Why Colleges Shower Their Students With As By Brent Staples Summary

In the article “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with As,” Brent Staples explains why colleges give out excellent grades to students that have not earned them. The author gives examples of university issues, reasoning for inflation from a student and professor standpoint, and then suggests a reasonable solution to the grade point average boosting. Staples succeeds at fearing the reader that the system will not change and higher education will become devalued.

Staples starts by explaining what goes on in universities that creates conflict. Criticizing universities for their “consumer conscious administration hounding professors to inflate grades”, the author gives a preview of the deeper issues involving higher authorities around the country (1065). Universities have a lot of pressure between each other academically, and Staples frowns upon the standards colleges have decreased to welcome more students. Also, tuition, “which now exceeds $120,000”, is a major influence that creates major university profit (1066). The author shows disappointment in universities’ leaders because, by lowering academic standards and increasing student grades for profit, they reflect the educational attitudes of their students.

Staples critically describes that students deserve the grades because of high debt resulting in students “treating grades as a matter of life and death” (1066-1067). Students think that they are required to get high grades because it’s getting their “money’s worth,” but Staples examines they deserve a grade based on preparation of the student (1067). In most universities Staples critiques, “consumer appetite for less rigorous education” exemplifies students want less work for the same diploma. Brent Staples believes students make excuses to work less and make higher grades