On behalf of the student body and with support of the student senate, I have created this petition less as a call to action and more as a method of providing both a centralized location for information on the implementation of the pass/fail system, and as a way of gathering both qualitative and quantitative results on student support.

What is the pass/fail system?

The pass/fail system was invoked at Bradley during the Spring 2020 semester due to the sudden appearance of COVID-19 in Peoria and the lack of preparation that could realistically be made by both students and faculty to quickly switch to an online format. 

The system worked so that any grade, whether in an undergraduate or graduate class, could be converted from the standard grading system to the pass/fail system. The main points are as follows:

• A “C” letter grade or higher could be converted to “PASS.”
• A “D” letter grade or lower could be converted to “FAIL.”
• All grades calculated through the PASS/FAIL system would not count towards GPA calculations.

Any grades, even "C" letter grades, could otherwise be claimed as is and would be weighed into the calculation of your cumulative GPA. If you have straight "A"s, you would not need to consider using this system. If you have straight "A"s and one "C", though, you could maintain a higher GPA by converting the "C" grade to a "PASS" grade.

The recent passing of the CARES Act “allows colleges and universities to exclude from the minimum 2.0 GPA requirement for Satisfactory Academic Progress any attempted credits that were incomplete due to the coronavirus pandemic.” This means that a pass/fail implementation will have no ill-consequences towards financial aid.

What would this mean for students?

This means that, with the various things students are attempting to balance (in addition to the class load they would have otherwise had), shifts individual focus from preservation to what changes are necessary for that individual student to thrive. Students struggling to balance:

• mental health,
• direct and indirect effects of the coronavirus,
• civil & economic strife,
• the transition to an online format,
• and responsibilities they have to their family and themselves,

can prioritize what they need to focus on based on their unique set of circumstances. It is important to remember that just as the virus affects the body of one person different from another, the impact of these events on any individual varies as well.

Students who also don’t have access to the same resources, including, but not limited to: stable and reliable Wi-Fi connection, library resources, campus resources (for those learning remotely), and no opportunity for hands-on learning or practicing.

Everyone is facing some degree of desperation right now. Whether it be for normalcy, for options, or for change; the implementation of this system would work to assist those who are experiencing the very worst of what this year has had to offer, and would even provide an opportunity for those who have been finding it difficult to adjust to the online system to succeed. 

This does not mean, however, that students should be exploiting these current events to merely pass classes they would have otherwise excelled in. This will be discussed in further detail below.

What would this mean for faculty?

As mentioned above, everyone is under the influence of the effects created by recent events. Faculty are no more immune to these effects than students themselves are. How would the pass/fail system ease the tensions on faculty members?

For starters, professors would notice more cohesion within the classroom, would see less urgent communication from their students regarding grades, and would likely feel less stress themselves as a result of improved mental health and decreased stress within the student body.

What are the negative aspects of this system that should be considered?

It is worth noting, for the individuals that would consider this a shortcut, that maintaining a high GPA is also dependent on the amount of grades an average is being taken from. It is also worth noting that building any sort of dependency on this system is irresponsible, and may lead to the failure to maintain a high grade point average in the future.

While there may be no immediate effect on financial aid, for those looking into advanced programs such as medical residencies or other graduate programs, a grade of “PASS” could be seen as a red flag. Given recent events, however, there are plenty of reasonable explanations. This consequence should still be considered nonetheless.

Final thoughts:

I will now be turning the attention over from this “petition” to that of the student body themselves. While a signature will show general support, sharing experiences, thoughts, and concerns may make the difference between the implementation of this system or the lack thereof.

For questions or concerns, please contact me at jcarlin@mail.bradley.edu. What defines us as individuals cannot be the very things that divide us. Together, we can make a difference.

Sources:

Forbes - Colleges Go To Pass Fail... What Does This Mean For Students?

Bradley University - Pass Fail System.

Bradley University - Pass Fail Policies.