A local university’s plan to prohibit its professors from handing out too many top grades ran into resistance from students on Wednesday, who complained that the move may hurt their chances in the job market.

Last month, Kyung Hee University sent a schoolwide notice to all faculty members, asking them to keep the overall average GPA for all students in their class at below 3.0, or “B.” According to the school’s official response to the student council, it was in response to the Education Ministry’s strictures on universities that award overly generous grades.

Grading standards are one of main criteria in the ministry’s college evaluation, which determines the level of government subsidies and can even lead to enrollment freeze.

“Government evaluation has a huge impact on a university’s reputation. Our grading system can lead to a large number of students getting good grades,” the school said in the reply to the student council, which was revealed online late Tuesday.

Students were livid over the prospect that it would become much tougher to get good grades.

Lee Jeong, the student council president-elect, voiced concerns that the unilateral “surprise” decision made just before the final exams, may hurt seniors’ chance of landing a job.

The student council itself released a statement and lambasted the move as it “infringes upon professors’ rights.” While the university said it was merely providing “guidelines,” it also added that each faculty member’s compliance with the new measure will be a factor in their performance evaluation.

“How many professors will think such coercive ‘request’ is merely a guideline? If this is truly a guideline, we demand that the school should send an email to the entire staff by this Friday, assuring them that the results of the new grading system will not be applied in the faculty evaluation,” the council said.

Kyung Hee has a reputation for handing out high grades to most students, fueling what is known here as “college credit inflation.” The university applies a relatively loose grading system that allows up to 40 percent of students in a class to receive over “B+,” in classes that apply the curved grading system.

Data revealed in October’s parliamentary audit showed that 43 percent of Kyung Hee students got more than an “A” in their majors, the 16th-highest figure among all higher education institutes.

Education authorities, as well as employers, have said that this means grades virtually lose all credibility as a touchstone of competence.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)