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CSULB not extending C/NC grading policy into fall, citing concerns toward academic success of students

Provost Brian Jersky announced in a campus-wide email Tuesday that Long Beach State will not be offering a credit or no credit grading option for the fall 2020 semester. 

Students have expressed a strong desire to receive alternative grading options for the 2020-21 academic year. One student, fourth-year psychology major Carolyn Dao, even created a change.org petition, which has received over 13,000 signatures as of Dec. 8., citing that virtual instruction has imposed “unprecedented stress on students and teachers alike.”

“Last spring, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CSU quickly moved to alternate modes of instruction in late March with very little preparation and notice to faculty and students. To accommodate the academic disruption the pandemic caused, we revised the existing credit/no-credit policy and allowed a class with a “CR” (credit) grade to fulfill general education, degree, major and minor requirements,” Jersky said in the email.

Jersky cited concerns over students’ academic success, including potential “harm” to transcripts and graduate school’s unwillingness to accept CR/NC grades from extended periods of time.

The provost also said that a majority of students who took a CR/NC mark last semester would have in reality received a C or D grade, something which affects the Standard Academic Progress and potentially financial aid. 

“For fall semester, we had the opportunity to plan for alternative modes of instruction, and students were aware that they were registering for courses that would most likely not be taught face-to-face. Knowing that exceptions such as a CR/NC option would no longer be possible, we provided multiple levels of support to faculty and students,” Jersky said in the email.

Associated Students, Inc. announced during its meeting Nov. 18 that administration had no plans to offer alternative grading options for the fall but would revisit the option for the spring 2021 semester. 

The Daily Forty-Niner reported last month that CSULB would take student academic performance in the fall semester into consideration when deciding whether to offer the C/NC policy for the upcoming spring.

Madalyn Amato, editor in chief, contributed to this article.

One Comment

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    seriously this school doesn’t care about us students. so much stress during these times and they expect us to do great. were paying tuition, let US make those decision not them.

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