And judging from results, the finished product is worthless
/One explanation for the rise in student GPAs is grade inflation. Researchers from the Woodrow Wilson Institute told the Washington Post that while only 7% of college grades in 1969 were an A- or higher, 41% of college grades are an A- or higher in 2009. Similarly, the number of C- and below grades has dropped from 25% in 1969 to less than 5% in 2009. Overall, the average GPA increased from 2.52 in the 1950s to 3.11 in 2006. (RELATED: University Grading Based On Race, Not Merit)
Conversely, time spent by students studying for classes dropped precipitously in the second half of the twentieth century. While full-time college students studied on average 40 hours a week in 1961, they studied less than 27 hours a week in 2003, according to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research conducted in 2010. A survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average time students spent on class and studying had fallen to 17.5 hours per week by 2015.
Grade inflation benefits colleges and universities. The National Association of Colleges and Universities reported in a 2013 study that 66% of employers screened applicants by GPA, and 58% of employers noted that a GPA below 3.0 essentially eliminated a candidate’s chance of being hired. Students with higher GPAs get employed more often, and colleges look good when their graduates have high employment numbers.
Perhaps the next time someone suggests slashing UConn’s budget in half and eliminating what were once useful liberal arts, taxpayers will listen.
And here’s what the best and the brightest of those students are doing on their summer vacation (bonus: notice the use of “jazz hands”, rather than loud, triggering clapping)