With in-person classes canceled due to COVID-19, how will Penn State students be graded?
Penn State announced a new, optional grading system Wednesday for the spring semester that is aimed at preserving students’ GPAs and giving them more flexibility to combat academic challenges brought about by the new coronavirus.
The university earlier this month canceled all in-person classes through at least the spring semester because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Classes and exams have been administered online.
Penn State is one of several Big Ten universities that has either implemented or considered alternative grading options.
“The alternative grading plan reflects the possibility that some students, through no fault of their own, might not achieve the grades they could have if they had attended on-campus classes for the entire semester,” Executive Vice President and Provost Nicholas Jones wrote in an email sent Wednesday to Penn State faculty. “The plan also is designed to minimize impacts to students’ GPAs and academic transcripts.”
The new system allows students to either keep their grade or have courses graded with one of three alternative grades:
- Satisfactory, representing a C or better
- Passing, available if a student gets a D in a course
- No grade, which can be used to replace an F grade and will be treated similarly to if the student had late-dropped the class
All three alternative options will not affect students’ GPA calculations. There is no limit on the number of courses that a student can request an alternative grade.
New grading options are available to undergraduate students, including world campus students and those who have returned from study abroad programs.
Students in an integrated graduate-undergraduate program cannot request alternative grades for courses applied to their graduate program. The university is exploring options for graduate students.
A satisfactory or passing grade will count toward total credits earned, the entrance-to-major requirement credit window, semester standing and the opportunity to purchase football tickets.
Faculty are set to have an additional week to enter letter grades at the end of the semester. Students can then review and keep their grades, if desired.
Students who would like one or more of their grades replaced with a grade from the new system are expected to have about one week to consult with their academic adviser.
Additional information about the specifics of the requests process and deadlines is forthcoming, the university said.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 11:14 AM.