All undergraduate courses at
the University of Michigan will
transition to an alternative grade
policy, according to an email sent
to students from Acting Provost
Susan Collins on Friday evening.
In place of a letter grade, students
will now receive a “Pass” or “No
Record Covid” on their permanent
transcripts.
Students who receive a “Pass,”
or “P,” on their transcript will get
full credit for the course, with a
grade cut-off of C-, the traditional
grade minimum for a student to
earn course credit. Additionally,
students who wish for their “P”
to be converted to a letter grade
will have the option to do so if
they submit a request by July 1.
According to Collins, more details
regarding the “P” to letter grade
conversion will be communicated
in the coming weeks.
Students
who
receive
“No
Record Covid,” or “NRC,” on their
transcript will not receive course
credit,
but
their
grade
point
average will not be affected.
Collins wrote the University
will
also
implement
a
more
flexible course withdrawal policy.
The new policy allows students
to withdraw from a class up
until April 21 without the course
appearing on their transcript.
The new grading policy will
also
apply
to
undergraduates
enrolled
in
graduate
classes;
however, classes graded before
March 10 will not be subject to this
policy. In the email, Collins wrote
the University plans to share
additional
information
about
graduate and professional classes
within the coming week.
“While
other
institutions
across the nation have adopted
similar policies on grading, it is
undoubtedly
an
unprecedented
step
for
the
University
of
Michigan,” Collins wrote. “But
these are unprecedented times,
and I appreciate your flexibility.”
After the first week of transitioning
to remote learning platforms, some
University of Michigan students and
faculty faced scheduling adjustments,
particularly related to difficulties
with time zones.
LSA
sophomore
Sydney
Lum
moved back to her home in Kailua,
Hawaii. She shared her experience
with transitioning to online courses
in Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time,
which runs six hours behind Eastern
Standard Time, the time zone in
Michigan.
“With the time difference, I’ve
had to start my classes at four in the
morning,” Lum said. “So on Monday,
I had my (sociology) midterm at
4 (a.m.), and the teacher was like,
‘Yeah we have to do it all at the same
time, there’s no exceptions.’ So that’s
definitely a negative, like waking up
really early, especially trying to have
time with my family at night, because
I have to go to bed really early.”
Lum’s courses currently include
live discussion sessions, in which
students call into class through
online platforms like BlueJeans or
Zoom. Lum said she thinks these live
sessions pose challenges in creating
a similar environment to traditional
classroom settings.
“I think it’s a bummer for me
because I love going to classes, and
I love going to discussion, and it’s
been really difficult trying to have
those discussions,” Lum said. “I
think a lot of people are less likely
to participate in Bluejeans or Zoom,
because you can kind of hide behind
a screen in many ways, so a lot of
discussion hasn’t been as enjoyable,
to be honest.”
French professor Sabine Gabaron
teaches four classes this semester
and has been testing out various
platforms this past week to adapt to
the changing situation. She said the
department had a discussion about
how to accommodate students living
in different time zones.
“Should we change our class time
to accommodate everyone and try
to find a middle ground that works
for everyone?” Gabaron said. “And
we all came to the conclusion that
it was impossible because all of our
students are taking different classes.
And so as everybody starts moving
class time all over the place, then
it becomes more hectic in terms of
getting organized for everyone. So
then we decided that it made more
sense for us if we wanted to teach
live to teach at our class time, and
then try to offer other options for
those who could not join.”
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, March 23, 2020
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Students, faculty discuss difficulties of time
zone differences in adjusting to online classes
Scheduled class time,
examinations occur
at inconvenient times
for certain learners
Design by Cara Jhang
BARBARA COLLINS &
BEN ROSENFELD
Daily News Editors
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Vol. CXXIX, No. 89
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O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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CAMPUS LIFE
All University of Michigan
students living in University
housing will be refunded $1,200
if they move out of their residence
halls or apartments by 5 p.m. on
Wednesday, March 25.
An email to housing residents
from Interim Vice President for
Student Life Simone Himbeault
Taylor Friday morning said the
refund will be applied directly to
each student’s account.
Students moving out of
dorms to receive $1200
BARBARA COLLINS
Daily News Editor
‘U’ moves to Pass/No Record grading
All undergraduate courses will have the option of alternate grade policy on transcript
MADDIE FOX/Daily
The University has moved to a “Pass/No Record COVID” grading system for this semester.
DESIGN BY CHRISTINE JEGARL
University
housing to
give refund
KRISTINA ZHENG
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
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