On March 26, the provost, Daniel J. Myers, announced that American University would extend the pass/fail grading option to major requirement classes for the spring semester.  This grading change was based on the stress and difficulty the online learning experience provided, on top of a growing pandemic.  At that time, there were 16,988 cases, nationally.  As of today, as we start a new semester fully online, the country has 6.57 million cases and 194,000 deaths. As a result, American University Black Student Union, Black Girls Vote, and NAACP are calling on the American University administration to continue pass/fail for the major requirement classes during the Fall 2020 online semester.  The country is in more chaos than it was in March, and that is going to have a direct effect on students' ability to perform successfully.  There are many students who are not in the proper conditions to meet the grade expectations they set for themselves before the pandemic.  It seems only logical for students to be given the pass/fail option for the semester.  

Additionally, we would like for the University to put a structured policy in place to ensure professors are submitting final grades by 12/17/20. We are asking that the University extend the pass/fail declaration deadline to three days following the publication of final grades. We want to emphasize this as many students were not given ample evidence to declare. When students are not aware of their final grade, the decision to pass/fail can result in regret and we want to avoid that for all students moving forward.

GPAs determine scholarship eligibility and are crucial for any student wishing to pursue graduate studies, which is why allowing students to take classes pass/fail is necessary to minimize the impact of this epidemic on our academic experience and career success.