Where do parents stay in Fort Worth?
TCU-area Hotels
What is my graduating senior going to do for health insurance until he/she gets a job?
Graduation comes with a heavy to-do list. Rent your cap and gown, turn in your intent-to-graduate form and make ample copies of your resume. But in all the excitement of moving on, graduates can forget a major detail: most students' health insurance policies expire once they cease to be full-time students.
While many employers provide health insurance benefits, graduates may find themselves uninsured between walking across the stage and walking into the doors of their first job. The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues found two of five college graduates will spend a portion of time uninsured and half of those will be without insurance for six months or more.
To help bridge that insurance gap, the Alumni Association has teamed up with GradMed, an insurance company that provides comprehensive short-term health insurance for up to six months. White prescriptions and preventive care are not covered, the policy does offer a safeguard against rising health care costs in case of sudden illness or injury.
Melissa Austin-Weeks of TCU's Office of Alumni Relations says GradMed's policy can also be useful for alumni beyond recent graduates. The gap insurance is available to those who are between jobs or have to complete a waiting period at a new job before receiving company-sponsored health insurance. "We know that in major life changes, things like insurance can get overlooked," she says. "That's why we're providing the link to GradMed." The policy, estimated at $2.39 a day, "is a competitive rate," Austin-Weeks says.
For more information about the GradMed policy, visit the web site at http://www.GradMed.com or call the toll free number 1-800-922-1245. Applications can be submitted online.
[This story was written by Melissa Christensen, a junior new-editorial journalism and political science major from Grand Island, Nebraska. It appeared in the April 2004 TCU Alumni Newsletter. Contact Alumni Relations at 817-257-7803 or www.alumni.tcu.edu.]
We have received a number of questions about the TCU +/- grading policy (initiated by the Faculty Senate and approved by University Council). I hope to reduce confusion by sharing answers to the types of questions we are getting.
Is TCU going to +/- grading and when?
Yes, TCU will implement +/- grading this fall for all graduate students and for any undergraduate students who begin their degree program after summer 2007. Undergraduate students who began their degree program before this fall will be grandfathered to the prior (A,B,C,D,F) grade system.
That sounds complicated. How will it work?
It does sound complicated, but for students and faculty it will actually be fairly simple. Faculty can set up a grading system that applies to all students in their class (+/- or not… use of +/- grades is a faculty option not a requirement). When faculty report grades using the web based grade rosters each student will have +/- grades as an assignment option. If the faculty member chooses to use +/-, then the faculty member can post +/- grades for all students. For students who have been grandfathered, the +/- portion will not be recorded as official grades, will not appear on the transcript and will not impact the GPA. For students who are eligible for +/- grades, the +/- portion of the grade will be recorded as official, will appear on the transcript and will impact the GPA.
Example for Undergraduate Students:
Course Score Faculty Grade Transcript Grade GPA
Student w/ Admit 89 B+ B 3.0
Prior to Fall 2007
New Student 89 B+ B+ 3.33
Are faculty required to use +/- grading?
No. Use of +/- grades is a faculty prerogative. Whether using +/- or not, faculty are always encouraged to include a clear statement of grading practice in their syllabus. This is probably even more important as TCU begins this initiative.
Can a student decide whether they will be on +/- grading?
No. This is not a student option.
What are the cut-offs to determine where the +’s and –‘s begin and end?
TCU is not supplying any suggested ranges for grading. This is a faculty prerogative. Some departments and/or colleges may want to establish a norm, but that is totally up to them.
What are the quality points for grades?
The texts below are taken from the catalogue:
A 4.00 – Excellent
A- 3.67
B+ 3.33
B 3.00 – Good
B- 2.67
C+ 2.33
C 2.00 – Satisfactory
C- 1.67
D+ 1.33
D 1.00 – Poor
D- 0.67
F 0.00 – Failing
P – Passed the course.
NC – No credit awarded for the course.
In all cases where academic policy requires a grade of “C” or better, a “C-“ does not meet that criteria. The same applies for “B” and “B-“.
How long will we have students who are grandfathered?
Four years.
