October 3, 2011

M.B.A. Students Who Don’t Share Grades With Employers Tend to Study Less

A policy intended to encourage more intellectual risk-taking among M.B.A. students has been widely adopted at the nation’s top-ranked business schools, but it has also led to a decline in study habits, according to a new working paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Grade-nondisclosure policies, as they are known, allow students to withhold their grades from future employers. Supporters say the policy offers an incentive to students to take more challenging courses and work cooperatively with one another because they know their grades will not appear on their transcripts.

Under grade-nondisclosure policies, students may receive grades, but they won’t be disclosed to recruiters. Or they may not receive grades beyond pass or fail, or their work may simply be labeled under one of four broad categories, such as distinction, proficient, pass, and fail.

http://chronicle.com/article/MBA-Students-Who-Dont/129272/

National Bureau of Economic Research

http://papers.nber.org/papers/w17465