This week, ANU announced that the CRS/CRN grading system introduced in 2020 would not be continued in 2021. However, COVID-19 continues to disrupt our education, and the circumstances underlying the system's introduction have not changed. We believe that the CRS/CRN system must be continued in 2021, and need your support to fight for this.

The CRS/CRN system was introduced in 2020, in response to the hardship, stress, & uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden shift to online classes. The system ensured that students' permanent academic records would not be blemished due to pandemic-related extenuating circumstances.

Although Australia has been relatively unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, students continue to face hardship & uncertainty, which disrupts our education:

• Remote students have no alternative but to study online. Many on-campus students are forced to do the same, because enough in-person classes aren't available. Zoom classes simply do not offer the same opportunities for interactions.
• Australia's border closures prevent new international students from travelling to Canberra, forcing them to study online. Time-zone differences mean that they are forced to attend classes and take exams at unreasonable hours.
• While Australia has controlled COVID-19 well, the pandemic continues to wreak havoc elsewhere. Remote students continue to experience the fear, uncertainty, and difficulties of infection, lockdowns, unemployment, financial hardship, and the death of friends & family.
• New international students have been denied the opportunity to make friends and find support networks, which are essential to students' mental health & social wellbeing at university.
• Students currently in Australia face ongoing uncertainty too, given the possibility of snap lockdowns & border closures. Many students have lost income, and have been forced to work longer hours, especially since the Youth Allowance supplement was cut.
• International students currently in Australia have been forced to spend several months, if not years, away from their families, because they cannot return to Australia if they return home. This has severe effects on mental health and wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt our education, in Australia and abroad. The ANU should not be ending the CRS/CRN system while such uncertainty persists. We need your support to fight for its continuation in 2021.