"B's get degrees!"

We've all heard the saying "C's get degrees!" but is this really a good thing to base our grades off of? What if the saying were "B's get degrees"? Would this increase the standards that college students have for themselves? It is true that C's get degrees, but if the "normal" was B's rather than C's, I believe more people would strive for higher grades.

In my Consumer Behavior class we had to come up with a nudge that would encourage students to study more and do more homework. One small idea we had (but it would be very hard to implement) is this "B's get degrees" mentality into students. Since this motto is so engrained in students minds with C's, the reality of this happening is not that great.

Our second and more feasible idea is to make final exams optional. The way it would work is if students are happy with their grade going into the final exam, they do not have to take the final. Rather than finals being manditory, have finals be something that can only help you, but not hurt you. This would make students work harder earlier on in the semester, as they can be rewarded by not having to endure finals week. If a student has a B in a class, and they are happy with that then they are exempt from taking the final so there is no chance that their grade can go down. However, if that same student wants to take the final in hopes to get an A in the class, they can do so to try and help their grade. If a student is not passing a class, then they obviously have no choice but to take the final exam, or to retake the class.

We think this would be very helpful to students in encouraging them to try harder on homework and be more dedicated to their studies earlier on in the semester. Everyone dreads finals week, and we believe that most students would do whatever it took to get out of that awful week.