( Photo credit: The Chronicle of Higher Education )
On Friday, April 3, Dean John T. Crist, an Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, announced that George Mason University has decided to implement the alternative grading mode only for the Spring 2020 semester. Students can select either to receive a regular grade for each class or to select the alternative grading mode. The Faculty Senate and Graduate Council have approved the changes of the academic policy as all courses continue online until the end of the Spring 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students who are registered to undergraduate classes (numbered 100-499) graded in A-F are eligible for applying the alternative grade mode. Students are allowed to change their grading manner until Wednesday, June 17 which is the last day of the Spring 2020 semester. However, students who are involved in special programs like the Patriot Plus Program (PPP) or MK Way cannot select the alternative grading mode until there are further notifications.
Once students select the alternative grading mode for the specific courses, professors are going to assign the appropriate letter grade which will be converted to the corresponding alternative grade mode; XS (Extraordinary Circumstances – Satisfactory), XP (Extraordinary Circumstances – Pass), and XN (Extraordinary Circumstances – No Credit). Undergraduate classes graded with the alternative grading mode can fulfill the degree requirements only if students receive XS or XP. This indicates that you can earn credit unless you receive under C- or D which are the minimum grade requirements at the undergraduate level.
According to the Office of the University Registrar, there will be three groups of students that are assessed differently in Spring 2020. The first group is the students who have retained the A-F grade mode entirely. They will have a term GPA that affects the cumulative GPA. Second, there will be students who have partially chosen the alternative grade mode for some of their classes. The students will have a term GPA calculated on classes that will be assessed in A-F grade mode then this will affect your cumulative GPA. Lastly, there will be a group of students who have selected “the alternative grade mode” grades for all their classes. In this case, the cumulative GPA will not be changed from the previous semester one because the students will not have a term GPA.
Students have been showing concerns and confusion as a response to the changes in academic policy. Regarding this issue, the Office of the University Registrar and Academic Advisors are providing the amount of information about the influence of the alternative grading mode on scholarship issues and future academic plans, such as admission to graduate/professional schools, or fellowship programs outside of Mason. Since the alternative grading mode for the Spring 2020 semester can work against or favor your circumstance, the student body is encouraged to reach out to Academic Advisers before making a decision.
Written by Yuhyun Sihn | Staff Writer
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