On March 11, 2020, in the face of growing concerns around COVID-19, New York University decided to make the transition to remote instruction, forgoing all in-person classes, assessments, and activities; on March 16, 2020, this policy was extended through the rest of the Spring 2020 semester.

Given that COVID-19 has forced all classes to be conducted online via Zoom, we believe that the appropriate action that the University should take is to make all classes have the option of being pass/fail and yet still count for their respective major/minor/concentration requirements.

NYU students, having already moved to all-online coursework, should not have to endure the stress of getting good grades during this time of great uncertainty.

On March 13, 2020, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced that they would be transitioning to their alternate grading policy, which is a structure of pass/fail grading in the event of significant disruption outlined in Article 2.64 of their rules and regulations manual. Additionally, Smith College also announced their decision to transition into pass/fail grading for their student body.

Transitioning to pass/fail grading would help reduce student stress to counteract the additional stress caused by COVID-19. Additionally, there are many personal difficulties that people may have to deal with: time zones, financially difficult times, access to Internet, access to quiet study spaces, and unexpected home responsibilities (jobs, taking care of family members). Moreover, many students also face the difficulty of a time zone change restricting them from partaking in class and preventing them from speaking to their professors during school hours

Online classes do not provide that same type of learning environment. There will be mass confusion and mishaps as professors and students try to adapt to teaching and learning in an online environment. Students who don't have continuous access to a computer or WiFi will be severely disadvantaged, as will those who require learning accommodations.

Expecting students to be graded on their performance in online classes in a business-as-usual setting is simply unacceptable. The next few months are going to be harshly disruptive to everyone. We should not have to worry about our GPA's as well.