Last year the median grade for Stanford undergraduates was A-. [NYT, 5/31/94, p. A7. EDUPAGE.] Only 9% of the grades are less than B. Stanford faculty have voted for a No Pass (NP) grade, which may strengthen C as a legitimate middle grade. NP will replace No Credit (NC), which was not reported on transcripts. No-questions withdrawals will not be permitted after the fourth week (as opposed to up to the final exam, at present). Harvard has also reduced the drop period, and is considering grading on the curve. [Larry Reibstein, Newsweek, 6/13/94, p. 62.] (Part of the problem is from admitting only A students. Does a C or B mean an "average A"?)

Christian Taube posts a monthly FAQ for German students in the US, in German. Check for it on rtfm.mit.edu or in news.answers, de.answers, or de.soc.studium. [taube@isa.de, news.answers, 6/5/94.]

(How many grad students does it take to screw in a light bulb? Only one, but it'll take four or five years to finish. [Peter Deutsch (peterd@cc.mcgill.ca), 3/93.])