I disagree with President Gates and his administration’s decision to approve the grade exclusion proposal. In my opinion, it does not enhance all students’ academic experience. Instead, like many other recent administrative decisions, it merely levels the academic playing field at Texas A&M by benefiting some and handicapping others.
I understand that many freshmen struggle in their majors before switching. However, most undergraduate advisers provide the necessary foresight to predict a student’s potential success in certain majors based on skills acquired prior to attending this “world class research university.”
Students who arrive in College Station with both the will and skill to succeed in their major are not benefited by this new policy. In fact, they could actually lose class ranking to someone who failed three courses within their first year in Aggieland. The grade exclusion policy can never logically be fair because it can never provide equal benefits to all students. Hard working students should never feel that their efforts were in vain due to a retroactive policy. American capitalism relies heavily on the competitive and somewhat unforgiving demands of rigorous academic programs found at top-tier universities such as A&M. I mean not to offend any student or administrator, but this policy is a disservice to capitalism and insults the integrity of the Aggie ring, diploma and spirit.