Students are petitioning the University to give them the option to choose pass/fail for all their classes this fall, but the University has no plans to change the policy, a UT spokesperson said. 

The petition was created by history sophomore James Napoli and has reached 681 signatures at the time of publication. Napoli said he created the petition to help students struggling to maintain the workload of online school. 

“Some teachers are even giving a lot more work because they don’t realize how much more stressful it is to work online,” Napoli said. “The whole pandemic adds another layer of stress, especially if you’re staying at home and have little siblings running around.”

Kathleen Harrison, communications manager for the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, said the University’s position on the pass/fail option for the fall remains the same. 

Under UT’s current policy, if a student chooses to pass/fail a class in fall 2020, it will not count toward the core curriculum or coursework in their major. In spring 2020, students could pass/fail any class and have it count toward their degree requirements.

Harrison said the faculty saw the pass/fail option for spring 2020 as a way to accommodate students for the sudden change to online school when the pandemic began.

“Since that time, the University has dedicated significant resources toward putting together tools and guidance around online instruction,” Harrison said. 

Students made their fall course decisions knowing the majority of classes were online, which was not the case last semester, Harrison said.  

Computer science sophomore Dani Amir said UT should maintain the pass/fail policy from the spring because the pandemic is still complicating students’ lives.

“UT has underestimated how difficult this transition is for students, and they expected us to be adapted by now to the new learning experience,” Amir said. 

Social work junior Kollette Zamora said students’ grades are being impacted by many different factors in addition to the pandemic this semester.

“This semester is not like any semester before,” Zamora said. “Students have had loved ones affected by COVID, online classes are way harder than expected and students are a part of such a crucial election.”

Harrison said the University understands the many difficulties students, faculty and staff are facing. 

“In addition to the above resources around online instruction, the University is providing numerous health and wellness resources, preventative testing and additional financial assistance for our students in need,” Harrison said.