Campus needs to hold its students to a higher standard
In my two-year search for a university that could make me feel at home while all the same pushing me to be my finest person, I settled upon St. Bonaventure because of the SBU bowls served in the Hickey Dining Hall, the small intimate campus and the mission statement saying the university will “strive to help them reach their full potential.”
Under the current standards required to reach the dean’s list, students are being a given a false feeling of success when they achieve these benchmarks, stripping students of reaching their fullest potential, and there is no explanation as to why.
In the Feb. 15 issue of The Bona Venture, Meghan Hall wrote a piece detailing the statistics behind making the dean’s list. In the article, it was declared that 52 percent of students made the dean’s list in the 2018 fall semester at St. Bonaventure. The dean’s list was originally created and placed in universities across the country with hopes of honoring the top 10 percent of students. The dean’s list still honors this standard for schools across the nation.
In order to reach the dean’s desk at St. Bonaventure and become a part of the prized dean’s list, a student must achieve a 3.25 grade point average. At an Ivy League university, such as Harvard, students must achieve a 3.5 or higher in order to be on the dean’s list. At Cornell University, the standard increases gradually as the years of an undergraduate degree go on, beginning at 3.3 as a freshman and increasing to a standard of 3.6 as a senior.
Despite hyper-competitive classes at Harvard and Cornell, the university officials still hold their students to a higher GPA standard than St. Bonaventure University, leaving questions to why we hold our students to this standard. However, when asked about last semester’s average GPA and dean’s list, Ann Lehman, director of institutional research, would not comment.
It is not just me that is asking for change. In Hall’s article, she quoted freshman biochemistry major Mary Esposito saying, “I think the standards should be held a bit higher,” followed by freshman accounting major Kevin Balkin saying, “I think it might be a little too easy to get that honor.”
Regarding the lack of information displayed to the students, Dr. Althea Kaminske, assistant professor of psychology, said, “I’m surprised that we wouldn’t be able to release that data.” Staff and students alike question the dean’s list criteria and the explanation behind the standards.
The St. Bonaventure University dean’s list GPA requirement does not compare to those of other universities, leaving students applying this title to their resumes and future job applications with a false sense of confidence. Yet an explanation is still to be found to why we place our dean’s list standard GPA at a measly 3.25.
I have fallen in love with St. Bonaventure in my first year. The professors, academic officials and staff have brought me great joy in helping me achieve. However, in order to best achieve academically in in future job searches, one of the more prestigious awards on campus should hold us to the standard that the student body holds itself.
By John Pullano, Opinion Editor
pullanjj18@bonaventure.edu
