Graduation Beta

"Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not." George Bernard Shaw

Below are the graduation requirements for MSc in Marketing of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"To be awarded the MSc degree, candidtates must have satisfactorily completed the prescribed course-work with a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.70 and have satisfied both of the following:

(i) no more than three grades below B-; and
(ii) no more than one grade of D or F.

Any student who has failed to meet the above requirements will be required to drop from the programme."

According to the grading system, C+ is pass, D failure, and F bad failure.

Students won't be able to graduate if they have three grades below B-, but why? What if the students have 3 C+. C+ is not failure. As long as it is not failure, they should still deserve to graduate. Why can't they graduate when they did not really fail?

Interestingly enough, the student can receive the post-graduate degree if he or she fails one course.

What actually is the definition of failure?

A failure is a failure. Why failure and bad failure? What is the difference between failure and bad failure? But success, there is vast difference between good and great. There is always only one champion, then followed up by 1st runner-up, and 2nd runner-up. Runner-up is a polite way of saying first place loser.

Graduation is about getting a degree. The degree itself is already a recognition. Winners are those who can graduate after years of hard work, but not those who graduate with first honors.

After all, it is not the marks that students should be after. Instead, learning cannot last and will not be effective without an element of fun.