AU students could use the As they earn in class for more than just obtaining a choice job after graduation with the introduction of a new Web site that pays users for getting good grades in school.
After registering with GradeFund.com, students use the site to invite relatives and acquaintances to sponsor their academic achievements, according to Stephanie Stein, a GradeFund executive.
Sponsors choose what grades the student must earn to get paid in addition to how much money they will pay the student for each grade. Students then upload their transcripts to the site, and GradeFund verifies the grades before sending each student a check for the appropriate amount. Qualified students can also win corporate sponsorships, such as one that ZooToo, a Web site catering to pet-owners, provides for pre-veterinary students from, Stein said.
Elise Alexander, a freshman in the School of International Service, said she thinks providing monetary rewards could be a good incentive to students.
"I think that would probably motivate me," she said. Alexander equated GradeFund to her honors scholarship, for which she already has to maintain a high GPA, she said.
GradeFund, which launched in November, currently has more than 10,000 users from colleges, high schools and middle schools across the United States and internationally, Stein said. AU students have already begun to register on the site, though Stein cannot yet calculate how many of GradeFund's users are from AU.
Dean of Students Robert Hradsky is skeptical whether monetary incentives will motivate college students to do well in class.
"I would think that college students [already] would be motivated in that direction given that they are choosing college and choosing their career direction," Hradsky said.
GradeFund would be more appropriate for students in kindergarten through the end of high school, he said.
Jack Child, a College of Arts and Sciences professor, said he disagreed with the GradeFund concept on principle.
"This idea is a perversion of our basic approach that students want, or need, to learn for learning's sake, not because someone is paying them for high grades," he said.
Sonja Walti, a School of Public Affairs professor, said she would rather her own students not register on GradeFund. Walti said she would find it difficult to give students poor grades if she knew they were being paid to do well.
"I would hate to see students lose money over that in addition to opportunities," she said.
Despite the doubts some AU faculty voiced regarding GradeFund, Dongyeup Rhee, a sophomore on the Kogod School of Business, could not see why a student would turn down the opportunity for a chance to make money.
"Who hates money?" he said.
Rhee said that because the cost of tuition is so high, he would need to make a few thousand dollars on the site for it to be worth his time.
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