Hundreds of students have signed a Change.org petition created last Tuesday requesting that university administrators offer students a pass/fail grade system following UFV’s shift to remote instruction.
The petition, which sits at about 500 signatures at the time of this writing, was created by user “Concerned UFV Student HELP.” The petition requests that UFV follow in the footsteps of other B.C. universities such as SFU and UBC, which earlier this week both offered students the option to take a “P” or “Credit” grade in place of their final marks. At those institutions, these optional grades enable students to pass their courses and receive full credit without having to reveal the letter grade they received on their transcripts. They are available to all students provided they do not have a failing grade.
“We paid money for these classes and we worked hard from the beginning of the semester. It feels like our hard work has come to a waste when we look at it now,” wrote the petition’s creator.
The petition also claims that other universities have accommodated students by offering projects or assignments in place of exams, a course of action that some UFV instructors have already taken, but is not mandatory.
The petition also cites online exam time limits, general anxiety around the spread of COVID-19, and the time pressure on some professors to rapidly create their online tests as reasons to offer alternative grading and testing options.
UFV announced on March 24 that course withdrawals for the Winter 2020 semester would be extended to May 8, offering students the option to receive a “W” on their transcript in place of a grade if they wish. However, students receiving a “W” are not financially reimbursed and must retake the course in order to receive credit, unlike those who would receive the proposed “pass/fail” grade.
