Is the Chemistry Department on probation or review for giving too many low grades? Absolutely not! Chemistry course instructors are committed to the success of our students and do NOT assign large numbers of failing grades. The Department carefully monitors grades every semester. In addition, the Department uses standardized exams from the American Chemical Society that are used at hundreds of universities. On average, our students perform at or above the national average on these exams. A few students make these kinds of statements in social media and they become "urban legend." In fact, they are just fishing for an explanation of why they did not achieve a top-level grade. Why do these courses have the reputation of being “weedout” courses? The Chemistry department does not conduct "weedout" courses. Our faculty is devoted to the success of our students. Chemistry is a challenging subject, but no more so than other physical sciences. There is no agenda to indiscriminately eliminate or fail students. We are an educational institution, and doing so would make no sense at all. The “weedout” description is simply an urban legend, often posted by disgruntled students. How does the introductory chemistry program calibrate or “review” itself? The people who teach in our program are professionals. They have been trained on the best practices both in teaching and student learning. Some of them conduct research on student learning and student problem solving. In addition, the department employs assessment tools and standardized examinations that used by hundreds of colleges and thousands of students per year. UGA students perform as well or better when compared to national norms.
