Latest Embarrassing CHE Op-Ed: Make All Courses Pass/Fail

[Puget]

One other measure that has been adopted many places, including here, is to extend the drop deadline. After even a week of each course's transition to online students shoiuld be able to tell which is OK and which is a total mess so they can drop. That still gives them agency.

They should not have to drop late in the semester because their class is now a total mess. That could delay graduation, mess up all their schedules going forward, etc.

Why are you so intent on punishing your students in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis?

Are we as a society intent on "punishing" health care workers in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis by making them treat people?

Are we as a society intent on "punishing" people in entertainment and hospitality industries in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis by shuttering their businesses?

Are we as a society intent on "punishing" working parents with small children in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis by closing schools and daycares?

What we are doing,  in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis, is trying to figure out how to make the best of it. Part of the responsibility of educational institutions is to assess students' knowledge in some credible way. While the covid epidemic undoubtedly has a negative impact on students' education, that doesn't absolve institutions of the responsibility to attempt fair assessment. "Everyone gets an A!" is not a fair assessment. Neither is "Everyone gets an F!" The more nuance that can be preserved the better.  And by giving students choices with real consequences, it helps to prepare them for the world which (as is now readily apparent) includes circumstances that we were not prepared for but whose consequences we must deal with.

Saying we will give people choices is showing compassion; pretending that this will have no measurable impact on their academic career is dishonest and infantalizing.

Those parallels are completely false. Those are sacrifices we are asking people to make to save lives. Denying your students the option of taking a class P/F is not saving anyone's life. Having some P/F grades on their transcript is not ruining anyone's life. I truly don't understand your issue here, but I'm out--no point in continuing this conversation.

[spork]

• Supposedly in some fields, given state licensing requirements, pass/fail is not an option, because pass/fail is, to borrow the words above, not regarded as a credible way of assessing a student's academic performance. Supposedly for some universities/programs, pass/fail also renders course credits ineligible for transfer. While these are institutional policies that can be changed, the questions of "how quickly?" and "what effects will the policy change have?" haven't been answered yet.
• At a place like Harvard, the average GPA is in the B+/A- range. Students will clamor for a switch to pass/fail if it doesn't affect their GPA. If the university says "A grade of Pass will function numerically as a C and will be incorporated into your GPA accordingly" then those who were in favor of pass/fail will switch positions and oppose it.

[Chairman X]

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is now on the verge of allowing students to request "Credit/No Credit" grading.  Other universities in the state are also reportedly considering such a change.
[...]
I suspect that this will be like everything else we've seen in recent weeks--once the word is out that a few schools are doing it, things will snowball until virtually every school in the country has fallen into line.

Just so: There are scores of institutions that already have moved to C/NC or the equivalent. If this were to become an industry standard -- as I think it should -- then students would end up on equal footing. Students would still have 7 other semesters at minimum of grades that establishes their records. And strong students applying to jobs or graduate school will still have access to recommendations from professors who can give qualitative evaluations of their work.

[marshwiggle]

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is now on the verge of allowing students to request "Credit/No Credit" grading.  Other universities in the state are also reportedly considering such a change.
[...]
I suspect that this will be like everything else we've seen in recent weeks--once the word is out that a few schools are doing it, things will snowball until virtually every school in the country has fallen into line.

Just so: There are scores of institutions that already have moved to C/NC or the equivalent. If this were to become an industry standard -- as I think it should -- then students would end up on equal footing. Students would still have 7 other semesters at minimum of grades that establishes their records. And strong students applying to jobs or graduate school will still have access to recommendations from professors who can give qualitative evaluations of their work.

Only if this is for a single semester. If a vaccine takes a year to 18 months to develop, as predicted, this could affect 3 or 4 terms for some students. The move to completely online is not likely to be seamless in subsequent terms, so all of the concerns about effects on grades will still potentially apply, if possibly to a lesser extent.

[spork]

It's official: my university announced that all students can "petition" to have their courses this semester graded as P/F. It's not really a petition, because if they want it, it happens.

[mahagonny]

It's official: my university announced that all students can "petition" to have their courses this semester graded as P/F. It's not really a petition, because if they want it, it happens.

Same here. But what a travesty. We, the faculty, were not consulted. Where is faculty governance in all of this?

Oh, wait a minute. I almost forgot. I'm not faculty. I'm just a guy who teaches college students for a living...

Oh, wait a minute. I was in favor of pass/fail.

Give me instructions. Let me follow them. Blame them for the new policy.

[saffie]

The policy is pending approval, but CUNY is also moving to allow students to opt for Credit/No Credit for a time period after final grades are posted. (Exception exists for School of Law and School of Medicine to develop their own policies.)

https://www.cuny.edu/cuny-continuity/cuny-continuity-for-students/#grade-policy

[Caracal]

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is now on the verge of allowing students to request "Credit/No Credit" grading.  Other universities in the state are also reportedly considering such a change.
[...]
I suspect that this will be like everything else we've seen in recent weeks--once the word is out that a few schools are doing it, things will snowball until virtually every school in the country has fallen into line.

Just so: There are scores of institutions that already have moved to C/NC or the equivalent. If this were to become an industry standard -- as I think it should -- then students would end up on equal footing. Students would still have 7 other semesters at minimum of grades that establishes their records. And strong students applying to jobs or graduate school will still have access to recommendations from professors who can give qualitative evaluations of their work.

Only if this is for a single semester. If a vaccine takes a year to 18 months to develop, as predicted, this could affect 3 or 4 terms for some students. The move to completely online is not likely to be seamless in subsequent terms, so all of the concerns about effects on grades will still potentially apply, if possibly to a lesser extent.

I've seen people say this, and while I defer to actual experts, from everything I understand we should expect to be back teaching in classrooms by the fall semester. I'll spare you the secondhand epidemiology, but it isn't just going to be spreading uncontrolled until we have a vaccine.

And also really guys? You're actually bothered by the idea that students can choose to take pass/fail this semester. It doesn't keep anyone from taking their A that they earned, it just allows students who have had a tough semester during an @#$*$$$ pandemic to not be penalized for it as long as they can fulfill the basic course requirements and pass. Do you really not have anything better to do right now than bloviate about a decline in academic standards?

[Wahoo Redux]

You Go Caracal!

[mamselle]

I didn't see it above; has it already been mentioned that Harvard has gone to "Emergency Satisfactory" and "Emergency Unsatisfactory" grades for all classes?

That preserves context while releasing the pressure valve to something like humane.

M.

[marshwiggle]

In all of these discussions there's an implicit assumption that lots of students are overwhelmed by this. Does anyone know of any actual surveys to determine how many students are actually very worried about these disruptions?

[Cheerful]

deleted.

[mahagonny]

In all of these discussions there's an implicit assumption that lots of students are overwhelmed by this. Does anyone know of any actual surveys to determine how many students are actually very worried about these disruptions?

I haven't looked into as yet. Nor have I ever seen any compilation of data proving that dogs like meat.

[RatGuy]

In all of these discussions there's an implicit assumption that lots of students are overwhelmed by this. Does anyone know of any actual surveys to determine how many students are actually very worried about these disruptions?

Our university announced the cancellation of F2F classes while students were on Spring Break. Students were urged to bring everything with them in case this happened (they didn't) and it's caused quite a stir. Students living in the dorm were banned from returning, while students living in Greek housing (which is on campus) were allowed to return.

Our university required us to poll students, asking them if a) they had internet access b) access to their university emails and/or LMS c) had their textbooks d) were able to complete the course in an online format. 49% of my students responded "Yes" they could access the course, but about 10% said they were worried about being able to complete the assignments. None who responded said they lacked resources.

One of my departmental colleagues had 1% of his students respond.

I do not know what the university will do with this information. Given the reaction to this entire event, I doubt that students who are deemed "non-responsive" will receive any sort of a break from the admins.

[spork]

Clemson has announced that instructors can exempt all students from final exams.

My university has extended the deadline for course withdrawal to May, as well as the deadline by which students have to decide whether to have their courses graded as P/F. Basically this means no student needs to fail a course this semester.