As part of Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s continued effort to support our students during these challenging times, students enrolled in the spring 2020 semester will be able to choose how their courses are graded.
Upon the recommendation of the Faculty Senate, students will be able to choose from a satisfactory (S)/unsatisfactory(U) or letter grade system.
Satisfactory (S):
- a letter grade of A, B, C or D
- student will receive credit for the course
- will not affect GPA
Unsatisfactory (U):
- a letter grade of F
- student will not receive credit for the course
- will not affect GPA
Students will be able to select the grading system of their choice for each class in which they are registered through a form on Blue & Gold from April 20-May 19. More information about how to access the form will be forthcoming.
Students must contact their advisors to determine which option is best.
A week after experiencing online courses, Texas A&M University-Kingsville students are petitioning for a pass/fail grading system to be put in place.
The petition asks the university to replace letter grades with a pass/fail grading system for Spring 2020. The request hopes to alleviate some stress because GPA would not be impacted.
Amanda DeFrees, founder of the petition, was inspired to initiate the movement after experiencing a bumpy transition with her online courses.
“Students are already undergoing a huge amount of stress due to the COVID-19 situation, with having to move back home, internet issues, and having to teach themselves the information given,” DeFrees said. “In doing this I hope that it puts off stress of those like myself worried that they aren’t going to get all As for the semester… college students are already faced with so many challenges so the pressure of getting the A is almost too overbearing for some.”
DeFree’s petition quickly circulated social media platforms, and received about 100 signatures in the first two hours. The petitions currently sits at 777 signatures with an end goal of 1,000.
Students are navigating through courses that were not designed to be online. Professors are changing their syllabi to adapt to the situation and look for creative ways to keep the classroom engaging.
Several universities in Texas such as Rice University have implemented a pass/fail alternative for students.
Texas A&M University-Kingsville is analyzing the situation and hopes to have an answer out to students soon.
“Transitioning to a Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading system is possible,” Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs Jaya Goswami said. “We may be able to adopt such a grading system for this semester due to the emergency at hand. We hope to have information about this issue to share with students later this week.”
While there are many changes occurring and decisions to be made, some students are taking the opportunity to overcome the situation.
Student’s who have all As are not wanting to lose the opportunity to boost their GPA due to COVID-19.
“The transition to online classrooms has been hard. Having a zoom conference or having the teacher post a video, is not the same as being in the classroom,” Viviana Ortiz, graduate student said. “Transitioning to online [classes] is hard but not impossible. I think the [pass/fail] system will not help students actually learn what they are supposed to… making it easy for students will not help them grow.”
