WGA holds forum on GND
Bunmi Obiora, WG'07
Issue date: 11/13/06 Section: Insider
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On November 9, the WGA Executive Board held a session to address the issue of Grade Non Disclosure (GND) and the continued relevance of the policy to the Wharton MBA Community.
GND is the practice of not disclosing grades for individual courses or overall grade point average (GPA) to employers during the recruiting process for summer internships and full-time job offers. GND does not apply to Academic Honors and serves to facilitate a community of cooperation and support, emphasize learning as the prime directive of education, encourage extra-curricular growth and development and promote the use of recruiting criteria that go beyond grades. Legally, you own your grades, and will ultimately decide whether they are disclosed or not: there is no individual penalty either way.
The session was opened by WGA President Hassan El-Houry who emphasized empowerment through co-production. Hassan defined co-production as an interchange, a privilege that both enriches us and demands of us. This privilege allows the student body to formulate policies such as GND and task the WGA Executive Board with upholding the policy. Co-production demands this be a shared responsibility and it is expected that students take active steps to learn about GND and form their own opinions. Students have a responsibility to step up to the plate and take ownership of identified opportunities for improvement as this is how they empower Wharton, and are in turn empowered by Wharton.
Executive Vice President, Nisha Thomas described the evolution of GND and the factors leading to the decision of the last WGA Executive Council to hold a vote on GND. The vote in January had a participation rate of 80% and GND was approved by 90% of voters. The vote came just as the MBA administration was communicating a change in its position on GND. The faculty had determined that a perceived decrease in students' engagement with learning was as a result of the GND policy and that a requirement to disclose grades would increase the level of engagement. Nisha asserted that following the vote, the Executive Board has worked with the MBAPO to identify ways to address the issue of students' engagement. The WGA commitment to learning initiative was developed to tackle this issue.
GND is the practice of not disclosing grades for individual courses or overall grade point average (GPA) to employers during the recruiting process for summer internships and full-time job offers. GND does not apply to Academic Honors and serves to facilitate a community of cooperation and support, emphasize learning as the prime directive of education, encourage extra-curricular growth and development and promote the use of recruiting criteria that go beyond grades. Legally, you own your grades, and will ultimately decide whether they are disclosed or not: there is no individual penalty either way.
The session was opened by WGA President Hassan El-Houry who emphasized empowerment through co-production. Hassan defined co-production as an interchange, a privilege that both enriches us and demands of us. This privilege allows the student body to formulate policies such as GND and task the WGA Executive Board with upholding the policy. Co-production demands this be a shared responsibility and it is expected that students take active steps to learn about GND and form their own opinions. Students have a responsibility to step up to the plate and take ownership of identified opportunities for improvement as this is how they empower Wharton, and are in turn empowered by Wharton.
Executive Vice President, Nisha Thomas described the evolution of GND and the factors leading to the decision of the last WGA Executive Council to hold a vote on GND. The vote in January had a participation rate of 80% and GND was approved by 90% of voters. The vote came just as the MBA administration was communicating a change in its position on GND. The faculty had determined that a perceived decrease in students' engagement with learning was as a result of the GND policy and that a requirement to disclose grades would increase the level of engagement. Nisha asserted that following the vote, the Executive Board has worked with the MBAPO to identify ways to address the issue of students' engagement. The WGA commitment to learning initiative was developed to tackle this issue.
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