Dear President Richard Englert,

Given that all of the unprecedented circumstances that made the Spring semester a challenge for many students still persist today, we request that a Pass/Fail option be extended to Fall semester as well. Other institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and MIT, have already done this.

Unique home situations for international students, especially students in different time zones, make it difficult for some students to perform well in a normal class. 

A substantial portion of the student population has inequitable study environments.

There has been a resurgence in cases of COVID-19 both in the United States and around the world, affecting the loved ones of many students. Students will be under substantial stress due to external circumstances.

Many students expressed concerns over the quality of online classes, fairness of grading, and technical issues in the previous semester. All of these issues still persist.

Freshman will be taking college classes for the first time. Online classes make a transition which is already incredibly difficult even more stressful with increased difficulty in communication. Some universities such as MIT already have pass/fail first freshman semesters as their normal policy.
If it were not possible to grant a full extension, even giving a more limited option such as offering 2 Pass/Fail options would be substantially beneficial.

We hope that the University enacts this change to the benefit of the entire student community.