Provost's Update - March 24, 2020

Effective Operations

Institutional Priority #4

Institutional Effectiveness

Message to Students from Michael Tew, Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Programming & Services

Eastern Michigan University students:

Pursuant to yesterday's email from President Smith, I wanted to follow up and point you to further specifics on the following topics:

  1. Extending the deadline for students to request the Pass/No Pass grading option;
  2. Extending the deadline for students to request certain types of withdrawals from courses;
  3. Waiving degree requirements related to the cancellation of one-credit-hour in person PEGN and other late start courses since the decision to suspend in person operations; and,
  4. Implementing alternative means of completing LBC requirements for graduation.

Pass/No Pass Grading Option

The option to request Pass/No Pass grades is available to all students. We have extended the deadline for students to request (and expanded the application of credit from) the Pass/No Pass grade reporting option to April 20, 2020.

Students should consider this option very carefully before requesting its application. Under this option, regular letter grades are calculated and reported by faculty members. The student's transcript then reflects a S for any passing grade assigned (A through D- for undergraduates, A through C- for graduate students) or a U for 'F' grades.

Students requesting this grading option should carefully consider how it may impact future admission applications to graduate and professional schools, employment, reimbursements, scholarships or other support programs (VA, federal financial aid programs) before electing this option.

We are allowing students to apply courses taken for Pass/Fail credit during the winter 2020 semester only to university, General Education, major, minor and other credit requirements of their degree. There may be program requirements that must still be maintained for professional licensure, accreditation, etc. that must be met (pass rates, performance rates, etc). If your program has these standards, this option may not be the best choice and it is your responsibility as a student to explore those issues with your program advisor before making this selection. For these reasons, the deadline for consideration was modified for this semester only.

If students decide to elect the Pass/Fail option in any course, they should complete the appropriate form:

Individual Course Withdrawals

We have extended the deadline for individual course withdrawals to April 20, 2020. The process for withdrawing through my.emich is the same as in other semesters. Please recall that you may not withdraw from your final course through your my.emich account. To process a request to withdraw from your last course (or all of your current enrollment), please send an email from your my.emich email account to [email protected]. Include your name, EID and that you wish to withdraw from your last class/all classes. Please see the updated dates and deadlines calendar on the Registrar’s website.

Waivers and PEGN Courses

In the event that a late start course has been canceled (e.g. PEGN courses), under certain circumstances for graduating seniors, the credits may be waived as related to the 124 credit hour graduation requirement. Academic records for students who have filed to graduate in April or August will be reviewed by the Registrar on a case-by-case basis and waivers applied, as applicable. Students with specific questions or concerns about how this applies to their case should contact the University Registrar, Christina Shell, at [email protected]. At this time, this waiver applies to graduating seniors in April and August only. Only those students should reach out at this time. Other students should talk with advisors about their overall course of study.

LBC Requirements for Graduation

The General Education Office is available to assist students with Learning Beyond the Classroom questions. General Education has in place options and a process by which they can assist graduating seniors who face challenges in completing LBC requirements or in the event a planned activity to satisfy LBC graduation requirements is no longer available or accessible. There are a variety of ready alternatives that students can get started on with a quick email to the General Education Office containing your Name and EID.

Other Important Information

  • Students’ academic standing level will not be negatively impacted based on their performance during Winter 2020. Students will not be placed on academic plans or probation if they fall below a minimum cumulative GPA required for good standing at the end of the winter 2020 semester only. Further, currently enrolled students on academic plans or probation will not be dismissed based on their performance in Winter 2020.
  • We are providing instructors additional discretion in assigning “I” (Incomplete) grades to students. When essential course objectives cannot be completed in an online environment under current circumstances and students’ progress toward graduation is not hindered, students may be assigned an incomplete until the objectives have been met. The University will relax the limitations for the assignment of an Incomplete. This means that an Incomplete may still be assigned, at the discretion of the instructor, even if less than 50% of the course has been completed and/or the student has less than a C in the course (B for graduate students). The parameters for assigning IP (in progress) grades will also be relaxed.

*Students are encouraged to check with their academic advisor, the Financial Aid Office, Student Athletics Support Services, and the Military and Veterans Resource Center before making any changes to their course schedules or the recording of their course grade reporting options.