Grade inflation has gained notoriety as a growing issue for private liberal arts universities; however, data from the faculty senate suggests that Penn State could be facing an inflation problem of its own.

The English department sent a message to English instructors in December addressing the importance of curbing grade inflation and reminding faculty that an instructor's grading record will be considered when promotion time comes.

"The dean's been concerned, Old Main's been concerned," said Mark Morrisson, associate head of the English department, who sent the e-mail. "It was a minor reminder that [grading] is important."

Between 1995 and 2005, the average semester GPA college-wide rose 5 percent, to 3.07 from 2.93. Division of Undergraduate Studies showed the biggest change, rising 11 percent. In 1988, the average GPA was a 2.82.

"We're all very concerned about grade inflation," Robert Caserio, head of the English department, said. "We talk about it annually and remind faculty to maintain standards."

English instructor Lorena Waselinko said she hasn't seen "a specific policy regarding grading and promotion."

"But I can see why that e-mail could raise eyebrows amongst students," she said.

Such a policy, Waselinko added, would be unfortunate and "unlikely," but she said she thinks the e-mail was just relaying concerns from the dean.

Morrison said the e-mail was not intended to scare anyone.

"If anyone got the impression that how they grade students is the sole indication [of their performance], then they completely misinterpreted what I said," he said.

Susan Welch, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said no policy is in place linking grades and promotions.

"No more weight will be given to an instructor's grading than before," Welch said.

She did say, however, that the college was paying attention to grade inflation.

"It's not really a matter of who is failing students, but that who is giving them all A's," Welch said. "The faculty senate gives us a report on grades, and then we discuss appropriate measures. We look for patterns."

Grade inflation is often found to be higher in humanities courses than in their math or science counterparts. Caserio believes this may be because of the unique structure of his department's curriculum.

"Part of our job is to teach the process of revision," he said. "Students are given the opportunity to improve their work, possibly leading to higher grades."

Despite causes, Caserio said fighting inflation has always been a priority.

"We've steadily talked about the need to resist grade inflation," Caserio said. "It started at a high pitch and stayed there."