Megan Tomoney

As we go into December, the fall semester is coming to a close and many college students may be worried about how well they will be finishing off in their classes. We knew at the beginning of the school year that the pandemic would certainly affect how students performed in their classes, so much so that most universities have changed how they will grade this semester.

For example, Yale University changed its grading policy for the Fall of 2020 after students and parents contacted the University. The claim made was not unfamiliar to students today: how are students able to properly learn and excel in their classes during a global pandemic? Yale responded by changing their grading to a pass or fail policy rather than letter grades.

Penn State has followed the same path after the Faculty Senate voted to continue the grading policy used in Spring 2020. For the Fall of this year, Penn State will institute an optional alternative route for what shows up on students grading reports. There are three alternative grades are SAT, V and Z.

SAT would be used if someone made a C or better in the class. It would be useful in situations where a student needs a C or more to use the class as a credit but did not get a grade that they would like to be recorded. The V grade would be considered a passing grade if a student got a D or higher. This one is similar to the SAT grade but is solely for students to be recorded as passing a certain class.

The Z grade would be used if a student fails a course, but rather than having a failing grade it is recorded as a late drop. All of these options that Penn State has given are to assist students in keeping a level GPA and not having to worry about it being altered too much from the struggles of the semester.

Students are warned, though, that using these alternative methods can affect scholarship and award eligibility, as well as entrance into certain graduate, law, and medical schools. It can even affect future employment, depending on the profession and employer. Make sure to take these grading alternatives into consideration, which can be discussed with an academic advisor.