Akanksha Bhatnagar, president of the U of A Students’ Union, endorsed the mandatory pass/fail grading model as the most fair approach, but said she understands why some students are concerned. A “nimble” responseĭespite the strong opposition to a mandatory system at U of A, as evidenced by the petition, there are students and professors who support the policy. At the University of Calgary, for example, students can either accept their final grade for each of their courses or opt for “credit received” or “fail.” At Queen’s University, meanwhile, students will be able to request pass/fail grades, but the approval rests with that particular faculty or school. The details differ slightly for each university. However, for most of these universities the choice is optional and is being presented as a “ flexible and compassionate” option for students. Since then, about two dozen universities in Canada have implemented the pass/fail, or credit/no credit, grading model. U of A was one of the first universities in Canada to modify its grading system in response to the pandemic, taking cues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, which also implemented a mandatory pass/fail grading system. “It is just wrong of us to be so presumptuous about our sense of what these transcripts may or may not mean to their individual futures.” “By not giving choice, we are doing a kind of harm,” she said. The blanket decision “really took away choice and created a lot more issues for some students,” she said.Ĭarolyn Sale, an associate professor of English and film studies at U of A, also disagrees with the university’s approach. “I think it should’ve been optional,” said Alyssa Miller, a third-year anthropology student at U of A and one of the students who signed the petition. It has since collected over 13,000 signatures. In response to the announcement, an online petition was quickly launched demanding that the university give students the option to choose between credit/no credit or a letter grade. U of A president David Turpin, speaking to the university’s student newspaper The Gateway, said “these changes will help alleviate concerns students are facing and give clarity on what to expect moving forward.” The university said on its website that it made the decision “to ensure equity among all our students” and to “preserve academic integrity.” No letter grades will be assigned, and the designation will have no bearing on a student’s grade point average. Many students were alarmed by the move, but some faculty members supported it. After shifting all in-person classes online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Alberta announced on March 19 that it was implementing a mandatory credit/no credit grading system, touching off a debate across the country as to whether this is the best way to proceed with student assessment during these challenging times.
0 kommentar(er)
