With the beginning of America’s bout with the Coronavirus in March, students all over the country were uprooted and sent home to finish the semester online. With the abrupt change in life, many institutes of higher education, including Boston University, adapted academic policies to accommodate students struggling with our “New Normal.”

One such adaptation at Boston University was the Credit/No Credit policy put in place for The Spring 2020 semester, which allowed for students to opt for grades to either present as a letter grade, or as simply “C/NC” on their transcript. This helped relieve pressure off students struggling in remote classes, while still allowing students to receive credit for required courses.

While the current global situation and class quality has remained as troubling as it was in the spring, the C/NC policy was not reinstated for the Fall 2020 semester. Many students are still struggling with the Learn from Anywhere (LfA) format, and with the mental stressors associated with the Covid-19 Pandemic. Students are isolated more than ever, experiencing depression and anxiety, and have different responsibilities than in a normal semester. Some students also have to care for family members, or for their own mental health. This ‘care’ often includes attending multiple health care appointments and making more time for social interaction (since it takes much more planning and thought to meet with people, and social interaction is a necessity for mental health). 

Professors are also having difficulties making their classes LfA friendly. In hybrid classes, the professor’s attention is split between the in person and the LfA students. Many professors are still struggling with moving resources online, and streamlining the learning process for both in person and remote students. In both completely online  and hybrid classes, there are also often technical issues, which are extremely distracting, and lessen the quality of the professor’s presentation. As students, we are not trying to shift any responsibility for our learning on to faculty or staff. We recognize that the faculty and staff of Boston University have their own struggles with regards to teaching. However we are asking for the University to demonstrate understanding of how these struggles translate into more obstacles for students to contend with during already turbulent times. 

While these difficulties are still among us, we are asking that Boston University considers reinstating the policies from the Spring semester, specifically the Credit/No Credit policy. Our situation as students has not improved, yet we are being asked to perform at levels consistent with a normal semester. We hope that BU will recognize our struggles and be consistent with their promises to value our mental and physical well-being.