A student-senate-proposed bill that would enact a President’s List distinction on student transcripts received approval from the faculty senate on Jan. 22.
The President’s List would serve as an additional post-semester honor, recognizing students who earn a grade point average of 3.8 or greater, according to Jackson Troxell, chairman of the academic affairs committee on student senate.
The bill now needs to be approved by University President Marc Parlange, according to Troxell. If approved by Parlange, the bill will be presented back to the faculty senate for final approval. Students may begin receiving the new distinction on their transcripts beginning this semester.
The current Dean’s List recognizes students who earn a semester GPA of 3.3 or higher, according to Troxell. With the addition of the President’s List, the Dean’s List specifications have been amended to a GPA range of 3.3-3.8. Students will only be on either the Dean’s or the President’s List.
“Everyone on the Dean’s List is great, but there is honestly a difference between someone who gets a 3.3 average and someone who gets a 3.9 or a 4.0 average, and the President’s List allows that differentiation,” Faculty Senate Vice President Evan Preisser said.
The dual post-semester honors recognition is mirrored by other public New England peer-institutions who also have an R1 research designation, according to Troxell. The legislation refers to the University of Maine, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of New Hampshire.
“It will keep us more in track with those peer institutions as far as how we recognize our students before graduation,” Troxell said.
Peer-institution examples were important for the faculty senate to see, as many of the senate members went through university with just a Dean’s List, according to Preisser.
“If [student senate] hadn’t done all this extra work to show that this is, in fact, something that other places have done, we would have said, ‘Do you really need this?’” Preisser said.
The bill’s changes only affect student transcripts, with no changes for staff or faculty, according to Troxell.
The distinction can benefit students by creating post-graduate opportunities, according to Preisser.
“I think it could be very useful for students who are looking to distinguish their grades in just a quick summary from other folks,” Preisser said.
Preisser commended the efforts of Troxell and Student Senate President Meilin Reyes in researching, drafting and proposing the bill that allowed the passage of the President’s List.
“I think that more of these joint student-faculty efforts should be present in the future,” Preisser said. “They need to be really recognized for doing something that in 20 years will still be there.”
