The Student Government Association at Georgia State University votes unanimously in favor of a policy resolution to urge the University System of Georgia to adopt an opt-in pass-fail grading system in response to the coronavirus, during a virtual meet Thursday evening.
The resolution, introduced by Speaker Pro Tempore Terry Fye, will now be delivered to the Administrative Council at the university. This includes Georgia State President Mark Becker, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, Executive Vice Chancellor Tristan Denley and Chancellor Steve Wrigley.
“This would grant a student the ability [to] get a bare minimum score in order to pass a class as opposed to just a C-, which would bring down their GPA,” Fye says.
The resolution also calls for a similar piece of legislation to be introduced at SGA’s next university-wide senate meeting.
The opt-in option allows students to still receive a letter grade. This would benefit students applying to medical school who prefer to stay on the A-F grading scale.
“This is for the student who is on the edge and forced into a no win scenario without this option,” Fye says.
Sponsors of the resolution include Executive Vice President Hamza Habibur Rahman, Communications Director Shaun Cunningham, Atlanta Speaker Kaelen Thomas, Senators John Le, Michael Stephen Olajide, Takia Tinsley, Jennifer Lopez, Daniel Afolabi, Stephanie Smith, David-Praise Ebiringa, Nia Cole and Mario Calcagno.
The resolution lists unreliable internet access for international students, difficult work environments, stay-at-home measures and unforeseen economic challenges as reasons to make the change.
The resolution also says quarantine can lead to severe psychological distress, which negatively impacts a student’s academic performance, citing an article from Psychology Today.
Similar legislation has passed at the student governments across the state, including at the University of Georgia.
Speaker Fye tells the Atlanta senate that the legislation was written about 30 minutes before the meeting.
On Monday, the university system announced it would not implement a pass-fail grading system after thousands of students signed a change.org petition.
“The University System of Georgia is aware some institutions around the nation have decided to shift to pass/fail grading after transitioning to remote education,” a USG spokesperson tells PRN. “We are confident our students will rise to the challenge, and the USG will do everything in its power to help them do so.”
Note: This article was written for PRN, the student-led news station at Georgia State University.
