Ohio State announced a $2.5 million investment from JP Morgan Chase on Thursday. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Former Design Editor
Students worried about maintaining high grades with the transition to virtual instruction may have the opportunity to take their non-major classes for pass/no-pass credit.
In an email to the university community Friday, Bruce McPheron, university executive vice president and provost, announced two proposals to grant undergraduate students the opportunity to change their classes to a pass/no pass option and extend the time period to resolve incompletes that will be introduced to the University Senate next week.
“We know that students also will be adjusting to new ways of learning, and the university is committed to supporting you through this journey,” McPheron said in the email.
A petition to the university to provide students the option to elect a pass/no-pass grading system was started on Change.org by Jade Musa, a third-year in political science.
At the time of publication, the petition has 3,377 signatures.
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The first of the two proposals would allow undergraduate students to opt-in for pass/no pass grading for general education and elective courses, McPheron said. Pass/no pass class credits count toward graduation but do not affect grade point average and cannot be used for major courses.
The second proposal would extend the time period for students granted incomplete grades to finish coursework the following term from six weeks to 10 weeks, McPheron said. Incomplete grades are given to students who have “completed a substantial portion of the work in a course in a satisfactory manner.”
Students must request an incomplete grade from their instructor before the scheduled final for the course.
Other universities that have transitioned to virtual learning are offering a pass/no-pass grading system as well.
The University of Akron announced Friday in an email to its university community that students in courses that have moved online will have until May 3 to decide to take their classes on a credit or no-credit scale.
Duke University announced Wednesday in an email that all classes will be graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory scale. The scale will count for all classes — including major classes — and will not affect students’ GPAs, according to the university’s student publication The Chronicle.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced Thursday on their COVID-19 website that all graduate and undergraduate courses have been moved to their alternate grading scale, which according to their registrar’s website, is defined as a PE, NE or IE. A PE is classified as a pass, an NE is classified as a fail and an IE is classified as an incomplete.
McPheron said that proposed changes to Ohio State’s grading system are intended to provide some relief to students worried about their grades.
“Our faculty are committed to providing the highest quality instruction, and we know that Ohio State students are equally committed to academic excellence in your work,” McPheron said. “We hope these options help to remove some anxiety about how the academic changes occurring this year will affect you.”
These proposals will not take effect unless approved by the University Senate.
University Senate proposals that are passed are then forwarded to the Board of Trustees for approval, according to the University Senate’s website. If approved, students will have until April 17 to opt-in for pass/no-pass grading, according to the email.
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