Dear Graduate Students and Graduate Faculty:
The Graduate Council and Graduate Faculty understands and acknowledges the personal and academic challenges graduate students are facing this semester as a result of the Covid19 pandemic and the racial, social, and political unrest gripping the country. At the same time, students have been challenged to adjust to both learning and teaching in hybrid or fully-online learning environments and many are also adjusting to new working, housing, and financial realities.
With the goal of ensuring graduate student success in the face of such stresses, the Graduate Council has voted to continue the academic relief policies enacted in the summer semester in which students were afforded several grade-related options for courses taken during that semester with one change. Graduate students will be able to opt into S/U grading for up to two courses with a maximum number of 8 credits. We feel that students still need such flexibility for the fall semester 2020 as a means of providing insurance against uncertainty and may have the benefit of encouraging students to remain enrolled in their Fall semester courses and allow them to continue to make timely progress in their graduate education and training. One part of the process has been, and will continue to be, that all requests are vetted by the Director of Enrolled Student Services who will speak with your advisor and you before final action is taken.
The Graduate Council will begin Spring 2021 with this same policy in place. The policy will be revisited if the pandemic drastically worsens or improves.
The link for submitting a grade change request will be posted to Genie once grades have posted.
Students considering any of these options are strongly advised to discuss them with their instructors, academic advisor, their Graduate Program Director or Director of Graduate Studies, the Financial Aid Office, or the Enrolled Students Services office in the Graduate School.
- Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Grade Option for Fall 2020 only. UNCG will provide graduate students with the opportunity to request an S/U option for any letter-graded course taken during Fall 2020, by submitting a form to the Enrolled Students Services Office in the Graduate School December 23rd, 2020.
- Letter-graded courses with an earned S during the Fall term 2020 will count towards degree or graduation requirements; students should consult with their program director and academic advisor regarding impacts on degree progress, disciplinary licensure, and/or accreditation requirements.
- The grade of S will be awarded for a passing grade for your program; the grade of U will be awarded for a non-passing grade. Please see your program’s grading policies in your program handbooks.
- A passing grade for doctoral students is generally a letter grade of B or higher; and
- A passing grade for other graduate students is generally a letter grade of C or higher, unless otherwise specified by your program.
- Grades of S and U are not factored into the student’s grade point average.
- The Graduate School will contact any students on Academic Probation who are seeking an S/U option for a letter-graded course.
- Incomplete (I) Grades Entered for the Fall 2020 Term Can Be Extended Up to a Maximum of One Year. Incomplete grades for the Fall 2020 term must be replaced with a letter grade within one year from the end of the term. Extending the incomplete past this one-year period requires the permission of the instructor.
- Course Withdrawal (W) for Fall 2020 only. All graduate students may request total or selective administrative withdrawal without penalty (W) from any or all courses taken during the Fall 2020 term by December 23rd, 2020. Students receiving Federal Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office before requesting withdrawal.
- Academic transcripts will indicate that courses taken during the 2020 Fall semester were impacted by COVID-19.
Please stay safe and well during these tying times. I am so proud of your tenacity, creativity, and willingness to help each other. I echo the Chancellor’s message of today and urge you to take a moment and reach out to someone to say hello and see how they are doing.
Kelly Burke
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School