Word: hpc
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...pass-fail system can be easily exploited, but the HPC has eliminated most of the possible abuses. They have asked that each student indicate on his study card which is to be his fifth course; he could not drop the course after November 1 and would have until reading period to decide whether his fifth course was to be graded pass-fail or A-B-C-D-E-. These stipulations are clearly necessary; if a student were able to change an ungraded course, that would be like being able to turn in a hand of cards if he didn...
...HPC's only lapse was neglecting to set a limit on the number of pass-fail, free fifth courses a student could elect during his four years, although such a limit would seem advisable, for a couple of reasons...
...offering a fifth course to every student every term would raise the cost of Harvard education substantially, strain existing classroom facilities, and require extra teaching fellows and graders. The Faculty may feel, quite justifiably, that burdensome extra expenses would make the HPC's proposals unfeasible...
Despite these obvious drawbacks to the HPC's recommendations, the Faculty ought to consider them carefully. The remaining flaws in the proposals can easily be written out, although the HPC itself has eliminated nearly all possible abuses; the Faculty would need only set limits to the number of free courses a student can elect...
Dean Monro, who sat in on the HPC's discussions of these resolutions, has said the Faculty is interested in a pass-fail system of grading. They will withhold decision, however, until they have studied similar experiments undertaken this year at Princeton and Brown. But there can be little doubt that pass-fail grading, in some form, ought to be attempted here. Harvard students should not have to be so committed to concentrations that they cannot afford to take a chance. Gambling could prove to be the best kind of General Education...