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For institutions making decisions about switching to pass/fail, here are some specific recommendations in a thread.
Any effort in this direction should increase flexibility and support for students without being bureaucratically onerous. If you're quibbling details, stop.
Any effort in this direction should increase flexibility and support for students without being bureaucratically onerous. If you're quibbling details, stop.
This is what I'd encourage:
• Adopt pass/no record as a universal policy for Spring (and preemptively for Summer). Distinct from pass/fail, pass/no record means failing grades do not appear on transcripts. All "P" grades should fulfill major and general education requirements.
• Adopt pass/no record as a universal policy for Spring (and preemptively for Summer). Distinct from pass/fail, pass/no record means failing grades do not appear on transcripts. All "P" grades should fulfill major and general education requirements.
• "P" grades should count as a 4.0 equivalent for the purposes of GPA calculation. Students on scholarship or academic probation are often working to improve their GPA to stay in school or maintain their scholarships, and this semester may have been critical for them.
Today, from my own institution: "During the current Spring semester, undergraduate students may take more than one course as Pass/Fail, HOWEVER, this decision should be made carefully." #PassFailNation
"Total limits on the number or percent of courses that can be taken Pass/Fail remain and Pass/Fail courses will not count for General Education or the major. Students should only make this request having reviewed the scholarship and financial aid implications."
It's disturbing how emphatic this message is, the all-caps especially. Why wouldn't the institution (or accrediting body) do all necessary work to rethink what pass/fail might mean for struggling students? Why wouldn't they make every effort to support students at this moment?
