Professors tend to award higher grades on Dartmouth Language Study Abroad and Foreign Study Programs than while on campus, although few people can agree on any single explanation for the trend.
Last year's average GPA for Foreign Study Programs was 3.54 and the average GPA for Language Study Abroad was 3.52, both significantly higher than the on-campus average of 3.26, according to Registrar Thomas Bickel.
Although some students say easy classes explain the disparity, more agree that better students participate and students participate better in the off-campus classes.
Joshua Papsdorf '98 said the classes in his philosophy FSP "were definitely a lot easier" than classes at Dartmouth.
"Students do find that courses are not quite so demanding abroad as they are here," Philosophy Professor Bernard Gert said. "They are not pushed as they are here."
But Gert said classes may seem easier because only the best students are selected for off-campus programs. Gert said the students on his FSP "were the best students we have."
"Their behavior was more like that of graduate students than it was of typical undergraduate Dartmouth students," Gert said.
Classics Department Chair Jeremy Rutter agreed.
"We are not taking a random distribution of students, we are taking students in the upper ends of their class," he said.
Professor of Spanish and Portuguese Raul Bueno said participants in the Spanish off-campus programs usually rank in the top third of the college population, and
Bueno said coursework is deeper and more broad on foreign programs, and therefore requires more hours. Other professors agreed.
"Students find that they expend more energy abroad," Government Department Chair Lynn Mather said.
Many professors say the foreign environment motivates students to focus more on their courses, and it is for this reason that grades are higher.
"Students are much more focused on their classes, and they really work hard on their courses," Gert said.
Chris Whalen '97, who went on the Spanish FSP in Madrid, said studying and learning was intense on his program.
"Being abroad definitely motivated me to concentrate on academics more," Whalen said. "There was lot I was learning in classes that I could apply to the world around me."
Beuno said being abroad enhances students' performances because it provides "the unique opportunity of a total immersion in the targeted language and culture."
Laura Turner '98 said she had more time to study during her English FSP.
"The time constraints are different," she said. "You don't spend all your time talking with your friends at Collis or watching people at Lone Pine."
Marcie Handler '97, who participated in the Classics FSP, said the foreign atmosphere provided an atmosphere conducive to study.
"Students write up reports and have much more contact with what they are studying," Handler said.
Other professors students score higher because classes are smaller.
"I suspect that if you were to look across the board, grades in smaller classes tend to be higher than those of larger classes" at Dartmouth, Mather said.
Bickel said off-campus programs generally have smaller classes than those offered on campus. For example, the average number of students in a government class at Dartmouth is 35, while the average number of students in government classes abroad ranges from 12-16.
Despite the temptation of a higher GPA, most students say they were motivated to study abroad for other reasons.
Emily Lam '99, who applied for the English FSP, said "the last thing on my mind when I applied for Dublin was higher grades."
"I applied for the Dublin program because I want to immerse myself in the study of one thing with other people who have a passion for the same kind of learning," she said.
