Freshman Pass/No Record Grading
and Advanced Placement Policy

Report of a special subcommittee of the
Committee on the Undergraduate Program

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Date of Report: September 25, 2000

The CUP, along with members of the subcommittee, will devote the next several months to soliciting and reviewing feedback from the MIT community about the findings and recommendations contained in the report. We hope input from the community - faculty, students, and staff - will help us shape the final recommendations that we forward to the Faculty for consideration later this year. If you have comments about any aspect of the report, it is important we hear from you.

Robert L. Jaffe
Chair, Committee on the Undergraduate Program

Members

Prof. Charles Stewart III, Chair (Political Science)
Prof. Duane Boning (EECS)
Prof. Wit Busza (Physics)
Prof. W. Craig Carter (Materials Science and Engineering) (CAP)
Dean Peggy Enders (Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education)
Prof. David Jerison (Mathematics)
Prof. Donald Sadoway (Materials Science and Engineering) (CUAFA)
Mr. Peter Shulman '01
Ms Malena Stiteler '03
Ms Van Chu, Staff to the subcommittee beginning February 2000
Ms Ri Romano, Staff to the subcommittee until February 2000

Table of Contents

Preface

Executive summary

Part I. Introduction

Part II. Pass/No Record Grading

Part III. Advanced Placement

Figures

Part II

II-A-1.Distribution of Grades Received by MIT Undergraduates, AY1999-2000
II-A-2.Distribution of Self-Reported Hours/Week Spent on Subjects, Spring 1999

Tables

Part II

II-A-1.Enrollments of Freshmen, AY1998-9937
II-A-2.Subjects with More than 50 Freshmen Enrolled, AY1999-2000
II-A-3.GPA of MIT Students, by Term, AY1995-96 to AY1999-2000
II-A-4.Average Time Spent Each Week on 12-Unit Subjects, Calendar Year 1999
II-A-5.Unit Load Carried by MIT Undergraduates, AY1999-2000

Part III

III-1Summary of MIT's Policy for College Board Advanced Placement Credit for the Class of 2004 (entering in Fall 2000)
III-2Advanced Placement Credit Received by Freshmen in the Class of 2002
III-3Advanced Placement Subject Exams in HASS Subjects for Which Members of the Class of 2003 Received General Elective Credit
III-A-1Performance of Freshmen in 18.02, 18.02C, and 18.023 Who Received Advanced Placement Credit for 18.01 in Fall 1998
III-A-2Comparison of Students in Science Subjects beyond the Science Core
III-A-3Freshmen Receiving Credit for Science Core Subjects Through Advanced Placement, Various Years
III-A-4Non-Science-Requirement Subjects with More than 50 Enrollments, 1985 and 1999