PETITION FOR PASS/FAIL FOR THE FALL 2020 SEMESTER

On July 22, 2020, the University of Hawaii announced that all Fall 2020 courses would be online. The university expects students to achieve academic success when the reality of worsening conditions associated with COVID-19 has greatly impacted students on physical, emotional, and academic levels. Due to UH granting students the opportunity to opt in to pass/fail last spring, they must honor the same for this fall. 

As a result of the University of Hawaii facing online instruction and complications associated with COVID-19 UH should immediately extend pass/fail options to include all fall courses.

UH must provide students with a Pass/Fail option for every course offered. P/F would allow for courses to count towards a student’s credit requirements, general education requirements, and major/minor. The Pass/Fail option would maintain that Pass/Fail courses cannot count towards a student’s GPA. UH would then allow every student to opt into the pass/fail option even AFTER final grades are posted, allowing for students to try their best in every course, and depending on their success, determine what is best for them. It is up to the student’s discretion to opt into pass/fail and would not be mandatory. 

REASONS FOR PASS/FAIL AS AN OPTION:

It is classist to assume that all students have reliable Wi-Fi, quiet study spaces, and access to the necessary technology when they are not on campus. Many students chose to live at home during this pandemic, and it is unrealistic to expect students to have the same assurances at home as they do at school. When studying at UH, students have access to reliable Wi-Fi, the ability to study in a variety of campus spaces, and can rent computers for free in different locations. It is unfair to assume students can replicate the accessible environment of UH’s campus in their homes. Students who do not have access to the tools they need to succeed should not be punished by receiving strictly letter grades but should instead be met with the compassionate option to opt into pass/fail. 

International students have a variety of complicated time zones that can alter their sleep patterns in order to attend online lectures. For international students, classes could be held in the middle of the night. Other students in the United States have to grapple with time zone changes. There are those on the East Coast who have a 3 pm class will be taking exams late at night, especially those courses which end at 9 or 10 pm. It is unfair to assume that students facing these time differences to perform as well as their peers. 

Many students are experiencing unexpected barriers at home during this time. This pandemic, like all health crises, is inherently a socioeconomic issue. Those in lower economic brackets will experience more financial and mental stresses throughout this time. Many parents and students have lost their source of income at this time. Losing paychecks cause incredible stress and can be harmful to mental and physical health. 

Although the University is legally responsible to honor academic disability accommodations, its actions to do so have been unimpressive. Disability accommodations look different for each student yet UH expects students to replicate these accommodations at home. Students who normally take tests in individual rooms in the disability center are told to, “find a space at home”. Students who have time and a half or double time for exams are expected to sit completely still for exams when in the past the disability center has monitored them allowing for bathroom usage, stretch and snack breaks, and scratch paper usage. To assume that students with academic differences to simply “accommodate themselves” and adjust to online learning is impossible. 

As stressful and new as this time has been for students, it has also been quite the learning experience for professors, especially with the shortened semester. Because of this, many professors have felt the need to assign extra readings, assignments, and discussion boards to make up for the lack of class time and their difficulty in conveying the information they need to at the same caliber that they did in person. With many professors increasing workload, students that work and those with a lot of outside involvement or distractions can’t keep up in the way that they would normally be able to. This isn't just a matter of having more difficult classes, but rather professors are having a more difficult time conveying the same information and are assigning more work to make up for it which puts an extra burden on their students. 

Other universities, including Penn, Duke, USC, UNC, Bowdin, UMASS, Northeastern, DePauw, and Miami University have allowed students to opt into pass/fail for Fall 2020 because they understand the needs of students during these challenging times. We hope that UH will follow their lead.

We are calling for justice concerning the academic, physical, and mental health of UH students. UH, please join us in making real change and showing your commitment to the health and well-being of your students.

Students, join in petitioning the University of Hawaii to make these changes to adapt to the new circumstances to ensure the mental, physical, and academic health of all their students. We are all having to adapt as a community and a globalized society, and it is time to adapt our academic system. We love UH and we hope UH will love us back in this critical moment of adjustment.

If you are a student, please spread the word and continue this conversation to help us get these accommodations instated. Comment below your personal experiences with online instruction this fall and specifically name difficulties you have encountered in academic success.