Joint Task Force on Alternative Grading

Charge

The Alternative Grading Task Force is charged with the following:

1. To determine if policy 49-70 (or an alternative) should be enacted in spring 2021 or whether the university should return to our regular grading system
2. To also look forward to summer and fall 2021 to see if a determination can be made on the future use of policy 49-70 (or an alternative.)
3. Discuss and determine concerns about the use of the policy by students, especially as it impacts students who are in academic difficulty and who might otherwise be in Academic Warning or Academic Suspension status.
4. Discuss how the policy might complicate outcomes for our minoritized student populations, including underrepresented, first generation and students who face financial challenges.
   1. Plan to help mobilize efforts to support these students.
5. Consideration of an alternative, such as pass/fail or whether the goals of providing a safety net for students who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can be accomplished through either the current or a revised version of Senate policy 49-60 on the use of Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades.
6. Discuss how approaches to grading during COVID-19 can help us create a culture of care. What does this mean and how do we build and live it?
7. Develop a list of the major academic barriers that exist at Penn State for minoritized populations and how we might make our procedures less cumulative GPA driven.

The immediate work is time sensitive and initial recommendations need to be forwarded by the beginning of Spring 2021 semester, if not before.

Membership: