Courses will automatically be graded as Satisfactory/Fail this semester.

Satisfactory credits will count for majors, minors, and degree requirements. Students may choose to get a letter grade through an online form.

This marks UR’s latest response to the COVID-19 outbreak that has sickened at least 36 people in Monroe County.

The change, which encompasses both the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (AS&E) and the Eastman School of Music, was announced by emails from Dean of the College Jeffrey Runner and Dean of AS&E Faculty Donald Hall on Friday afternoon. Runner said that while all courses graded this semester as satisfactory can count for degree requirements, they will not contribute to GPAs.

Students who want any or all of their courses graded on an A-E scale this semester must submit a petition on no later than April 3. Requests on this are final, and an online platform for submitting this petition is not yet available.

In addition to the grading change, the course withdrawal deadline has been extended to April 22, and Fall 2020 registration is now scheduled for April 20. The Dean’s List has been suspended, and course withdrawals and major declarations  can now be done using an online form.

The changes come following a student push for modified grading in recent days, in light of UR’s transition to remote learning. By Friday afternoon, an SA Impact petition asking that AS&E provide all students with an A or A- in every course for the semester garnered over 1,000 signatures.

Thanks to another UR decision in the wake of a popular Impact petition, AS&E courses are slated to begin online on Monday, March 23.



Satisfactory/Fail is default grading system for semester

After walking around campus, as well as other areas such as parks in Northwestern New York, spotting birds has become more commonplace. The resident bird species are singing, foraging, and preparing to nest while many migratory birds are starting to arrive. Read More

Satisfactory/Fail is default grading system for semester

URochester’s annual Senior Week always features a full lineup of celebrations for the graduates leading up to Commencement. The contemporary week-long fun is deeply embedded in the history of URochester culture, even though Senior Week and Commencement traditions have changed dramatically over time. Read More

Satisfactory/Fail is default grading system for semester

As recently as the early 2010s, it was standard practice for surgeons to provide 30 to 40 or more opioid pills for common, minimally invasive procedures. Most of these pills, however, would remain untouched, left over in the patient’s medical cabinet or kitchen pantries for potential misuse. A team of researchers led by URMC’s Dr. Jacob Moalem set out to reduce these opioid overprescriptions. Read More