The University System of Maryland and Frostburg State University have moved classes exclusively online in response to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, otherwise known as the novel coronavirus. While some plans have been proposed to increase access to internet service and technology, like laptops, none of the plans offered by the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs consider the many ways in which student learning will be impacted by the realities they face at home. 

Many students will now be learning in abusive home environments, some have become full-time caregivers for younger siblings who are not in school, others face financial uncertainty, and all students are experiencing dramatic changes that could impact their mental health.

As a result, this petition requests that Frostburg State University join other schools, such as Georgetown and MIT, and make all courses Pass/Fail for the Spring 2020 semester. 

Indeed, The Chronicle of Higher Education is calling for this drastic step and Frostburg should act on this now, for the sake of professors who are scrambling to reinvent courses and for students who are scrambling to survive. 

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Make-All-Courses-Pass-Fail-Now/248281 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/19/colleges-go-passfail-address-coronavirus