The Nov. 19 Daily Forty-Niner carried a column by Melissa Torres complaining about pre-baccalaureate mathematics courses. There is one specific matter of fact in her column that should be addressed.
She repeatedly wrote about the prospect that failing this class would “ruin” her GPA and she stated that she withdrew because she preferred a “W” to an “F.” However, all pre-baccalaureate classes (in math and English both) are officially graded on a CR/NC basis, and those grades have no effect on GPA whatsoever.
It is true that a student has a limited amount of time to complete such courses and a “W” delays that completion just as surely as an “NC” would. As a matter of advice, no student should (under ordinary circumstances) ever withdraw from any pre-baccalaureate course, because there is no functional difference between a grade of “W” and a grade of “NC” in terms of the student’s progress toward a degree.
– Kent Merryfield undergraduate associate chairman of the department of mathematics and statistics
