Questions of grading-scale equality for graduate and undergraduate students taking the same classes came under scrutiny at the Faculty Senate meeting yesterday.

Legislation to correct an inconsistency in the by-laws of the senate prompted the debate. A motion to table the legislation failed.

Under current policy, even when taking the same classes, undergraduate students are subject to the plus/minus system and graduate students are not.

"I don't understand the rationale behind assigning graduates (and) undergraduates different grades for the same work," Faculty Senator Elizabeth B. Smith said.

Professors have the right to determine whether they will consider a student's graduate or undergraduate status when issuing grades, said C. Gregory Knight Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education.

Other senators raised the issue of the policy's credibility with external evaluators of the University. A graduate student in an undergraduate course is apparently graded less stringently than undergraduates, one said.

Members of the senate committee on legislation and rules which proposed the legislation continually reminded senate members the legislation was to resolve a discrepancy in the by-laws.

In accord with by-laws, University practice has been to use the plus/minus system only for undergraduates, University Registrar Warren Haffner said. However, this one section of the by-laws calls for the use of the plus/minus system depending on the designation of the class as graduate or undergraduate rather than the student, Haffner said.

The graduate council, rather than the faculty senate, has the power to change the grading system for graduate students, Faculty Senator Felix Lukezic said.

When the senate instituted the plus/minus grading system, it recommended the graduate council adopt the system as well but they declined, Lukezic said.

In other business, the senate did not act during yesterday's meeting on any diversity curriculum issues. The February meeting will probably involve another forensics session on the diversity issue, said George Bugyi, senate executive secretary.

The senate conducted two forensics sessions on diversity in the fall.

At the March or April meeting a diversity curriculum proposal is expected for a senate vote, Bugyi said.

Additionally, the senate heard reports on the challenges of undergraduate education in the 1990s and the state of University research.

A revision and assessment of General Education requirements, curriculum integration, and freshman seminar ideas will help improve undergraduate education in the 1990s, said C. Gregory Knight Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education.

The state of University research efforts have never been better, said Charles L. Hosler Jr., Senior Vice President/Dean of the Graduate School.

Graduate enrollment and the quality of graduate students increased in the 1988-89 school year and that trend will continue, he said.