After our last article about Pace potentially allowing students to have Pass/Fail grades for the Spring 2020 semester, faculty received an email from the University heads about the issue. 

The email explains that the issue of Pass/Fail grades had been discussed by the academic Deans, the faculty council and the Provost’s office. They have come to the decision to give some students the option to have Pass/Fail grades for the semester. Students who are in some professional schools, such as the College of Health Professions or the School of Education, are not eligible to have Pass/Fail grades because of the “licensure and accreditation requirements,” as stated in the email. If students are unsure of whether or not they have the option to have Pass/Fail, they should check with their academic advisors.

Students who are eligible for the Pass/Fail option must notify their professor by Monday, April 27. Students will have to fill out a form that will soon be provided to them by the Provost’s office. If students choose to submit the form to their professors, they may not change their minds about having Pass/Fail grades for the semester.

Pass/Fail will be available to both undergraduate and graduate courses. For undergraduates, any letter grade above a D will be considered a passing grade. For graduates, any letter grade above a C will be passing. 

Pass/Fail grades during Spring 2020 will be annotated to reflect the student’s choice to have Pass/Fail grades due to the coronavirus pandemic. University officials are still discussing the option of making Summer I classes fully remote, and with the option of Pass/Fail. 

This decision comes after students demanded the option be available to them due to the stress of having fully remote classes in the midst of a pandemic. Students have started and shared an online petition that demands that Pace change to Pass/Fail. The petition now has 1,746 signatures.