Additional Grading Changes for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021

Dear Twin Cities faculty and instructors,

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we have been challenged to deliver our mission in new ways, often while managing added pressures in our personal lives. This has required creativity and patience from our faculty and staff, but especially from our students, many of whom have struggled with their own personal challenges. Throughout this semester and especially in response to recent surges, our students have been urging us to continue the changes made to our grading policies in spring semester.

Matters related to educational policy, like grading, are reserved for faculty. University policy affirms that instructors have the responsibility and authority to assign grades in their courses. Decisions about grading policies, including whether to use the A-F or S/N grading scale, are made at the campus, college, or program level, as reflected in the University's policy on Grading and Transcripts and the University Senate Constitution. Exceptions may be determined by the Provost, as was done under the extraordinary circumstances facing the University in Spring 2020 and in my earlier message for this academic year.

On December 3, 2020, the University Senate approved a resolution proposed by two student senators. The resolution urged me to make further exceptions to the grading policies for undergraduates for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. Faculty senators strongly approved the resolution, with 71% voting in favor (79-31-1).

Based on guidance from the Faculty senators vote, I am making the following changes to supersede and replace the grading basis changes communicated in earlier messages.

  • Consistent with the resolution, undergraduate students enrolled in Twin Cities undergraduate courses may choose between S/N grading and A-F grading for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 courses. Students who wish to switch from A-F grading to S/N grading (or the opposite) for Fall 2020 should email One Stop Student Services from January 4, 2021 to January 6, 2021. We will retain part of our previously announced policy that grades of F will automatically transition to N, but other changes will require an explicit request. Implementation details for Spring 2021 will be announced at a later date.
  • Because circumstances differ on our different campuses and in different programs, these changes will apply to Twin Cities undergraduate courses only.
  • I strongly encourage faculty to assign letter grades (due on December 30), even for students who have chosen the S/N option, as they might wish to switch back to an A-F scale after grades are posted.
  • Consistent with the resolution, Twin Cities undergraduate students will be allowed to count classes taken under an S/N grade basis for all graduation and program requirements, provided they would have earned a grade that would have met those requirements under an A-F grade basis. Colleges or programs can and may request the underlying grades that students earned in order to make decisions about progress in the major or secondary admissions.
  • Consistent with the resolution, the number of S/N credits taken by Twin Cities undergraduate students in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 will not count towards the cap of S/N credits allowed during their undergraduate program.
  • As we did in Spring 2020, we will add a notation to the Twin Cities undergraduate transcript describing these exceptions to the normal grading policy.
  • As this choice may affect longer-term outcomes (e.g., admission to post-baccalaureate education, employment) as well as current outcomes like financial aid and scholarship eligibility, eligibility for the Dean’s list, athletic eligibility, intra-college transfers, accreditation, licensure and certifications (among others), please join me in strongly urging students to become informed about the consequences of their choices. The One Stop Student Services COVID-19 FAQ can provide a starting point.

Thank you all for your ongoing patience and flexibility as we continue to refine our policies in response to the wide-ranging challenges students are facing. I appreciate and value your advocacy for and support of our students, and encourage you to take care of your needs as well as theirs during these final weeks of the semester.

Please feel free to reach out to my office at [email protected] if we can provide any additional information.

Sincerely yours,

Rachel Croson
Executive Vice President and Provost

message sent to all Twin Cities faculty and all instructors assigned to teach in fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters on December 9, 2020