From the New Common Syllabus:

With the General Education C or better requirement and prerequisite now in place, instructors must give careful thought to what it means for a student to pass or not pass a composition course.  Instructors should grade conservatively, especially at the beginning of the term, so that they have room to make this important judgment at the end of the course for each student.  A passing final grade of C or better in indicates that the student has clearly achieved all the learning objectives of the course.  A non-passing final grade of C- or below indicates that the student has clearly not achieved the learning objectives of the course and needs to repeat the course in order to be prepared to write at the next level. 

The credibility of the Composition Program to make this judgment rests in part on consistency of grading across all sections of composition courses.  Given that the grade of A indicates excellence, and grades of B and C indicate above average or average, new grading guidelines aim at a more standard grade distribution for a multi-section course:

            A                     up to 20%                    i.e., around 5 students in a class of 24

            B                     up to 30%                    i.e., around 7 students in a class of 24

            C+/C               up to 30%                    i.e., around 7 students in a class of 24

            C-/D/F/W        apprx. 25%                  i.e., around 6 students in a class of 24

These guidelines aim at no more than a 50% distribution of As and Bs in a standard class.  Although exceptional classes can happen, grades in individual sections should normally be in line with these gruidelines.  Grade distributions in individual sections will be reviewed within the English Department.