Text 2　　Grade inflation—the gradualincrease in average GPAs (grade-point averages) over the past few decades—isoften considered a product of a consumer era in higher education, in whichstudents are treated like customers to be pleased. But another, related force—apolicy often buried deep in course catalogs called “grade forgiveness”—ishelping raise GPAs.
　　Grade forgiveness allows students to retake a coursein which they received a low grade, and the most recent grade or the highestgrade is the only one that counts in calculating a student's overall GPA.
　　The use of this little-known practice has acceleratedin recent years, as colleges continue to do their utmost to keep students inschool (and paying tuition) and improve their graduation rates. When thispractice first started decades ago, it was usually limited to freshmen, to givethem a second chance to take a class in their first year if they struggled intheir transition to college-level courses. But now most colleges, save for manyselective campuses, allow all undergraduates, and even graduate students, toget their low grades forgiven.
　　College officials also tend to emphasize that thegoal of grade forgiveness is less about the grade itself and more aboutencouraging students to retake courses critical to their degree program andgraduation without incurring a big penalty. “Ultimately,” said Jack Miner, OhioState University's registrar, “we see students achieve more success becausethey retake a course and do better in subsequent courses or master the contentthat allows them to graduate on time.”
　　That said, there is a way in which grade forgivenesssatisfies colleges own needs as well. For public institutions, state funds aresometimes tied partly to their success on metrics such as graduation rates andstudent retention—so better grades can, by boosting figures like those, meanmore money. And anything that raises GPAs will likely make students—who, at theend of the day, are paying the bill—feel they've gotten a better value fortheir tuition dollars, which is another big concern for colleges.
　　Indeed, grade forgiveness is just another way thatuniversities are responding to consumers' expectations for higher education.Since students and parents expect a college degree to lead to a job, it is inthe best interest of a school to turn out graduates who are as qualified aspossible—or at least appear to be. On this, students' and colleges' incentivesseem to be aligned.

According to Paragraph 5, grade forgiveness enables colleges to _____.

A.obtainmorefinancialsupport

B.boosttheirstudentenrollments

C.improvetheirteachingquality

D.meetlocalgovernments'needs