Step up your academic game 70 ee cent, the standard at other institutions—think about it.

post-secondary. It doesn’t make sense to simply try and scrape by. Why not give it 100 per cent? In the end, it will pay off. Whether you’re looking to transfer to university or get a job, grades will play

a role. Although not all, some employers look at grade point averages and pick only

Trevor Doré opinions editor

his semester is probably like any from the elite. When you don’t get the job other in which you start out by because your grades weren’t good enough, telling yourself that you are going it’s going to hurt looking back, thinking you to push yourself harder and achieve those could have done so much better. grades. You told yourself the same thing at We attend post-secondary to hopefully the beginning of last semester and it never acquire knowledge and skills that will

really materialized. More important things help us in our future careers but also in got in the way, life happened. While some life. If you don’t get the job or your grades of us shoot for straight As, others aimtodo _ never factor in, at least you can look back

the least amount of work possible in order knowing that you gave it your all and in to achieve a passing grade. turn acquired a superior education. Throughout high school and into post Stop aiming for a measly 50 per cent

secondary, 50 per cent is the cut off, the line —_and give it a shot. Earn it—you deserve it. between a glorious pass and an inglorious

“If you are planning to hold a professional career at some point in time in your life, don’t you think it’s worthwhile to shoot for higher than a 50 per cent? Just imagine if doctors shot for 50 per cent competence.”

fail. Many institutions use the 50 per cent mark as the lowest acceptable percentage required to advance to the next level.

There are, however, some institutions who have upped the ante. In order to advance within these institutions, each student must attain a minimum grade of 70 per cent. Now, the same student who was aiming to do the minimum amount of work has to put in an extra 20 per cent. For some, this may sound dreadful; I personally think it’s a good idea. 70 should be made the pass percentage at all academic institutions.

When you break it down it only make sense. A final grade of 50 per cent indicates that at best you are comfortable with half of the material covered throughout the course. I say “at best” because many students get away with lucky guesses and bullshit on examinations. Now some may argue that 50 per cent competence is acceptable in some subjects but aside from the fact that I don’t want to offend anyone, I honestly don’t think this is the case.

If you are planning to hold a professional career at some point in time in your life, which is assumed by the fact that you are attending post secondary, don’t you think it’s worthwhile to shoot for higher than a 50 per cent? Just imagine if doctors shot for 50 per cent competence. Example: halfway through an operation the doctor stops; “Umm... sorry, I slept through that lecture,” or, “I didn’t read that chapter.” Now, obviously this is an extreme example

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and there are measures in place to prevent

this from ever happening but it’s worth Fuming? Nodding? Tell us what you think;

considering. contact opinions@theotherpress.ca with your You pay hundreds of dollars to attend opinions about this or any other article

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