The committee said students should be allowed to retake any course in which the student scores a 2.5 or lower, with no limit to the amount of credits that are retaken. The current policy states students can only retake up to 20 credits, and only for classes with a grade of 2.0 or below.

Lowering academic standards by allowing students to retake a class if they receive a 2.5 will only cheat students and the university. It degrades the value of an MSU degree.

Many professors round up to the next highest grade anyway, so the difference between a 2.5 and 3.0 can be relatively minimal.

If a student retakes a class several times, they may end up passing simply because they are used to the professor’s methods, not because they have actually learned the material.

If a student continuously is struggling with their course load, there are several options, such as changing majors or taking courses at a community college while the credits still transfer.

Taking courses at a community college is a desirable option because credit hours cost less and the course grade does not factor into an MSU grade-point average.

Community college classes do not count, however, once a student reaches junior status.

A constant struggle with classes within one’s major can be a sign that a student is not in the right place. Employers will most likely be concerned with GPAs in a student’s particular field of study, not their overall GPA.

Retaking classes an unlimited number of times could hurt students because they earn a false sense of accomplishment that could hinder their abilities to succeed in the workplace, where skills learned in the classroom need to be applied.

Passing a class does not mean a student has digested the material enough to help them in a professional setting, which could lead to future hardship.

Students headed to graduate school will have to take a standardized test that is equally important, if not more crucial, than a college GPA. Receiving high grades on tests such as the LSAT for law school and MCAT for medical school are vital to some students’ futures, not so much with their GPA.

Students need to ask themselves why ASMSU’S measure is necessary. If concerned students are studying all they can — even on the weekends — and go to office hours, get help from various writing workshops on campus, visit tutors, do all their required reading and still are failing classes, lowering the standard to retake a class could be a legitimate plan.

But taking every effort to receive a passing grade should be a plan before lowering the bar.