Division of Academic Affairs Hands Down Final Decision on PC/NC Grading for Fall Semester

In a campus-wide email on Monday, November 2, 2020, Provost Michael Mathias, Faculty Senate Chair Dr. Ben Norris, and FSU President Ron Nowaczyk handed down the final decision for PC/NC grading for the fall semester. The decision comes after a weeks-long battle between SGA leadership and the Division of Academic Affairs.

Read the full statement below:

“Grading Standards for Fall 2020

This has been a challenging semester for all members of the campus community. The pandemic has required us to change the way we do many things at the University, including how we teach and learn. These challenges and changes were not unanticipated. In the summer, the University clearly and repeatedly communicated to students that the majority of courses would be offered in a blended modality in order to reduce density in our classrooms and to allow for a fast and effective shift to fully online instruction should circumstances require that. The University also clearly and repeatedly communicated that the normal grading and academic standards would be in place this fall semester.

In mid-October, the Student Government Association presented a proposal, asking that the University adopt PC/NC grading this fall semester, like last spring. SGA leadership discussed the proposal with the University’s Academic Standards Subcommittee (the faculty committee charged with oversight of the University’s academic standards), and these student-leaders are to be commended for their advocacy on behalf of their fellow students. However, the Subcommittee unanimously recommended that the proposal not be adopted in light of a number of important differences between the spring term and this fall term. After conferring with leadership from the Faculty Senate, the University’s Academic Affairs leadership accepted the Subcommittee’s recommendation to maintain FSU’s normal grading standards. The SGA resubmitted its proposal last Friday, after the University announced that it would pause in-person classes. The members of the University’s Academic Standards Subcommittee unanimously reaffirmed their earlier recommendation that normal grading standards be maintained this semester.

With only a little over two weeks of classes remaining in the semester, the decision to maintain the University’s normal grading standards is final. Beyond the principle-based reasons for maintaining our normal grading and academic standards, the practical challenges to revising our approach to grading this late in the semester are significant.

 As appealing as the PC/NC proposal might seem, two semesters of PC/NC grading would lead to serious complications for many students related to:

• Graduation requirements
• Program (major and minor) requirements
• Financial aid, scholarship, and military benefits requirements
• Academic status (academic warning, probation, and dismissal)
• NCAA eligibility
• Graduate and professional school admissions
• Professional certifications and licensure

Please note that the Interim Provost and the Registrar have discussed the issue of grading with their counterparts at the other eleven USM schools, and they all indicated that their schools intend to maintain their normal grading practices this fall—even though a number of these schools have adjusted their approach instruction during the course of the fall semester.

The deadline for withdrawing from any undergraduate class with a “W” has been extended to the last day of classes, Wednesday, November 18^th.

Dr. Michael Mathias, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Benjamin Norris, Chair, FSU Faculty Senate
Dr. Ronald Nowaczyk, President”