The UCLA Academic Senate will allow undergraduate students to take more than one class on a Pass/No Pass basis for spring quarter in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Senate Undergraduate Council also voted to extend the deadline for changing the grading basis for classes until the end of week 10, said Michael Meranze, chair of the Academic Senate, in an email to students Thursday. Classes taken on a Pass/No Pass basis do not provide letter grades, and therefore do not affect GPA.
The council and the Graduate Council also recommended that UCLA drop any fees associated with dropping a class or changing the grading basis for a class after the end of week 2.
Meranze warned students to check whether or not a class offers a Pass/No Pass option. Students should also check with advisors and about changing major classes since Pass/No Pass classes will still not fulfil some major requirements, as well as with financial aid requirements, he said.
The Graduate Council of the Senate also voted to give departments, Interdepartmental Degree Programs and schools the authority to decide whether graduate students can take more than one class on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis.
Additionally, if graduate departments do allow students to take more than one class on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis, the department must accept the classes toward degree requirements.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council recommended a default universal Pass/No Record grading system to the Academic Senate and administrators Tuesday, a recommendation that was both echoed and opposed by students during the public comment section of the council’s meeting.
This isn’t the first change the Senate has made to academic policy in order to manage the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The senate previously voted to change finals regulations after UCLA moved classes and final exams online wherever possible for the end of winter quarter.
Since then, UCLA has also suspended all nonessential gatherings or meetings on campus and encouraged students to move off the Hill. Over 80% of students on the Hill have moved out as of Tuesday, with more expected to follow.
