Academic Affairs implements emergency Pass\Fail policy

By Marj O’Neill ’21, Staff Writer

The Academic Affairs team has put a new pass\fail policy into effect for the remainder of the spring semester, as a result of the unexpected transition to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

After reviewing multiple models, the team decided on this emergency policy for undergraduate students to support students during this remote learning period and help them through the unique challenges they may be facing.  

Under this policy, students earn standard letter grades according to the LVC grading scale, but they can convert that grade to a pass\fail designation if they want and obtain approval from their advisor.   

“Beginning on May 15, 2020, and until the end of the business day on May 22, 2020, students may elect to convert their grade to a pass\fail designation,” a member of the Academic Affairs team said.  “A passing grade will count for hours towards degree, hours in residence, and will fulfill prerequisite requirements where a grade is not indicated in the academic catalog. A grade of P (pass) will be assigned if a student earns a D- or higher. A grade of PH (pass with honors) will be assigned if a student earns a B+ or higher. Grades of P and PH are not calculated in the GPA.”   

Courses graded pass and pass with honors will satisfy Constellation LVC, major, and minor requirements for this semester only. Students who do not earn at least a D- will receive an F grade, which will be calculated in their GPA. 

An additional note will be on each student’s academic transcript, regardless if they decide to convert their grade to a pass\fail designation or not, explaining the extenuating circumstances and this policy during the spring 2020 semester.   

Students with questions about this new emergency policy should contact Dr. Monica Cowart, the Vice President of Academic Affairs at cowart@lvc.edu.