In some undergraduate courses, such as upper division laboratory courses or writing intensive courses that are similar to graduate courses, narrative evaluations may still be appropriate - yet the resolution does not take this into account. Collective bargaining negotiations with teaching assistants are currently underway, so changing the grading system now, and thus graduate student teaching assistant working conditions, could impact those negotiations. For all the above reasons, the resolution with its amendments should be referred to the Committee on Educational Policy and the Graduate Council. In the third set of initial presentations, student representatives Kirti Srivastrara, Manuel Schwab, and Kenny Burch made the following points. The resolution was brought to the Senate without student input.
Students recognize the value of narrative evaluations as a genuine indicator of academic competence.
The current regulations on grades and evaluations already allow for a grade option, so students are not impeded from fair consideration when applying to graduate schools. The state of the current NES, with its burdensome workload due to increased class size and enrollments, calls for revision. Letter grades and narrative evaluation can be made automatic, deferring the responsibility to students if they prefer not to take a letter grade. Making revisions responsibly and deliberately can turn the NES into a system of the future, not a holdover from the past. Signed by 4,391 students, a petition was presented that requested the matter be sent to a Special Committee on Narrative Evaluations, so that all members of the campus community have an opportunity to discuss the issue.