A student petition circulated online after Seaver Dean Michael Feltner announced academic accommodations.
Screenshot by Lindsey Sullivan
In response to student outcry for academic accommodations following the transition to remote classes, the Seaver College Dean’s Office is offering students the ability to select up to eight units of coursework to receive credit/no credit (CR/NC) for the spring 2020 semester.
In the lead up to the announcement, over 500 students signed a student-created petition. The petition expressed student concerns for online learning, requesting that a CR/NC option for coursework be made available.
The updated policy may apply toward any major, minor or general education requirements; however, there are some exceptions — including senior seminars and capstones — the dean’s office wrote in an email Wednesday evening, March 25.
Students must earn a grade of A, B or C to receive a CR award, as previous policy states. Grades selected for CR/NC will not apply toward that student’s semester GPA.
Some students are already responding to the announcement with complaints that the policy revision is insufficient. One student created an online petition only hours after the email was sent, urging administration to reconsider the academic plan.
Among several suggestions listed on the online site, the student wrote that students should be able to select as many courses for CR/NC as needed, a C- should be the minimum requirement to receive credit, and academic probation should be suspended at this time.
The student also wrote that transcripts should include a note explaining this is an “unprecedented time for our nation — educational equity is impossible to achieve.”
The complete updated credit/no credit grading policy can be found under Seaver College’s academic policy section on the COVID-19 response site.
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Email Lindsey Sullivan: Lindsey.sullivan@pepperdine.edu
