SUBJECT: Call for Faculty Vote on Summer 2021 Pass/No Record COVID Grading Option

Dear Faculty Colleagues;

I am writing to call a vote of the governing faculty to provide our undergraduate and graduate students with the option to move some or all of their Summer 2021 courses to a Pass/No Record COVID grading mode. As you recall, Dearborn faculty approved the Pass/No Record COVID grading option in March 2020 for Winter 2020 semester courses and again in December 2020 for Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semester courses.

The Dearborn Student Government has recently passed a resolution asking for the University to retroactively provide students with the Pass/No Record COVID grading option for Summer 2021. In addition, the Faculty Senate Council has passed a motion asking for a governing faculty vote to be called so faculty can weigh in on this Student Government resolution. Please note that the Faculty Senate Council did not vote on whether or not to support the extension, but only on whether to send this motion for a governing faculty vote.

Neither I nor the academic deans endorse the motion because the schedule was posted well in advance and the course modalities did not change during the semester. In addition, campus study space and laptops/Chromebooks were provided to students who needed them as well as other academic support resources. However, as the Interim Provost, I’m respecting the motion passed by the Faculty Senate Council to send this for a vote and will call a governing faculty vote to allow students (undergraduate and graduate) to convert the A-E grade format for some or all of their courses to the Pass/NRC (No Record COVID) grade for the Summer 2021 semester. If approved, all students will be allowed to change their grading mode but — in order to ensure they make the most informed decisions affecting their academic careers — they will be asked to formally request the change via a petition process and may be required to contact an academic advisor (and if necessary, a financial aid advisor) before the request is granted.

Voting — a straight yes/no response — will be via a Qualtrics survey sent in a separate message and will remain open until the end of the business day on Friday, September 24. This will be a collective, all-campus majority vote of governing faculty which will determine the process for the entire university. We will follow standard protocols for voting within each respective academic unit. The Provost’s Office will tabulate and announce the vote.

Best wishes,

Gabriella

Gabriella Scarlatta
Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs