On the Plus Side

The university where I teach has a policy that grades ending in 8 or 9 receive a “+” designation (78 is a C+, 89 is a B+, etc.). A student received his final grade and was adamant that I left off the plus sign. I looked up the grade. The kid got a 58. I told him he had failed the course. “I know,” he said. “But I earned an F+, not an F.” “You want me to change this to an F+?” I asked. He said yes and left happy when I agreed.