An update on a decision regarding grading policies for Spring Semester 2020 made by the academic leadership team.
Dear Students:
I am writing to update you on a decision regarding grading policies for Spring Semester 2020 that the academic leadership team has made, in consultation with Faculty Council, Department Chairs, and the faculty as a whole.
In light of the unprecedented challenges associated with the Spring 2020 semester, we are changing our grading policies for all courses in a manner that we believe provides students with maximum flexibility, while not compromising the integrity of the academic program. In each of your courses you are enrolled in this semester, you will receive a letter grade according to the grading criteria set by each professor. However, at the end of the semester, during a short window of time after grades are posted (to be determined, but probably no more than a few days), you will have the option to elect Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) grading mode for each of your courses after seeing the letter grade. If you are happy with the grade you receive, you may keep that grade, and it will count toward your overall GPA. If you are not happy with your grade, you may elect CR/NC, and the grade will not affect your GPA.
We are offering this option as some of you may want or need to receive letter grades either because of your future plans, or because of scholarships or financial aid requirements. We will be working on a comprehensive set of guidelines for you to consider when making a decision to elect CR/NC, and we in the Dean’s Office will be on hand to answer individual questions about your situation closer to the end of the semester. For now you should know that we are not changing the policy on the grade threshold for earning a grade of CR in a course under the CR/NC grade mode: to receive a CR in a course you need to earn a grade of C or higher, while any grade below a C will receive NC (and no units toward graduation).
For Spring 2020, we will allow courses taken on a CR/NC basis to meet a Major, Minor, or Core requirement.
Feel free to send any questions you may have about this policy change to the cv19academics@oxy.edu email address.
Take care,
Wendy