Provost Zappe informs students, faculty, and staff of the temporary modification to the College’s grading policy for the spring 2020 semester.
Dear Gettysburg College Students, Faculty and Staff,
I’m writing to inform you that our relevant Faculty committees, including the Faculty Council and the Academic Policy and Program Committee, along with the President’s Council have all agreed to implement the following temporary modification to the grading policy for this semester.
Please contact the Office of the Registrar if you have any questions regarding this temporary policy for the Spring 2020 semester.
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Zappe
Provost
Temporary modification to the grading policy for the spring 2020 semester
We have elected to create a temporary modification to the grading policy for the Spring 2020 semester that addresses the extraordinary situation we are facing. After consulting with APPC, Faculty Council, Student Senate, and President’s Council, we have decided to offer all students, including those in affiliated study abroad programs, an S/U option.
Effective immediately, all Gettysburg College students will be permitted to convert any of their courses to S/U grading for this semester only. For all courses in which students receive Satisfactory (S), including majors and minors, this grade will count toward degree requirements, which will override some Departmental or College policies. All other academic policies will apply. At the end of the semester, all faculty will submit their course grades (A-F) to the Registrar’s Office. Students will have from Monday, May 11 until Friday, May 15 at 5:00 pm EDT to decide about moving a course or courses to S/U grading. In consideration of the fact that the student learning experience for the remainder of the semester will be unique in every course, there will be no limit on the number of courses students can convert to S/U grading. Students can decide on a course-by-course basis. All grades of D- or better in a course for which a student elects the S/U grade will convert to S.
For Spring 2020 courses, courses taken S/U can satisfy major and minor requirements.
If a student takes a Spring 2020 course S/U that is a prerequisite for another course, any particular grade requirements associated with that prerequisite (other than the requirement that the student pass the course) are to be waived.
If a student takes a Spring 2020 course S/U and earns a grade of U, the student will not earn course credit for that course and the course cannot satisfy a prerequisite.
Allowing this flexibility is a direct acknowledgement of our unusual circumstances this semester. We expect our remote courses to maintain the highest quality of instruction possible. Furthermore, we expect students to continue to seek the most from their courses and instructors.