UPDATE: 4/1/20 – UHCL has announced an interim grading option for the spring 2020 semester. Students will be allowed to select between a traditional letter grading scheme or a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading scheme. Visit uhcl.edu/health-alert for more details.
On March 11, the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) announced that all courses would resume remotely on March 23, following a week of canceled classes, to allow professors time to accommodate the transition because of the spread of COVID-19. The shift to this new format has been met with varied responses, including a petition started on Change.org titled “Giving UHCL students credit for spring semester and passing them.”
Over 1,300 signatures have been received since the petition was created on March 21. Similar petitions have also been created by students at the University of Houston (UH) and the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD).
The petition description explains that although UHCL has taken a variety of steps to respond to the spread of COVID-19, supporters believe implementing a pass/fail grading option would be the best way to accommodate students who have been affected at UHCL.
An implemented pass/fail grading system option would allow students to continue their spring 2020 courses and receive credit upon proper completion, but no grades would be assigned.
Tony Nguyen, double major in marketing and business management, started the petition when he realized students at other University of Houston System (UHS) schools had done so, but not yet at UHCL. Nguyen confirmed that he felt the pass/fail grading system option would help impacted students.
“Some [students] just lost their full-time or part-time jobs, and on top of that they have to worry about their families too,” Nguyen said. “I just feel like a student that has that much stress shouldn’t be worrying about school right now, they should be focusing on taking care of their loved ones.”
While supporters of the petition have echoed that the pass/fail option would be helpful in the “reasons for signing” section on the petition, others feel that the importance lies in getting the attention of UHCL’s administration.
“I paid for face-to-face classes for a reason and under the circumstances, I get why we have to go online, but that is not what I’m paying for,” said Lilian Flores, behavioral studies major who signed the petition. “If I wanted to teach myself and go at my pace for online, then I would have chosen that option.”
Flores said she felt students should be compensated for campus resources that are no longer available to them, now that everything has moved online.
“I’m close to graduating and while I’m willing to accommodate for the sake of our health and our community, I believe that we should get some compensation back, at least for those extra fees we’re getting charged for that are not even being used anymore,” Flores said.
UHCL has made no official announcements regarding the petition at this time. However, the word of it has begun to reach faculty and staff.
“I love when students take an active role in letting their voices be heard by the institution,” said Christal Seahorn, assistant professor of writing and digital rhetoric. “I think our administration is listening and considering student needs closely.”
As the UHCL petition garners more attention, Seahorn warns of the implications of a pass/fail grading system option.
“From my perspective, an automatic pass does not appraise the work students put into a class before Spring Break,” Seahorn said. “While most students were keeping up with their classes, and there needs to be consideration for this radical disruption in our lives, passing everyone is neither fair to students who were not engaged already nor fair to the students who are working their tails off to keep up.”
Nguyen noted that he had not contacted anyone from UHCL regarding the petition yet, but that he had been contemplating it.
“I was thinking about sending an email to the [university] president regarding this petition,” Nguyen said. “To be honest, I didn’t think that this petition would get this big.”
While administrators at UHCL are faced with considering the potential impacts of adopting a pass/fail grading system, the University of Houston has already adopted an “Interim Undergraduate Grade Policy.”
The policy, which is a direct response to COVID-19, will allow undergraduate students to choose between a letter grade or satisfactory/no credit reported for each course by May 18. The policy also leaves the option open for UH to extend this to future semesters, if necessary.
At this time, UHCL has not announced if a similar policy will be implemented.
“Ultimately, [the] administration will weigh the positives and potential hazards of a pass/fail structure and make the best decision in the interest of the students, and now, due to the petition, they will have input from students, as well,” Seahorn said.