Grades at the University of Wyoming

The ECTL recommends that institutions conduct their own reviews of the existence, or non-existence, of grade inflation. For an example of a model study, see the University of Wisconsin--Madison institutional review.  In this study, researchers present both a graphical and narrative account of available data.

To begin a study for the University of Wyoming, we have gathered readily available undergraduate student GPA data from the past decade at UW, and we provide graphical representations of grading trends.  We do not address whether inflation has occurred because adequate data are not available to compare student effort or quality with the grades issued. The University of Wyoming has a total of seven colleges, six with undergraduate programs. The largest college is Arts and Sciences, which includes departments in humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and sciences. The colleges of Agriculture, Business, Education, Engineering, and Health Sciences contain mostly professional programs. The undergraduate student population in this decade averaged 8890.

GPA Trends from 1995-2004
 

How has UW's GPA changed over time?  During the past decade, GPA has remained relatively stable, averaging 2.95 with a standard deviation of .023.  A decade high was reached in 2001, with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 reported.  The decade low occurred in 1996, with an undergraduate GPA of 2.91 reported.  Data prior to 1995 are not readily available.

College GPA Trends from 1996-2005
 

How have college GPAs changed over time?   Overall GPAs have remained stable with ranges of around .10.  Several exceptions can be found.  For each college, the range, mean, and standard deviation have been presented for lower division and upper division courses and the overall college.  While GPAs are confined to a small range within the college, there are notable differences between college means.  This variation could be caused by different grading cultures.  

Lower Division--Mean 2.931, Standard Deviation .036, Range .14 (2.85 - 2.99)
Upper Division--Mean 3.12, Standard Deviation .046, Range .16 (3.06 -3.22)
Overall--Mean 3.066, Standard Deviation .031, Range .10 (3.03 - 3.13)

Lower Division--Mean 2.758, Standard Deviation .025, Range .09 (2.71 - 2.80)
Upper Division--Mean 3.097, Standard Deviation .03, Range .11 (3.04 - 3.15)
Overall--Mean 2.883, Standard Deviation .021, Range .07 (2.85 - 2.92)

Lower Division--Mean 2.77, Standard Deviation .097, Range .35 (2.59 - 2.94)
Upper Division--Mean 3.085, Standard Deviation .096, Range .28 (2.92 - 3.20)
Overall--Mean 3.017, Standard Deviation .091, Range .27 (2.86 - 3.13)

Lower Division--Mean 3.529, Standard Deviation .054, Range .15 (3.47 - 3.62)
Upper Division--Mean 3.723, Standard Deviation .024, Range .08 (3.68 - 3.76)
Overall--Mean 3.697, Standard Deviation .026, Range .07 (3.65 - 3.72)

Lower Division--Mean 2.728, Standard Deviation .062, Range .20 (2.62 - 2.82)
Upper Division--Mean 2.987, Standard Deviation .052, Range .16 (2.89 - 3.05)
Overall--Mean 2.913, Standard Deviation .048, Range .15 (2.82 - 2.97)

Lower Division--Mean 3.236, Standard Deviation .051, Range .16 (3.16 - 3.32)
Upper Division--Mean 3.336, Standard Deviation .047, Range .15 (3.26 - 3.41) Overall--Mean 3.326, Standard Deviation .028, Range .10 (3.29 - 3.39)

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Principles for a Conversation About Grading