STATE COLLEGE, Pa. Officials at Pennsylvania State University had to ditch part of the school's grade-reporting system because a computer error reduced spring semester grades for thousands of students.

The errors were discovered Friday and corrected by Monday. Students whose grades were affected will be notified by e-mail, school officials said.

J. James Wager, assistant vice provost for enrollment management and university registrar, said a scanner misread grade sheets submitted by faculty. In each case, the scanner read a lower grade than that actually reported - for example, a B to a B-minus.

Some report cards showed no grade had been reported, while others had grades but did not record appropriate credit for courses.

Of the grades submitted last Friday, about 85 percent were recorded incorrectly, affecting students at the University Park campus and more than 20 others across the state. More than 80,000 students are enrolled at Penn State, with the average student taking four to six courses a semester.

Wager said the registrar's office began examining the grade sheets by hand Friday night and worked through the weekend to correct them.

Grades that are still coming in are being recorded by hand, and most should be done by tomorrow.

Wager said the errors would not affect this weekend's graduation ceremonies.

Philidelphia Inquirer

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2002