On Tuesday, March 31, in less than 24 hours, over 900 individuals signed an online petition requesting to change Southern’s grading system for the Winter 2020 semester. If approved by university administrators, the adjustment would give students the option to be graded on a pass/fail scale rather than the regular letter-grade system. By Wednesday evening, the petition had accumulated over 1,050 signatures.
According to senior international development studies major Tiago Ferreira, who created the petition on Tuesday at 2 a.m, the Administration has seen the request and has agreed to meet on Monday with Ferreira and junior psychology major Luis Moreno, who was already separately creating a proposal with the same motive.
Senior Vice President of Academic Administration Bob Young confirmed that the Academic Leadership Team is currently reviewing what it would mean to provide this option. He also shared several concerns that would need to be addressed if such a policy was implemented and said professors have been asked to be accommodating.
“My office has urged the faculty to be flexible and understanding with students,” Young said. “I hope that students will also be understanding and flexible with their professors as we navigate this situation together.”
Ferreira said he started the petition because he believes it is unreasonable for students to have to worry about maintaining good grades amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is what we need. This is a change that is going to help alleviate the academic stress being put on countless students,” Ferreira said. “This move is necessary; because when a sense of normalcy is lost, it’s hard to expect students to double down and maintain the usual attention that they place on their studies.”
Moreno said that after seeing Ferreira’s petition on Tuesday, he contacted him to suggest they team up. Although the petition did not make this explicitly clear, Moreno emphasized that they are advocating for the pass/fail grading scale to be optional, and not universal. He also hopes that students can choose how they are graded for each of their individual classes.
“Some students do not have the luxury of focusing solely on school like they did at Southern. Giving students the option is what I am fighting for,” Moreno said. “Giving the option for pass/fail is not expecting less of students. Rather, it is understanding that the extreme situation causes special considerations.”
Before the petition even circulated, Moreno posted an Instagram poll last week asking his followers if they believe Southern should implement a pass/fail grading scale on either a universal or optional basis. After an overwhelming 85 percent of voters said that the university should adopt one of the two options, Moreno reached out to Young about the idea. An Instagram poll conducted by the Accent with over 230 participants indicated that 76 percent of voters believe that the university should provide a pass/fail grading scale.
However, in an email interview, Young said that his office’s priority has been supporting students and faculty; and that although he understands students’ concerns, the pass/fail grading scale is not as positive as it seems.
For example, Young emphasizes that under a pass/fail system pass grades would not impact one’s GPA but a fail grade would still drop one’s GPA as it would on a regular grading scale. The change could also negatively impact student admission to graduate school and professional licensing as well as programmatic and institution accreditations.
Currently, to accommodate students who truly feel they will not be able to finish their classes or do well in online learning due to external circumstances, Southern has extended the 40 percent tuition refund withdrawal date to April 13, according to Karon Powell, director of records and advisement.
Young also urges students to pay close attention to emails and to turn on SMS notifications in order to assure they are made aware of any important updates.
“He [Young] genuinely has the student’s best interest in mind, and he is always down to listen to what students have to say,” Moreno said.
After the petition was made public, responses from Southern students varied as to whether or not they believe a pass/fail system should be implemented as an option for students.
Sophomore health science major Kaiya Lane, who signed the petition, said she did not do so for herself, but for other students who might need help.
“I think it would take a lot of weight off [students], especially because not every student is capable of succeeding in an online environment,” Lane said.
Camila Oleaurre, sophomore nursing major, had a different perspective. She said implementing the pass/fail system would be equivalent to throwing the whole semester away because there’s only a little over a month left of school. Oleaurre also believes that the time spent in clinicals and practicing skills is crucial to excelling in one’s career and being a good nurse.
“If a nurse told me they passed Mental and Adult Health on a pass/fail system, I’m not gonna lie; I would be a little scared,” Oleaurre said. “I think it’s important for us not only to pass, but to do well seeing as each class builds on top of the other.”
Students are not the only ones with opinions about the possibility of a pass/fail system. After being informed of the petition and its incentive, School of Journalism and Communication professor Lorraine Ball said she is not in favor of the proposed change and feels that it is a knee-jerk reaction.
“It’s not like we are not going to face obstacles; but it says a lot more about a person as to how you handle the obstacles as opposed to just retreating and saying, ‘Oh, I can’t do it,’” Ball said. “[The petition] gives students the license to just check-out [of school].”
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