Though we respect the reasons for the mandatory pass/fail option for J.D. students announced on April 3rd, the uniform mandatory policy is not the most equitable solution. As a significant portion of the student body attested to, neither is the original optional pass/fail system. Given the varying interests at stake, the grading policy may need to be more nuanced. We believe the student body, faculty, and Dean should reconsider the uniform mandatory policy immediately and institute an official vote on the grading policy for 2Ls and 3Ls. 

Students at Georgetown's other campuses retain the option to receive grades. See https://www.georgetown.edu/news/revised-grading-policy-for-spring-2020/

Unlike 1Ls preparing for OCI, 2Ls and 3Ls are not mostly weighed against their peers. 2Ls and 3Ls are and/or will be competing for jobs against other law school graduates and already-practicing lawyers—majority of whom received the benefit of six-semesters of grades.
 
The Proposal
We propose the administration institutes an official vote for 2Ls and 3Ls to democratically decide the grading policy. The purpose of the petition is to get the Dean’s attention that some students may want a more nuanced grading policy. Many students still want the option to receive some grades, especially since that option can be instituted in a way that does not harm others. These options are explained throughout.   

1. Students could receive a carve-out for grades in seminars in which grading is theoretically more favorable and/or in which the majority of work has been completed. Grading could even be on an individual-basis and not on a curve. 

2. Or, those most disadvantaged could declare pass/fail prior to exams and remove themselves from grading while other students can declare pass/fail before and after exams. 

3. Or, students could have the option to individually petition for grades and to be graded on an individual basis; a policy some law schools have instituted. 

Why Other Options?
The mandatory pass/fail option supposedly serves the purpose of mitigating possible grade discrimination. Under the optional optional policy, an employer may see a “P” on a transcript and assume the “P” replaced/represented a low grade. Due to coronavirus, many students are struggling and cannot devote as much time to studies to earn a high grade. Yet, for these struggling students, failure is a real possibility. Thus, neither option completely eases a student’s struggle. 

Middle-ground solutions solve the main issue for both sides. For example, an optional pass/fail policy BEFORE and AFTER exams for 2Ls and 3Ls grants students the benefits of both options while representing more of the student body than either policy on its own. The original optional pass/fail required students to declare pass/fail after exams. This middle-ground policy with the option to declare P/F before and after exams was never presented to the student body nor adequately weighed by the student body. No one would likely assume a student declared P/F after exams if the option to declare P/F is made available prior to exams and encouraged to be made prior to exams.

Students who would like grades can receive them. Students who are struggling can declare pass/fail without fear of discrimination and remove themselves from grading. An employer cannot and would not assume a student did poorly in a class based on a “P” if the employer knows that many Georgetown students who took P/F this semester did so prior to taking exams. Just as transcripts currently explain grades, transcripts under this policy should include a short explanation on the policy. The transcript can state that a "P" in no way reflects a low grade.  
 
Given this explanation and the universal understanding that a pandemic occurred during this semester, employers would have no reason to discriminate. These carve-out policies allow students who want grades to receive them. These policies also allow struggling students to declare pass/fail before exams or to remain under a largely mandatory system and not feel unnecessary pressure to strive for certain grades. 
 
11 Reasons Why The Current Policy is Unfair and Wrongly Decided: 
1.     Petitions and discussions on the grading issue were framed as a binary with only two possible options/solutions: the original policy or a mandatory policy. The grading policy should be determined democratically and not behind closed doors. The Administration neglected to endorse an official vote for the student body. This middle-ground policy was never proposed and weighed by the student body. 
 
2.     The grade policy switch comes unduly late in the semester. Despite facing struggles due to coronavirus, many students have been exerting their best efforts for grades for the past three months. Many students have worked extremely diligently and arduously for 75% of the semester in expectation of grades. The mandatory policy negates this hard work and squanders the laborious efforts of many students.
 
3.     The current policy fails to make important carve-outs and distinctions, which a middle-ground policy would accommodate. For example, why shouldn’t students who completed abbreviated courses in January and February be allowed to receive grades? Why can’t students who have completed most of their year-long clinics be allowed to receive grades for the Spring? 2Ls and 3Ls should not be arbitrary grouped with 1Ls when both groups have dissimilar interests at stake and both groups enroll in different kinds of courses. 
 
4.     Receiving grades is a privilege and serves an important educational function. Georgetown is actively depriving students of that privilege. An “A” from Georgetown Law carries weight with employers and opens up new opportunities for students. Students use grades to ascertain how well they have learned material and to know their strengths and weaknesses. Grades are part of the learning experience. 
 
5.     Students did not pay tuition to receive Passes. Receiving a Pass is little different than receiving a certificate or credit for proof of attendance. Students paid tuition to be graded and to see how well they learned. Students paid for the opportunity to earn high marks, because high marks from Georgetown Law are valuable in a job market and when applying to other graduate schools. Passes are not as valuable as grades. Students ought to be able to receive the full value of that for which they paid. 

6.      A law degree is not always a terminal degree. Some law students may aspire to apply for an M.B.A. program or an S.J.D. after law school; these students may want grades in certain subjects to demonstrate their aptitude to graduate schools. For example, students in the "Mini M.B.A. Business Essentials" course or in "Accounting for Lawyers" course might be relying on grades in those courses to strengthen their graduate school applications. 
 
7.     The mandatory policy leaves 3Ls with no recourse. Just like the LL.M.s who remain under an optional policy, 3Ls lack another chance to earn grades. Many 3Ls waited until this last semester to enroll in courses in which they are most interested and expected to do their best. Some students likely enrolled in electives aligned with their career goals such as healthcare or financial law courses; these students are depending on grades in those courses to demonstrate aptitude to employers in these fields. These 3Ls are unexpectedly stuck with the last semester’s cumulative GPA. Students without job offers have no opportunity to demonstrate improvement to potential employers. Moreover, 2Ls and 3Ls enrolled in courses with mostly L.L.M.s are unfairly deprived of an opportunity to receive grades while their L.L.M. peers can.
 
8.     Due to coronavirus, a recession is nigh. Many students want and need grades to differentiate themselves in this increasingly difficult job market. Many students will compete for jobs against law graduates who had the benefits of six semesters of grades.
 
9.     Associating Georgetown’s decision with other schools in the T-14 is an arbitrary comparison and false, misleading analogy. The T-14 grouping has nearly nothing to do with unified grading policies or pandemic response. Rather than simply follow the lead of these schools, Georgetown ought to capture this opportunity to distinguish itself by implementing a fair, democratic vote on a grading policy. 

a.     If considering this grouping, many students at these T-14 schools and schools all over the country have protested the decision of administrators to switch to mandatory pass/fail. Such decisions were far from unanimous. Additionally, some schools in the T-14 already utilized similar grading systems to pass/fail as a default grading system. 
 
b.     Unlike those schools, Georgetown’s decision was the most delayed. Many Georgetown 2Ls and 3Ls were depending on this semester’s grades to help them find employment and to prove their skills to employers in certain fields. 
  
10.     Some students have obtained low grades due to personal circumstances far worse than those circumstances many are facing due to coronavirus. Students have lost loved ones. Students have struggled with mental illness. Students struggle with severe depression stemming from a low grade. Many of these students explained a low grade to employers. This middle-ground approach avoids the need for explanation while still remaining fair to those students who struggled in a course or two in prior semesters and need and want a chance at earning grades this semester to possibly raise their GPAs and better reflect their aptitude. 
 
11.     For students with concerns that the grade curve will be unduly impacted by the discrepancies in how the coronavirus impacts certain groups of people, there is no complete solution, even under a mandatory P/F system. Students in these dire circumstances face the possibility of having little time to study, and thus, face possible course failure. For students in extreme circumstances—rather than risking course failure—medical waivers or extensions may be a better remedy to mitigate these obstacles. A course’s grade curve may be impacted by the disproportionate struggles of some, but under this middle-ground solution, these individuals are not disadvantaged. If anything, some of them are able to demonstrate admirable perseverance.

5 Main Advantages of Before and After Exam Optional P/F for Seminar Courses
1.     Unlike doctrinal courses whose grades are primarily determined by one final exam, many seminars require several graded assignments throughout the semester. For example, with the "Mini-MBA Business Essentials" Seminar, 75% of the graded assignments have already been completed by students. In the "Business Planning Seminar", 66% of the graded assignments have already been completed. Moreover, a large portion of the Seminar grade is based on class participation, of which 2/3 has been completed prior to Spring Break. Thus, there is no reason for students not to be rewarded for their efforts for their work they already completed. Given many of these students already have grades, Professors could adjust grading policies to grade students on their individual work and not in relation to their peers. 

2.    Seminars have more favorable grading. Many students struggle with doctrinal exams. Thus, students may have enrolled in seminars partly to improve their GPA’s and show employers that they can succeed in a more intimate learning environment and/or in a paper writing course instead of a course solely determined by a final exam. Many 2L and 3L seminar students did not perform as well as they would have liked in their first year and eagerly anticipated their upper-class years to possibly improve their GPAs in the seminar classroom setting. For 3Ls who counted on this final semester to boost their GPA before entering a tough legal market, this anticipation may have amounted to reliance. Many know at least one law school drop-out; some students may have considered dropping out in previous semesters but remained in law school in anticipation of performing better this semester. 

3.    Unlike doctrinal courses, in which students are competing with each other for high grades, the seminar format allows professors to award students grades on an individual basis. Students do not have to receive grades in relation to their peers. Many professors have taught their seminars for years and can intuit a fair grade on an individual-basis from their past teaching experience or on merits of the student's work in relation to itself.

4.   Given that seminars are often not graded blindly, professors could consider external factors when determining a student’s grade. Grading does not have to be solely determined in relation to one's classroom peers.

5.   For seminars with mostly L.L.M.s, 2L and 3L students could receive grades in relation to their peers or on an individual basis. Very few 2Ls and 3Ls enroll in courses with 1Ls, but many 2Ls and 3Ls take courses with L.L.M.s who can still receive the benefits of grades.  

5 Advantages of Allowing Petitioning for Individual-Basis Grading
1.   Students at Georgetown's undergraduate campus and other campuses can still receive grades if they would like. See https://www.georgetown.edu/news/revised-grading-policy-for-spring-2020/

2.   The ability to petition for grading on an individual-basis does not harm anyone.

3.   Students most disadvantaged in past semesters have an opportunity to receive grades and improve. 

4.   3Ls share more similarities to L.L.M.s than they do to 1Ls. Unemployed L.L.M.s are entering a job market in competition against lawyers from other schools. Unemployed 3Ls are entering a similar job market. Many 3Ls and L.L.M.s take the same courses. These groups should be on similar footing by being allowed to receive at least some grades. 

5.   For some students, even those disadvantaged, the pursuit of grades is a worthwhile distraction from the coronavirus. This pursuit helps some students maintain a sense of control and goal-orientation in a time of extreme hopelessness and stress.