Kansas State University, led by President Richard Myers, correctly and justifiably has moved its operations entirely to an online system in response to the threat of COVID-19. This move has and will greatly affect the ability of the students to successfully learn from their professors (many of which are ill-prepared to move their class content online) and communicate with their classmates. To be short this move will affect every area of the educational process, primarily by obstructing communication and access to information; as such the Kansas State Student Body should be allowed to opt-in to a pass/fail scoring system or one of many similar systems being initiated by universities around our country.

Recently, institutions such as The Massachusets Institue of Technology (MIT), Duke University, and Vanderbilt University have made the leap to provide alternative scoring systems for their student bodies. We ask that Kansas State University recognize the difficulties brought about by lack of reliable internet access, professors and students who are ill-prepared to move to an online learning system, and the emotional hardship brought about by social distancing. We appreciate that Kansas State University has already taken measures to protect its faculty and student body, and we now ask that it is recognized that those measures will bring with them many complications that should not be allowed to affect grade point averages and future employment opportunities.