The College of Charleston has created a distinction for students who flunk a course because they cheated—a new grade called “XF.” According to the Associated Press, the South Carolina college will award the mark to students whose academic misconduct was premeditated or deceptive. But if they behave themselves for two years, they can petition to have the black mark stricken from their records.
The college is not the first to adopt the XF grade. Barton County Community College, in Kansas, instituted the mark four years ago, citing the example of Kansas State University, which had started using the grade in 1999 (The Chronicle, May 7, 2002). The AP reported that the University of Maryland at College Park began issuing XF grades in 1990.
