because most MBA courses taken S/U do not count towards the 51 units needed to graduate, students who are considering taking an MBA course S/U should check in with an Academic Advisor to ensure they don’t need those course units to graduate.
After chatting with an Academic Advisor and deciding to change your grade to S/U, you can do so by following these instructions before the last day of class or before the final grade is known.
It should be noted that six units of upper division or graduate level non-MBA courses can be taken as S/U and still count towards graduation requirements once an S grade is achieved.