SR 20-08 - Resolution on Continuity and Compassion Amid Disruption by COVID-19: Student Assessment the 2020-2021 Academic Year

WHEREAS students may now find themselves in environments that are not conducive to college-level learning, some not having easy access to the internet, others having to share home computers and internet access with siblings or children who are learning from home and parents who are working from home, and some taking on responsibilities as caregivers for family who are sick or especially susceptible to COVID-19; and

WHEREAS many students are suffering direct and indirect economic consequences from the closure of non-essential businesses, such as being furloughed from employment or having providers who are losing or have lost income; and

WHEREAS the emergency conditions surrounding the pandemic create social and psychological stress on students and instructional faculty that add to the difficulty of learning at a college-level; and

WHEREAS, on May 12, 2020, Chancellor Timothy White announced that all California State Universities would approach primarily virtual instruction with limited exceptions for in-person contact for activities that cannot be conducted virtually1; and

WHEREAS, on September 10, 2020, Chancellor Timothy White announced that all California State Universities would continue with a primarily virtual approach for the Spring 2021 term 2; and

WHEREAS the Chancellor’s Office provided guidance1 on ways to create flexibility in campus grading systems within the constraints of the Title 5 Administrative Code of California and CSU Executive Orders and coded memoranda, and that guidance described student populations that may be affected by changes to grading systems (e.g., graduate and professional students, credential students, student veterans, international students, DASS students, students on academic probation or in danger of not meeting the ‘Pace’ standard); and

WHEREAS some programs require courses taken in sequence, making the satisfactory completion of one course a prerequisite of another, and some programs expect students to gain certain content and conceptual knowledge from pre-requisite courses; and

WHEREAS academic programs and departments, represented by their Chair, are in the best position to decide which courses that are required in their major should always be taken for a letter grade and not be allowed to count toward their major if taken for Credit/No Credit, and programs made this determination for Spring 2020 courses; and

WHEREAS the faculty in academic programs and departments, represented by the Chair, is in the best position to communicate to their major students and prospective major students any restrictions to adjusting the grading systems for their required courses taken in Fall 2020; and

WHEREAS it is critically important that all efforts are made to provide students, faculty, and staff timely, full, and accurate information with regards to the consequences of a student modifying a course’s grading option; and

WHEREAS the members of the Academic Senate agree that now is a time that we make every effort to treat one another, our students, and all our CI colleagues with compassion as we all work to preserve our academic and professional standards so the University and its students are positioned to continue their work in Spring 2021.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that at the end of the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters all faculty will submit letter grades for each student in all courses that use the letter grade system of grading, and that grades may be changed subsequently to Credit/No Credit according to the following rules:
• For undergraduate students, grades of C- and better are considered Credit, and all lower grades (D+ and below) are No Credit. Whether or not a grade of Credit satisfies existing major requirements will be determined by each department or program. (See below.)
• For graduate and professional studies students, the rule used to assign a grade of Credit and a grade of No Credit will vary between programs.
• Students receiving grades of A+ through D- may submit a petition to change their letter grade to a grade of Credit/No Credit.
• Every grade of ‘F’ and grade of “WU’ will be converted by the Registrar to a grade of ‘NC, except in such situations in which students have only grades of WU or when the grade of ‘F’ is the result of a reported case of academic dishonesty in the course.

For the Fall 2020 semester, students shall be given the ability to change their grading system from graded to Credit/No Credit in CI Records starting on December 3 and ending on December 10. Grade rosters will be available for faculty to submit semester grades on or before December 11 and will be due on December 18. If after December 18 a student feels they made an error in their choice of grading system, they may have until January 29, 2021 to make a written petition to the Registrar to have their grading system changed. The procedure for the appeal will be created by the Registrar’s office, approved by the Executive Committee of Academic Senate, posted on the Registrar’s ‘Policies & Procedures’ web page, advertised through the COVID-19 FAQ web page for students, and broadcast using social media channels that serve students. Petitions to change from letter grade to Credit/No Credit shall be granted without review.
A similar timeline will be established and advertised for the Spring 2021 semester.

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that all instructional faculty teaching a course that uses the letter grading system will maintain and retain gradebook information that will allow them to assign a letter grade to each of their students who chose the Credit/No Credit grading option in their courses. This information shall be in a form that the Chair can access if a student petitions to change their grading option after December 18.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any course that receives a grade of Credit during the 2020-2021 academic year will not count toward any limit on the number of courses a student may take for a grade of Credit in the University’s General Education requirements, major requirements, or other requirements for successful graduation.

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that students may withdraw from Fall 2020 any course as late as December 18th, 2020, and no faculty or Chair signature will be required for withdrawing from a Fall 2020 course. The Registrar shall not require additional outside documentation to support a student’s reason for withdrawal (such as doctor notes, employer notes, etc.) and may accept electronic requests of withdrawal. Analogous dates will be established and advertised for Spring 2021; and

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that the list of courses that Chairs identified in Spring 2020 as required in their major to always be taken for a letter grade and not to be allowed to count toward their major if taken for Credit/No Credit Chairs be the status quo ante of courses requiring letter grades during the 2020-2021 academic year unless revised by Chairs in writing and shared with their Dean, the Provost, and the Chair of the Academic Senate2 by the end of business day on December 8. On December 9, the Chair of the Academic Senate will disseminate the entire list to Academic Advising and Enrollment Services. The program or department Chair will also work with their faculty to disseminate guidance to students on choosing the grading system for their major courses during the 2020-2021 academic year. If no list is submitted by a Chair by the December 8 deadline, then the reply from Spring 2020, to a similar Resolution shall be used in its place. If no reply was forthcoming in Spring, or Fall, all required courses in the major will satisfy major requirements if taken Credit/No Credit and earning Credit; and

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that directors of other offices that advocate for students as related to grades during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 (e.g., Veterans Affairs Program, International Programs, Academic Advising for students on academic probation, DASS) shall proactively give students guidance on their choice of grading system.
If any resolution or part of a resolution in this document conflicts with or contradicts guidance on other University policies or procedures, these resolutions shall prevail without invalidating any other portion of the University policy or procedure. If any part of a resolution statement in this document conflicts with existing CSU policy, executive order, or coded memoranda, or if any resolution in this document conflicts with local, state, or federal statute, or the Collective Bargaining Agreement, that part of a resolution statement will be declared invalid without harming any other resolution statement in this document.

1 See the March 25 document “California State University Grading Policy Considerations Response to COVID-19 Disruptions”.
2 Lists should be submitted to the Chair of Academic Senate by emailing them to senate@csuci.edu.