Announcement (4/16/20)

Dear Students,

As our period of remote instruction persists through the end of the semester, the CBU faculty and administration have been continuously exploring the best means for sustaining the high quality of your learning experience. We are keenly aware of the disruptiveness of the COVID-19 pandemic to your academic studies and achievement. So, to ensure and protect your continued progress towards attaining your degree, CBU is instantiating a temporary grade option for the Spring 2020 semester.

This temporary grade option will be available to students after grades have been posted for the Spring 2020 academic term. Students will be able to decide whether to accept all of their grades as posted or to convert all of their grades to Satisfactory (“S”), Pass (“P”), or Unsatisfactory (“U”). These new grade designations carry no GPA implications. Students who take the option will maintain their current GPA. As a result, the option is crafted to reduce the GPA penalty for lower-than-desired academic performance due to mid-semester change in learning environments.

Here is how the option will work at CBU:

  • Faculty members will assign normal letter grades for their students as scheduled on May 5.
  • Beginning May 6 and running through May 12, students will be able to submit a form through the Registrar’s Office requesting that ALL grades for the term be converted to “S” (Satisfactory), “P” (Pass), or “U” (Unsatisfactory). Otherwise, students will keep the letter grades as originally posted.
    NOTE: Students will not be allowed to select individual grades to convert. The option is “all or none.”
  • Individual scholarships, program requirements, or future plans (i.e., graduate school admission) may be impacted by selecting the S/P/U option. Please consult with your advisor if you have questions about whether you should take the option.
  • S/P/U grades have no effect on GPA.
  • Equivalencies: S = A/B/C; P = D; U = F
  • Courses that require a “C” or better to advance will require “S” if the S/P/U option is selected.
  • This option does not extend to any Spring 2020 program for which grades were conferred by March 2, 2020.
  • There will be no automatic Academic Suspensions associated with the Spring 2020 semester. Students on Academic Probation will remain on probation if they take the option.

The calendar for the implementation of the Pass/Fail Option is as follows:

  • May 5: Grades Due/Grades Posted
  • May 6 – May 12: Open period for converting grades to S/P/U
  • May 13: Completion of end of term processing
  • May 14: Conferral of Degrees

Additional details will be provided regarding the S/P/U option, including advice on how and when to take it.

Yours in Lasallian community,

Paul A. Haught, PhD
Vice President for Academics & Student Life