Students faced unprecedented challenges this Fall 2020 semester. The coronavirus pandemic scattered students around the world to study in a virtual classroom, limiting access to on-campus resources. Students navigated the effects of a global pandemic on mental health, finances, and living situations while studying remotely.
Last Spring 2020 semester, the grading policy The New School instated was A, A minus, “I” (incomplete) or “Z” (for unofficial withdrawal). According to an email to The New School Free Press from spokesperson for The New School Merrie Snead, the policy was instituted because of the “potentially negative academic consequences” of the pandemic.
This fall semester is graded on the normal A through F scale “to reflect the range of opportunities that take learning beyond the traditional classroom environment,” wrote spokesperson Snead. They added that the college deans are recommending their faculty be “particularly mindful” of student experiences when grading this semester.
An email from Lang Dean Jennifer Wilson sent on December 11 detailed the Fall 2020 grading policies and encouraged students to reach out to their faculty and advisors if they have any grading concerns. Students may request an incomplete grade (I) from their instructors who will detail the guidelines and timeline for a request for a change of grade to be made. Grade changes can also be requested from instructors after the course is completed. No credit will be given for courses with grades of “F” or “Z,” according to the grading memo.
Screenshot of The New School Free Press Instagram poll: Should grades this semester be on a system like pass/fail or A/ A-? A total of 134 responses were recorded. Thirty percent of respondents chose pass/fail, 70 percent chose A/ A- minus.
In a New School Free Press survey conducted on Instagram, 134 students responded to the question: Should grades this semester be on a system like pass/fail or A/A-? 70 percent preferred an A/ A minus and 30 percent preferred pass/fail.
Responses were mixed. Although students overwhelmingly favored a change to the grading policy, some students did think letter grades were fair. A through F recognizes their academic performance and some were just not motivated by systems like pass/ fail or A/ A minus. When The New School Free Press reached out to those students for an interview, many did not want to share their thoughts on the record.
Around the U.S. and in the New York City area, some colleges and universities have adopted different ways to answer what equitable grading looks like during a pandemic.
PACE University students were allowed to choose a pass/fail option for the fall 2020 courses, with letter grades of a D or higher being granted a “pass” mark.
At FIT, the grading system will remain A through F, but after receiving their grades, students can request for up to six credits of their fall 2020 undergraduate coursework to receive a grade of Satisfactory (“S”). Grades which are below a D cannot receive an “S”
At NYU, there has been no change to the grading system or policy for the fall 2020 semester.
The New School Free Press interviewed six New School students about their experiences this semester and what they believed fair grading looked like. Here are their thoughts:
Please note that these interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
(Photo contributed by MJ Oritz)
MJ Ortiz. Second-year at Parsons for Photography. Located in Jersey. Prefers A/A minus
I had some shit go down in September of 2019 with my family, just a split, which resulted in me now living with my dad. And that shit completely ruined me and it was the first year of college. I was working on campus — I have been since July 2019 – so I just filled my time completely, didn’t think about that. And then when quarantine happened, I had to deal with all that I had been holding back for many, many, many months.
I got furloughed, basically fired, from an on campus job because the structure is really bad in terms of employment and the school, for everyone, staff and faculty included. And so that took a big toll. I feel like I would have probably failed one or two classes if we didn’t have the A/ A minus thing last semester.
I have this one professor, who I worked decently in that class. I feel like I did deserve an A minus; however, given the circumstances that the A minus is the ulterior to the A, when he [the professor] during our final meeting, he’s like ‘I just want you to know that you got an A minus, but I just want you to know that you’re a real one. You really got an A minus.’ And in my head it’s like, fuck, then that means I deserve an A given the circumstances, right? The A minus is no longer the A minus. It’s like every other grade.
But then also there was another class that I had an essay, that was supposed to be worth 50% of my grade, that I didn’t hand in. I tried so hard to start that and I just couldn’t. So there was two ends of that. But at the end of the day I’m totally fine with what I got. I’m satisfied.
I think definitely the A/ A minus was not an option, it was a necessity for last semester, because so many people had to transition from one place to another, from one mental headspace to another I would say I am a small portion that has been able to, ‘get better’ from one semester to another and I think that just speaks to me and my circumstances. But I know people that are really struggling, some people that may even regret taking this semester online, and I think for them, that would be especially helpful. I’m totally fine giving up my pride of letting there be an A/ A minus.
What does it say if I get an A on a regular grading system, whereas I get an A in an A minus system? If you’re getting your money’s worth out of this, you’re getting your money’s worth out of this. part of fostering students and having a space for them to grow is also having a good mental space for them to be in. Because of that, I think the priority is to keep people’s mental health in check.
Because at the end of the day, has the school really been about grades? I don’t think so. That’s not the kind of school that we are. So do we want to stay true to that? And how do we stay true to that? And by we, I mean the people in charge. I think our school has always been about nurturing students, rather than manufacturing students.
(Photo Contributed by Charles Williams)
Charles Williams. Fourth-year photography student at Parsons. Located in Montclair, New Jersey. Prefers A/A minus.
I’m staying at home so honestly, I’m okay. I’m able to eat, I have a computer to do work. So everything for me is okay. Last semester, I was dorming in the city, and then I had to move because of the pandemic.
It’s not fair that the policy is A, B, C, D, F. If a student can’t get their work done, because of their situation, I don’t think that’s totally fair. In my case, like, I have a learning disability, so it’s hard for me to understand stuff. And I’m taking full credits. So, this past semester, I’m taking 21 credits. Just because I need to graduate on time, because I dropped out of some classes my sophomore year. Having all these classes on the computer, being on the computer 24/7, it was just too much for me to get the work done. I couldn’t process a lot of stuff, I needed help with a lot of stuff.
It’s really hard because I know in the past we were able to see tutors in person. I’m really for being able to talk to someone in person. And I just don’t feel like the tutor system, having that online, I just don’t get the same advice, or reaction, or help.
It would be heartwarming to see that professors understand that we’re in a pandemic. It’s not just everyone else, it’s the students too. It’s not just students in the US, it’s students all over the globe that are in different time zones that have to wake up at like at 2 a.m., or 6 a.m., or 10 p.m. at night. It affects everyone in different ways.
I have friends whose situations are totally different than mine. I feel bad for them. Because, even with thesis, I have my own cameras that I can use and document my work, but I know there’s students in my class and other classes that don’t. This was before the photo department said we can rent out equipment and stuff. So, now students are able to use the equipment. Which is okay. But I remember in the beginning like in August, September, when everything was happening students didn’t have personal cameras, you know, they couldn’t rent out cameras because a lot of students are not in New York City.
The least they can do is they can say, “Okay, since a lot of students are struggling in different ways, different performances, we can give you a grading process, that’s A or A minus. So you don’t know if you fail a class, and you have to retake the class. Because that’s not fair.”
It sucks. I’ve met so many talented and amazing artists from so many different majors. And the photo department, I’m super fortunate to have such a great team of people from different places all over the world. But now it’s just the final year, where we are working on the most important project in the four years of being at this school. On the computer we can’t print our work and put it on the wall. They are on the app Mural and on the computers. It just takes away a lot of what I am here for.
At the end of the day we’re paying all this money to go to school to learn, to get an education, and to get advice and learn from our professors.
(Photo Contributed by Mackayla Dorris)
Mackayla Dorris. First-year at Lang for Environmental Sciences. Located in New York, New York. Prefers A/A minus.
Right now, I’m home with my parents. I am currently saving up to move out whenever classes are back in person, hopefully next fall. I feel like being at home during this has its ups and downs, because it’s nice to kind of ease my way into college life. But, I’m also not getting the [in-person] experience, which is something I think is a big part of college. A big reason why a lot of people go to college is for the experience. So lacking that has been weird, just because I never pictured my college life to be like this.
When I first saw the question [New School Free Press’ survey] I was hesitant, because my first instinct was like, “Oh, pass/fail, of course!” And then I kind of got to thinking, and I know that for three out of four of my professors it’d be an easy ‘pass’ class. But I know for one of them that if it’s not 100% correct it’s wrong. So, I feel like they would fail me.
Because this is my first semester, I can’t base it off of anything. So I don’t know if this is the normal workload. I don’t know if it’s more or less, which I would rather know. But, I feel like it’s a lot of busy work. I don’t know if that’s normal. A lot of the times my classes are like a one day turnaround. So, like” read 70 pages and reflect on it, but turn in the paper tomorrow morning.”
This one [professor] I have, she is super vocal about saying, “If you need anything, I’m here for you. Come to me.” And I genuinely believe that that is true. But the rest of them haven’t really done that.
Because Dorris is in her first year at Lang, she also took two Writing the Essay courses in 8-week intensives this semester. In a normal school year, first year Lang students take one Writing the Essay course per semester. Additionally, because this is her first semester at The New School she did not experience the grading system change that occurred last Spring and was not fully aware about what exactly an A/A- or pass/fail grading system would entail or how it affects grades, GPA, or academic career.
(Photo Contributed by Kathryn Monro)
Kathryn Munro. Second-year at Eugene Lang, Undecided major leaning towards Culture and Media. Located in Long Island, New York. Prefers Pass/Fail.
I’m a cashier at CVS and for my schedule I do the closing shift a lot, so that [ends] late. Also at home, I have siblings, and my brother is younger than me and I usually help him a lot with his homework. So I have to balance my job within that. When I get home it’s usually at maybe like 10:30 p.m. I’m in class all day, so when I get home, I just do the homework that I have to do and then I usually end up going to bed around like 2:00 or 2:30 a.m.
If we were to have a pass/fail, I think just showing up, submitting your work, being an active student, I feel like that shows a lot more to who the person is rather than their grade. As important as grades are for people and how much people see the importance of them they don’t define you and they don’t define who you are and I feel like with a pass or fail, it could just represent you better.
I know for a lot of people grades are everything. To me, I think they’re pretty important. And this new format is really hard for me and a lot of people. I feel like I have to teach myself and then show up for class. Then sometimes I don’t know if I’m understanding. Sometimes I get confused with what I’m doing. So I don’t even know if the work I’m putting out is correct or if it’s efficient enough. I feel like my work would definitely be different if it was in a different setting.
Because for the majority of my teachers this is like the first time they’re teaching online and they’re still figuring out everything. So they have a lot of problems with uploading stuff onto canvas and showing deadlines. I know in one of my classes everybody has a lot of trouble figuring out what we’re actually supposed to do, but [the professor] accommodates. He’s not strict about it, but, you know, the class could be more ahead.
I’ve tried keeping a planner and do little things to help me be motivated and that works but a lot of the time it has just been really unmotivating. I think “unmotivating” would really be [a good word] because I look at school and where it’s going and then also the country and how people are reacting to the virus and just anti-maskers, who don’t believe in the vaccine, anti-vaxxers. I feel like I’m looking into a meek future. I haven’t really been hopeful.
(Photo Contributed by Noor Lima-Boudakian)
Noor Lima-Boudakian. Second-year at Eugene Lang for Global Studies and Economics. Located in Rochester, New York. Prefers Letter Grade.
Right now, I’m living way upstate New York, in Rochester, with my parents, my sister. And although I would prefer to be somewhere where I could have more independence, I have a really good relationship with my family. I’m really happy to get to spend time with them that I wouldn’t otherwise have.
Living with my family wasn’t the hard part. The hard part was online classes where I would hear the talking and my brain just wouldn’t process the words. Both last semester and this semester, I found that really difficult, which has been really frustrating for me because I have standards for myself in terms of how well I even do my homework, not even just with grades and assignments, and that I feel like I haven’t been meeting that, even though I’ve really been trying.
I thought that [A/ A minus] was a pretty fair system to enact for last semester. I’m somebody who, just given my grades up to that point in the semester, I think I probably would have been getting A’s or A minuses in my classes anyway. But I didn’t feel like “oh, well, now people who don’t deserve them are going to get them.” I feel like that would be a pretty evil thing to think, because literally everybody was experiencing this transition.
I just feel like there were people who have signed up for the semester, have the capacity to do it, and just made the conscious decision to not care and that [A/ A minus] would just be validating that. I think that definitely comes from the place of somebody who was kind of overbearing about my academics. It’s just a very frustrating thought to me to think that people who consciously decided not to try would be getting the academic validation that so many people are working so hard for and really mentally struggling for.
People had a general picture of what the semester was going to look like and about the fact they knew they were gonna have to do all this online.They knew that there were going to be difficulties. I think the fact that’s driving me towards being kind of anti- A/ A minus for the semester, is that there were so many people who didn’t come back, because they knew they couldn’t do it.
But then on the other hand, people should probably have the option to make it pass/ fail if they want to. Despite what I said, that people have the option to or that they know what they’re getting themselves into, it’s definitely more difficult than I realized and I’m sure that’s the case for many people.
In my own experience, and the experience of many people that I’ve chatted with, when they need accommodations, they get them. So I think that the online nature isn’t a roadblock to grades and when it is, it’s been accommodated for.
For me personally, because my grandparents contributed partially to my tuition, I really like sending them a screenshot of my grades at the end of the semester and kind of be like, look how well I did and having them be proud of me and it [grades] is just a honestly motivating factor for me.
Keaton Slansky. Second-year Transfer Student at The New School for Humanities and Social Sciences. Located in Seattle, Washington. Prefers A/ A-.
(Photo contributed by Keaton Slansky)
I was actually one of the lead organizers of the students’ strike with that [A/A minus] was one of our demands. So I thought about it a lot and that was something that I was very passionate about and I’m still very passionate about.
I think that last semester, [A/ A minus] really benefited me. In addition to the enormous financial hardship brought about from that transition, in addition to the pandemic, in addition to global social uprisings, I would have been furious if my GPA was also permanently impacted from that. So I’m very grateful that it allowed me to relieve at least some pressure from my life and be able to just take an A minus in a class and still have a solid GPA, because I had a 4.0 GPA before that semester.
I live in an apartment right now, because I was living at my mom’s but it was really tight quarters and there was also a bedbug situation, which sucked. And so I was like, “Okay, I have to get an apartment,” and so I got an apartment. I have to pay rent. I had to borrow money from people for months to pay rent, because I wasn’t getting the money that I get from school to live.
And mental health wise, it’s really fucking difficult. I would say overall, it’s been harder for a number of reasons, which is pretty disappointing. Yet I’m registered for next semester, but I’m not stoked about it.
Frankly, I just think they should give everyone A’s this semester. I think punishing people for not giving their academic best. It doesn’t matter. This semester is probably the hardest in any of our living memories. So like we learned what we learned, just give everyone A’s.
I went through a really, really rough personal situation earlier this semester, and I had to ask for a lot of patience for my professors. It was a tougher conversation than any of us wanted to have and I had to have that with all of my professors and it really sucked. And most of them were great, most of my professors were super understanding super great.
One of them was not. One of them was very much just like “you need to keep attending class.” Like very, very cold about it, not interested in granting me anything. I had to get Title Nine involved. And I ended up dropping that class just because I felt like, “I can’t trust this professor. “
That’s part of where the grading is really important to me, because it shouldn’t be up to the goodwill of the professor whether someone gets a good grade or not. And obviously, one could argue that, “Oh, it’s up to the quality of the work” or whatever. But again, this is a completely exceptional time, where students are not able to give their academic best, and that should be understood.
I understand that the nature of an institution, you have to make these hard decisions, because you’re dealing with everyone in these “unprecedented times.” But you have a faculty and a staff and a student body who are all saying, we are dissatisfied. You are not dealing with this adequately.
I think not giving people that patience or understanding right now, is both callous and kind of belies, a certain class, I mean I would say a certain class status, frankly. If you’re saying, “Oh, well, I’m comfortable right now. And I work from home and it’s fine. Why aren’t you able too?”
I guess if I knew that that grading opportunity was there — that I wouldn’t be academically punished for not performing up to the academic standard that there used to in a former life﹘ I would be more incentivized to enroll and be stoked about being there. Again, I really, really, really hope they do that this semester, although I don’t know if there’s any pressure for them to.
To inform the University Student Senate on how you can best be supported next semester, you can fill out this USS anonymous survey for students’ needs for the Spring 2021 semester to advise the goals of next year’s Senate and will be shared with the university administration.