Dear Colleagues:
Tonight you heard from Acting Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Susan Collins about an alternative grading policy for undergraduate courses. The full message is below. We will report on the grading policy for graduate students soon.
For this term only, all undergraduate courses will transition to an alternative final grade policy in which faculty members enter traditional letter grades, but students receive either “P” (Pass), or “NRC” (No Record Covid) on their permanent transcripts. All restrictions with regard to the need for letter grades for required courses are waived for this semester. In other words, as long as a student gets a P (C- or better) in a required course, they will be allowed to continue. Students will be able to request that their “P” for a course be converted to a letter grade. Such requests must be made by 1 July 2020. Please stay tuned for further details.
The rationale for this policy is that we recognize how much world events have impacted our academic mission. We cannot guarantee that our students and faculty will be able to perform at their peak potential as this crisis continues. We feel that it is in the students’ best interest to adopt this generous and flexible scheme.
This will not change anything about how you do your grading, but it is likely to raise questions from students. I will do my best to help you navigate those as they arise. You can also direct students to my virtual office hours, listed on the Student Resources page of the College’s COVID-19 site.
I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and dedication to ensuring our students succeed. Please reach out if you have any questions or need assistance.
Stay well,
Joanna
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Message From The Provost:
Dear students and faculty,
I’m writing tonight to share a brief but important message regarding undergraduate course grading policies for the Ann Arbor campus for the remainder of the winter term.
Due to the unique academic and personal challenges our students are experiencing this semester in regard to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all undergraduate courses will transition to an alternative grading policy in which faculty enter traditional letter grades, but students receive either “Pass,” or “No Record Covid” on their permanent transcripts.
Students who receive a “Pass,” or “P,” will receive the full course credit. The grade cut-off for a “P” will be the same as the traditional grade minimum for students to receive course credit, which is a C-.
Students who are interested will be able to request that their “P” for a course be converted to a letter grade through a process that will be described in greater detail in the weeks to come. Such requests must be made by July 1.
Students who receive “No Record Covid,” or “NRC,” will receive no course credit, but their grade point average will not be affected. Language will be added to transcripts explaining the university’s policy this term.
This new policy also applies to undergraduates enrolled in graduate courses, but would not apply to classes graded before March 10.
Lastly, the university will institute a more flexible withdrawal policy, allowing students to withdraw from a course up until April 21 and not have the course appear on their transcript.
We plan to share additional information regarding graduate and professional coursework grading policies next week.
While other institutions across the nation have adopted similar policies on grading, it is undoubtedly an unprecedented step for the University of Michigan. But these are unprecedented times, and I appreciate your flexibility.
You should expect to receive additional information and guidance from your school or college next week. In the meantime, remember that https://coronavirus.umich.edu/ is our hub for all news and updates regarding the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
Please take good care of yourselves, and those around you, during this challenging time.
Susan M. Collins
Acting Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs