Wharton Journal

Issue date: 1/22/07 Section: News

A year after the student body voted for the student Grade Non-Disclosure policy, support remains high, higher even then at the time of last year's vote. With a 94% approval rating and 84% participation, the recent vote clearly demonstrates that first and second year students alike continue to stand strongly behind the policy.

The original policy was adopted by referendum on January 26th, 1994. Shortly before the referendum, a member of the class of 1994 explained, "grades are even more of a random walk than before. The team environment suffers." Others echoed her sentiment and added that the pre-referendum policy prevented participation in extra-curricular activities.

The 2006 vote and policy revision were sparked by the administration's announcement of their four part plan designed to improve the academic environment at the school. The most controversial part of the plan was the MBA Executive Committee's proposal to explicitly endorse the private-property status of student grades and to state that grade disclosure is "voluntary and permissible as far as Wharton is concerned."

According to Professor George, the main rationale was to protect students from "coercion" that would prevent students from their right to utilize their grades as signaling devices just as students currently do with achievement in extracurricular activities.

The results of last week's poll, which allowed students to freely vote for or against the policy without their peers knowing how they cast their vote, suggests that student backing of the policy stems not from coercion but from students' desire to preserve the policy and the culture and learning environment which go along with it.

As a student policy, the strength of GND rests on student solidarity. This year, the student body reaffirmed its collective will to uphold this policy and take an active role in shaping the Wharton MBA experience.

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