Loyola Los Angeles has unilaterally raised their students' grades by adding .333 points to all grades given in the last few years. If you are or were a Loyola LA student and your law school GPA was 2.667, it is now 3.0. The story, In Law School, Grades Go Up, Just Like That, ran on the front page of the print version of today's NYTimes.
For most, this will not be stunning, unexpected news. Over the last few years, several schools including NYU, Georgetown, and Tulane have re-cast their students grades, imposing a more lenient standard. Some argue that what counts is the actual class standing, i.e., the comparison and ranking of students within a particular class.
Why the trend toward more lenient grades? Here's a possible explanation -
"Law schools seem to view higher grades as one way to rescue their students from the tough economic climate — and perhaps more to the point, to protect their own reputations and rankings. Once able to practically guarantee gainful employment to thousands of students every year, the schools are now fielding complaints from more and more unemployed graduates, frequently drowning in student debt."
