Pitzer College faculty voted Nov. 12 to modify the college’s fall 2020 pass/no credit grading policy, Allen Omoto, dean of faculty and vice president for academic affairs, announced in an email to students Thursday.
The change comes after Pitzer Student Senate passed a resolution Nov. 1 advocating for a maximum of four classes to be allowed as P/NC with instructor’s approval, citing potential inequalities in students’ online learning environments.
Under the new policy — which differs slightly from the Senate’s original proposal — students can take up to three-fourths of their classes on a P/NC basis this semester and can submit approved P/NC forms by Dec. 7, an extended deadline three days after the end of finals week. Any class may be taken P/NC with professor approval, including courses required for a student’s major, minor or graduation that previously forbade P/NC grade options.
The new policy also requires a documented consultation with a student’s academic advisor when “making decisions” about taking courses P/NC, according to the email.
Some aspects of the new P/NC policy remain the same as previous semesters: P/NC grades will not affect students’ GPA, and a “P” grade is given to performance equivalent to a C grade or better.
The final policy affords a smaller allowance of P/NC credits than the four the Senate endorsed, but extends the P/NC form submission deadline far past the Nov. 27 deadline the Senate proposed.
In April, Pitzer faculty voted to amend its spring 2020 grading policy to a universal P/NC grading system in which each passed class is a 4.0, equivalent to an A grade, to students’ grade point averages.