"AS THE NOVEL coronavirus disrupts education on a global scale, shifting courses online and prompting campuses to close, colleges in the U.S. are extending a potential lifeline to concerned students: the option to take pass or fail classes.
College officials see the pass-fail grading option as a way to allow students to focus on learning outcomes rather than a letter grade, which could ease pressure on students.
‘This benefits students in this moment by providing more agency and flexibility to students within an ever-shifting set of circumstances that few people saw coming,’ says Anne Harris, vice president for academic affairs and dean of Grinnell College in Iowa.
Grinnell decided in mid-March to offer pass-fail classes as the coronavirus – which causes a disease known as COVID-19 – prompted the clearing of campuses and great uncertainty in higher ed. Colleges across the country are increasingly shifting the grading system to pass-fail options, though some have held out with plans to issue letter grades despite concerns raised by students." …
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/coronavirus-prompts-colleges-to-offer-pass-fail-classes-what-to-know
I don’t like pass/fail for courses in one’s major. Pass/fail allows the student to not learn the material as well as they should and just get a pass. In majors like engineering, where one course builds on another, that could be a recipe for disaster.
As a manager, who hired many a college grad, I always asked for a college transcript. I wanted know the level of knowledge of the college applicants. I wouldn’t know how to assertain an applicant’s knowledge looking at a “pass” grade.
@HPuck35 I would think courses that are building blocks for other courses would actually be the easiest to evaluate when P/F. Just look at the grades in the subsequent course.
I think there’s a difference between colleges showing compassion for students during a crisis and a general policy of P/F grades.
Several schools in my area are loosening their policies FOR THIS TERM ONLY to allow for students to opt for P/F grades (and have those count for core or major requirements) if their personal situation doesn’t allow them to focus on school. Those students who are targeting grad school/med school/law school etc and need the letter grade can still go after that.