This semester has brought both students and faculty at Hofstra University unprecedented challenges, and mandating a pass/fail option for undergraduate courses is not the solution.

There are many reasons why this would be an unnecessary and ultimately harmful decision. The first being just that; it is unnecessary. Hofstra is under no obligation to mandate this kind of policy because it is not the norm that we are seeing from other colleges and universities across the nation. Perhaps if this measure was being taken by all institutions of higher learning my opinion would be different, but that is not the case. 

I know that standing with the majority is not always the path to righteousness, but when it comes to this, consistency is key. If an institution you are applying to for graduate school is penalizing you for opting to take a pass/fail option, perhaps there is a flaw with them for not being understanding during this unprecedented time. Those are the institutions you should be mad at. They are the ones who need to change their system. 

The graduate school issue is precisely the reason that Hofstra is not mandating a pass/fail. If you need a certain grade for a prerequisite class to get into graduate school, Hofstra wants you to be able to get that grade. An optional pass/fail also allows you to choose which classes you take for pass/fail, so if you are performing well in one class, you can receive that letter grade and improve your GPA, while opting for pass/fail in a class you are struggling with and still being able to receive credit and not have to take it again.

A reason many other schools are not enforcing this policy is because their semesters are already almost over, and so is ours. Academic calendars vary across the country, and some universities are less than four weeks away from their final exams. Mandating that classes become pass/fail completely invalidates all the work that was already put into those classes. At that point, a student has already earned the grade necessary to pass, and there would be no reason for them to bother with doing the required work and attend class. They might as well just cancel class and end the semester completely. However, universities cannot do that because some classes and programs require meetings for a certain number of hours per week for a set duration of time. Therefore, it is in the best interest of both the school and the students to just finish the semester as is while doing remote learning.

For Hofstra students, the transition to remote learning came during the midterm point of our semester. There was no smooth way to do this – it hasn’t been easy for anyone. I did not sign up for, nor did I pay even close to the price of, online school, yet here we are.

I specifically took the classes I am in this semester to boost my GPA, and many other students are in the same boat. If Hofstra mandated a pass/fail requirement for the semester that would mean I would not receive a GPA for an entire year of my undergraduate education because I already took a semester of optional pass/fail classes. My GPA would not at all be reflective of the work I’ve done in four years, it would only be reflective of three years, despite the fact that I took four years’ worth of classes.

Mandatory pass/fail classes would also invalidate the work of students who overcame hardships this semester and improved their performance. Each person’s experiences and college journey is different; some people have experienced obstacles like lack of internet access and bad living situations before coronavirus and overcame those challenges to improve their grades this semester. Having an optional pass/fail allows those students to receive the rewarding grade they worked so hard for, while  mandating pass/fail rips that away from them.

Additionally, the pass/fail option allows students who earned an A and a C minus to receive the “same grade,” despite one student clearly performing better. If the field you are entering in after graduation requires a GPA or your academic record, a pass/fail on your transcript could reflect poorly to your future employer and will prevent you from being able to improve your GPA. There also would not be an opportunity for students receive the recognition of the Dean’s or Provost List because no student would earn a GPA for the semester. 

I know that there is no possible way for classes and school to even come close to feeling or being conducted the same as it was prior to this pandemic. I know that education may never be the same after it, but getting rid of grades is not the answer. 

I believe it is the responsibility of the professors who are rewriting their curriculums for the semester to be considerate of the change in situations and hardships students may be facing. They should rework the weight of assignments completed prior to this to have more value and create opportunities for students to improve their grades so that all students can benefit.

Rachel Bowman is the managing editor of the Hofstra Chronicle, current CNN intern and former editorial intern at DoctorOz.com.