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April 9 Mandel Communication - Pass/No Pass Policy

Spring 2020 Mandel School P/NP Policy and Request Form

To our Mandel School Students and Academic Advisors:

In light of the disruption the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, the Mandel School has approved the following change to the grading policies for the MSSA and MNO degree programs administered by the School. The policy change applies to any SASS prefix MNO and MSSA course that currently is not P/NP. The grading policy change applies to graduate students in certificate, non-degree and degree programs administered by the Mandel School.

  1. Graduate students may select any number of regularly letter-graded Spring 2020 courses for P/NP grading. Courses designated for P/NP grading will be counted towards program degree requirements;
  2. Graduate students have up until 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on April 20, 2020 to designate courses as P/NP;
  3. For P/NP grading designation the following grading guidelines apply: P=letter grade of A,-B,C (includes +/-) and NP= letter grade of F;
  4. Graduate students must make their grading selection by notifying the Mandel School via the Mandel School P/NP Request Form by the deadline;
  5. For the selected courses, a grade of either P or NP will appear on graduate student transcripts. Such courses will not be used to calculate graduate student grade point averages (GPA); Graduate students must have a 3.0 GPA to graduate in Spring 2020;
  6. Students on academic probation with a grade point average under 3.0 and expected to graduate in May 2020 are not included in this policy change;
  7. Instructors are not informed a student is taking their courses P/NP. The Mandel School will maintain an internal record of faculty submitted letter grades;
  8. Contact your academic advisor if you have any questions about this course grading option for Spring 2020;
  9. This grading policy does not change the option to request an incomplete or withdrawal from a course. Visit the Mandel School Registrar’s Website to review the incomplete and withdrawal policy.

Finally, all P/NP requests should sent through the Mandel School P/NP Request Form by the graduate student by the deadline of 11:59pm EST on April 20, 2020.

Sharon Milligan
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Student Services

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. However, we strongly encourage you to check with the chair of your degree program to ensure that plans to convert grades do not result in unintended consequences with regards to satisfactory academic progress for students on academic probation. Associate Dean Dr. Milligan is the chair of the MSSA degree program and Dr. Robert Fisher is the chair of the MNO degree program.

No. Approval is not required for a student to submit a form requesting a grade conversion.

The policy change for Spring 2020 allows the student to have an earlier letter grade replaced by a P/NP.

Any student registered for non SASS courses (i.e. Law, MPH, Bioethics) should contact the appropriate School or department for the P/NP policy.

Any student registered in the PhD program should contact the Chair of the Doctoral Program, Dr. Sonia Minnes.

No, there is no impact on financial aid for requesting a P/NP grade conversion.

The only potential negative impact may be for students with an expected graduation date of spring 2020 who need a 3.0 GPA to be eligible; or students who are currently on academic probation who need a minimum of a 2.0 GPA to remain in the program.