USD will not change its Fall 2020 pass/fail policy
Vice President and Provost Gail Baker, Ph.D. sent the announcement to students on Nov. 2
Celina Tebor / Editor in Chief
The University of San Diego will not change the pass/fail policy for the Fall 2020 semester, according to an email sent by Vice President and Provost Gail Baker, Ph.D., on Nov. 2.
USD allowed all undergraduate students to take any USD undergraduate course on a pass/fail basis in Spring 2020, but decided not to make any changes to the Fall 2020 pass/fail policy.
Baker’s email explained why the university chose not to change its pass/fail policy and included a document that highlights USD’s rationale: being too late into the semester, grade inflation, and uncertainty about how professional and graduate schools will handle applications from students with pass/fail grades on their transcripts in place of letter grades were a few of the reasons.
Baker also said Fall 2020 was unlike Spring 2020, “which was characterized by a massive disruption in learning mode and a change in living arrangements in the middle of the semester.”
Over 1,400 students have signed a petition asking USD to extend the pass/fail option to all classes in the Fall 2020 semester.
Students can find the current pass/fail policy on the university’s website. This is the policy that has been in place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Spring 2020 semester. Students cannot take classes for their major, minor, or core curriculum on a pass/fail basis, except in some circumstances where courses are only offered on a pass/fail basis. The deadline to select a letter grade or a pass/fail option for Fall 2020 has already passed.
The University Senate, which is comprised of senators elected by the faculty, the academic deans, provost, and president, a representative of the associated students, a graduate student and a law student representative, also discussed pass/fail guidelines during its Oct. 29 meeting.
Changing the pass/fail guidelines would require action by the University Senate, and the senate made the decision to not include changing the policy as an agenda item at the meeting, instead only choosing to discuss it.
The senate discussed a letter drafted by the Associated Student Government Executive Board and undergraduate students, which called for the university to implement the pass/fail option for all undergraduate courses for the 2020-2021 academic year. Students cited the compressed semester, mental health of students, and time zone sensitivity as some of the reasons why USD should allow all classes to be taken pass/fail.
Senate Chair Kevin Guerrieri, Ph.D., said students’ requests for the pass/fail option were discussed with the school’s administration.
“We heard many valid arguments in favor of not making any changes to the pass/fail option for this semester,” Guerririeri said.
Those arguments included logistical issues, already being too late into the semester, and concerns surrounding students who are pursuing post-undergraduate education, and are similar to the rationale in Baker’s Nov. 2 email.
College of Arts and Sciences Dean Noelle Norton, Ph.D., noted that USD’s pre-health advisor, who oversees students who are interested in pursuing a career in the health industry, strongly cautioned against students on the pre-health track taking classes pass/fail this semester.
Many post-undergraduate health science programs, along with other post-undergraduate programs, are requiring a letter grade for applications. According to Norton, some post-undergraduate health programs are even making applicants explain the modality of their classes (in-person, hybrid, online, etc.) on their applications.
“(The pre-health advisor’s) recommendation is that pass/fail would not be a wise idea for anybody with pre-health aspirations,” Norton said.
Many senators and professors expressed their sympathy toward student concerns and the stress they are encountering, and some said allowing a pass/fail option for all classes may not be the best way to remedy the problem.
Some senators recommended that the senate should start thinking about and discussing plans for the Spring 2021 semester sooner, rather than later.