University Grading

Macleans Magazine has recently reported on the case of a University of Ottawa professor who was suspended for giving all of his students an A+.  

Grading is near and dear to the hearts of all students and probably the one aspect of teaching that virtually all university instructors dislike the most.  Years ago, while attending an academic conference one professor framed the role of universities to me as, "Universities are not about teaching, they are about accrediting."  

Is this true?  As I often say in class, "Sort of."

Accreditation (i.e., the formal evaluation of a student to assess their grasp of discipline specific standards or of an institution to ascertain this) is absolutely vital in a modern economy.  It ensures that students are ready, or at least almost ready, to handle complex tasks when they enter the workforce.  

But, what about teaching, or more appropriately, facilitating learning?

Of this, I have almost no idea, however, I feel some comfort in that no one else really does either.

Perhaps a topic for another post.