Provost's Update to Students April 16, 2020

Effective Operations

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Institutional Effectiveness

Message from Provost Rhonda Longworth to EMU students: Update on Pass-Fail Grade Reporting Requirements

Good morning!
 
Please see below an update and further elaboration of the University’s Winter 2020 Pass-Fail Grade Reporting Options. Please review the content carefully and note in particular the change to the date by which students must make a final election to have their grade reported in pass-fail format on their permanent transcript. You will be able to view your final letter grade before you are required to make this election. Please also note the material cautioning students to seek advice and information from programs for how this election impacts other program level requirements. 
 
Thank you!
 
Rhonda Longworth, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Services
 

Content of PDF Attachment

Pass/Fail Grade Reporting Option- UPDATE 

As a reminder, students may elect to have course grades reported in a pass/fail format on their university transcript. This option should be elected only after careful consideration.  External scholarships, employee tuition reimbursement programs, Veterans benefit programs, graduate school applications, program accreditation requirements, course pre-requisites, EMU program specific requirements, etc. may require that an A-F grade be posted for courses. If you have any doubt, please consult with an advisor, program coordinator or funding source for information and guidance before requesting the pass/fail reporting option. 

Information about Pass/Fail Grading Options:

  • Pass/Fail grades do not impact your GPA.  Courses with pass grades do earn credits towards degree.
  • For Winter 2020 courses only, a course with a ‘Pass’ grade may be used to satisfy EMU General Education requirements, major and minor credit hour requirements.  Individual programs (majors/minors) may have additional requirements such as GPA, overall grading or pass rate requirements, licensing or accreditation standards that must be met in addition to simple passing/course credit, so students should consult with an advisor if they have questions around electing pass/fail courses in their major or minor.
  • When electing a pass/fail transcripting option, you will have a pass grade (S) reflected on your transcript if you earn at least a D- in an undergraduate course or at least a C- in a graduate course.  Students who earn an F in a course will have a fail grade (U) reflected on your transcript under the pass-fail reporting option.
  • Even when the pass/fail reporting option is requested, students are expected to complete all coursework according to the syllabus as designated by your instructor. After final exams, instructors will submit a letter grade for each student, per usual practice. That grade is stored and may be referenced for some purposes by authorized EMU faculty and staff.  Students will be able to view their final assigned letter grade before making a final decision about whether to request pass-fail grade reporting for any course.
  • Only authorized EMU faculty and staff will have the ability to view the original grade submitted by the instructor if the pass/fail choice is selected.  This generally relates to course pre-requisite enforcement and/or program requirements.

Choosing Pass/Fail:

  • Students will be able to see submitted letter grades for the Winter 2020 semester before determining whether or not to request Pass/Fail reporting for any course(s). 
    • Final course grades are due no later than Wednesday, April 29, 11pm.  They will be available to view shortly thereafter.
  • The deadline for choosing the pass/fail reporting option has been extended until Friday, May 8 at 5 pm. (You may choose this option earlier if you wish).  This deadline extension was made in order to allow students time to review assigned letter grades and to consult with advisors and other needed experts/sources before making a final reporting decision.  
  • Grades of I (Incomplete), IP (In Progress), or N (Not submitted) cannot be converted into the Pass/Fail reporting format unless and until a final letter grade is assigned for the course by the course instructor.  

Regardless of the grading option(s) elected, all grades for Winter 2020 will be annotated as completed in a semester substantially impacted by COVID-19 epidemic.