Jarhad's Junk Site

No, this is not a rant about the Student Union (if you're not happy, don't rant, run - for a position in SU and make all the difference you can), rather, it is about the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option.

I chanced upon this Facebook group "FIGHT FOR S/U OPTION AFTER RESULTS RELEASE FOR NTU".  Well as the group name suggests, these students are rallying for the S/U option to be exercised after the examination results are released.  I didn't join the group as I don't agree with them, rather I stand by the school's point of view.

The S/U option was introduced as a way to encourage students to explore areas outside their major without adversely affecting their GPA.  That means it should not be used as a means to improve your GPA.  By applying the S/U option after knowing your results, you are effectively given the option to improve your GPA, whereas with the new extension until just a few weeks before the exam to apply the S/U option, you should by then have a very good idea of how well you can and are willing to do in a subject and thus be able to make a very informed decision.  Otherwise, you might as well let the computer system automatically apply the S/U option (up to your maximum quota) to subjects that you do poorly in, and maximize your GPA for you.

With regards to motivation, I don't think having the S/U option after the exams helps to spur you on to try harder to attempt to get a better grade.  My personal opinion is that it's all about personal interest and self-awareness.  If you're really interested in the subject, and you have been consistently performing or at least know that you are able to perform in the subject, then you're likely to do well in the final grade since you have the attitude and aptitude, and thus wouldn't want/need to S/U it.  If, however, you're lacking in either attitude or aptitude, then it's unlikely that you'll do well and you'd want to S/U the subject.  But then again, I don't suppose anyone ever takes any subject without any interest unless they think they can score well in it.  Haha, it seems like I'm beginning to contradict myself.  Oh well, let's just look at it this way: if you had already opted to S/U a subject before the exams, you'd just want to do marginally well (i.e. obtaining at least a C) to pass it and thus focus your efforts on other more important subjects,whereas if you hadn't S/U the subject, you would be spurred on to work hard to score well for it.

To summarize, I believe that the current system (with the extended time period to exercise the S/U option) is working perfectly fine and shouldn't be changed.  Don't try to fix what ain't broken!  And don't bother inviting me to that group, I'll just ignore your invitation... var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-6506368-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}