Professors at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health will no longer give grades to first year students and will instead implement a pass/fail system.
According to Patrick McBride, associate dean of students of UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, the school wanted to alleviate stress and foster collaboration.
We felt like in a public health environment, it's really about working together, not trying to outdo another person,"" McBride said.
Current residency programs still look at the ranking of students, so the UW medical school will continue to grade and rank students in the years following their first.
""We felt like it was in our students' interests to allow ranking in the second, third and fourth year because without that they might not be as competitive.""
Prospective UW medical students said they have mixed feelings about the new process.
""My initial reactions weren't so favorable,"" Andrea Cavey, UW-Madison senior and prospective medical school student said. ""I think having a grading system that has actual grades gives a standard of excellence you want to strive for, to not just be satisfactory.""
Cavey said the new grading system will not affect her decision to apply to the school.
""I've been planning on applying to UW for several years now, because it's an excellent school in medical education '¦ I don't really think that this is an important enough factor to affect my decision.""
Alex Ringeisen, a UW-Madison senior in the middle of the application process, said he is open to the modification because he feels it would relieve some pressure.
""I think it's a good thing for when the first years are still getting accustomed to going through all this intense coursework,"" he said. ""It will teach [us] to work better as a team, to not be so cut-throat.""
