While students go to college for varying personal reasons, one thing should always be the same: the expectation to receive a good education — the kind of education that will help them get into graduate school or land a good job after college ends.

Students may be getting robbed of this, not only at Kent State, but also across the entire nation. Typing in a quick Google search of “grade inflation” brings up several universities and colleges facing similar problems. There is a lot to say about what different universities are doing to correct the problem, or even if they are addressing it at all.

Grade inflation is the increase of academic grades over time — basically meaning expectations are lowered and the A becomes easier to get.

Currently, Kent State is not looking into it because they are unsure it is an issue, Provost Robert Frank said. Right now, it is subjective. More research would need to be conducted to find out, but the numbers don’t lie.

While the numbers are up across many of the departments on campus, the English department is recording an almost 20 percent increase in the number of As given to students between 2003 and 2009 for undergraduate courses under the 40,000 level.

Maybe a student finds himself or herself in an English class that reads a lot of literature and only writing a few papers for a final grade. Most students would probably be tempted to skip a reading here and there and listen to people who actually read and participate in class discussions. And maybe a few students might skip reading things that don’t pertain to the papers that will actually be graded.

This could be a pretty nice opportunity for students who want good grades, but just don’t care much about the subject matter.

As tempting as this sounds to students, it isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Students go to college to learn and get ahead. If they continue to float along receiving As and Bs based on the mere fact that they did an assignment decently, it will be more detrimental to their futures.

Keep in mind that if grade inflation is really occurring on Kent State’s campus, the professors aren’t the only ones to blame. If students are putting in little effort and receiving acceptable grades, they will lack the knowledge needed to land a good job. Classes are just like anything else in life: You get out what you put in.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.