March 25, 2020
To All Students, Faculty, and Staff:
I am pleased to announce that I have approved a March 19 recommendation by the Faculty Council that we should loosen the campus’s Pass/Fail (P/F) and Withdrawal (W) deadlines and our P/F policy for the spring 2020 semester. Both the P/F deadline and the W deadline are hereby reset for all classes (face-to-face, online, and CE) to Wednesday, May 13, 2020.
Additionally, for the spring 2020 semester only, the normal limit of one P/F class per semester is lifted. Students may elect the P/F option for as many spring 2020 classes as they choose. The standing limit of eight on the number of P/F classes that undergraduate students may take over their undergraduate careers will remain in place—but with the exception that, for the spring 2020 semester only, P/F classes above and beyond the normal semester limit of one will not count toward the student’s career limit of eight. (Example: A student elects the P/F option in four classes; the first will count toward the career limit of eight; the other three will not.)
Please note that the P/F option, with its revised deadline, will continue to apply only to undergraduate students (as normally); the W option, with its revised deadline, will continue to apply to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Students are strongly urged not to make decisions to switch to P/F in multiple courses without first consulting with their University Advising Center or college professional advisor and/or their faculty major or program advisor, to make sure that these switches will neither present unintended obstacles to their smooth progression in their majors nor complicate their visa or financial aid eligibility. Students should consult with the Office of Global Programs regarding possible visa implications and/or with the financial aid office (and other pertinent offices, like Veterans’ Affairs or the scholarship office) regarding possible financial aid complications.
All faculty grade sheets, including for classes with end-dates earlier than May 13, will be made available to faculty as soon as possible after the May 13 P/F and W deadline, to allow student declarations of P/F or W to be built into them. All grades will continue to be due from faculty to the Registrar on May 29, 2020.
Finally, I have asked the Registrar and the Vice Provost for Academic Support Services to hold off on making any Academic Standing calculations or posting Academic Standing notations to student records for the spring 2020 semester. As a result, except in particular cases where programs or colleges exert continuation standards that exceed those for good academic standing, all active students whose continuation is contingent upon university standing will be permitted to enroll in classes in the upcoming terms. Students with questions in this area should consult their advisors.
Emily A. McDermott
Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
