Some San Jose State students said that the university should extend the deadline for Credit/No Credit because the coronavirus pandemic has made it harder to focus on their classes and adjust to online learning.
Political science junior Sydni Tucci-Jones said that even though SJSU made the switch to online learning in spring, not all students have adapted to Zoom classes.
"I feel like a lot of kids are going through a lot, [for example] having to move back home because of shelter-in-place,” she said over the phone. “Having to readjust to a new life while having to balance online classes is really difficult for a lot of students to do.”
Tucci-Jones said that because of these adjustments, the university shouldn’t hold students to the same academic standard it does for in-person classes.
“SJSU doesn’t know how [each] student will acclimate to online learning,” she said. “Holding students to the same standards that you would if everything was in person is just not realistic.”
Like Tucci-Jones, Leland Pama, the Associated Students director of co-curricular affairs, said students’ commitments outside of school might interfere with their ability to do well in their online classes this semester.
“Students have to go to work, they have other bills to pay. So definitely having [Credit/No Credit] options would be beneficial for them during this time,” Pama said over the phone.
During a Nov. 12 Academic Senate meeting, SJSU President Mary Papazian and Ravisha Mathur, a child and adolescent development professor and Academic Senate chair, said the senate is not considering extending the Credit/No Credit option because students and faculty members had more time to prepare for an entire semester online.
“That doesn't mean that the conversation can't or shouldn't continue on our campus about Credit/No Credit, but this time, we haven't made movement for it,” Mathur said during the meeting.
Janet Kitajima, a child and adolescent development lecturer, said she was disappointed that the senate didn’t talk more about extending the option. She felt the Credit/No Credit extension could relieve students of any stress caused by online learning.
“I was very disappointed when the senate just really said, ‘No,’ '' Kitajima said over the phone. “I have some students who are struggling with all sorts of awful problems due to these circumstances and I would love for them to have these [opportunities to receive Credit/No Credit].”
Kitajima said that the senate should extend the deadline.
“If students are facing much worse circumstances [than online classes], like family members losing jobs and deaths in the family, I think [the senate] should keep an open mind,” she said.
In April, Papazian approved a policy that reopened and extended the Spring 2020 Credit/No Credit petition deadline from February to June. This meant that instead of receiving a letter grade, students could opt-out for Credit/No Credit after their transcripts were released online.
The policy was developed by the Academic Senate Executive Committee after students and faculty members voiced their concerns about the negative effect that moving to online classes would have on students’ grades.
Any letter grade above a C- is considered credit, while any grade below that is considered no credit. No credit also includes failed and incomplete classes, according to the SJSU grading guidelines.
The guidelines also state that if students receive credit for a course, their GPA will not be impacted and the class will still fulfill graduation requirements.
Several California State University campuses have extended their Credit/No Credit deadlines for the Fall semester.
At the beginning of the school year, Cal State Fresno allowed its students to petition for a Credit/No Credit option until Dec. 9, according to an Aug. 20 article by The Collegian, the university’s paper.
Students at Cal State Stanislaus have until Nov. 30 to apply for Credit/No Credit after university President Ellen Junn approved extending the grading policy on Oct. 22.
San Diego State’s Academic Senate also voted to extend the deadline for students to register for the Credit/No Credit option until Dec. 13, according to a Nov. 10 article by The Daily Aztec, SDSU’s student-run newspaper.
According to San Francisco State’s grading policy website, the deadline for the option was changed from Oct. 19 to Dec. 18.
Child and adolescent development lecturer Kitajima said she wasn’t aware other CSU campuses extended the deadline for the Credit/No Credit option but hopes that other SJSU Academic Senate members will hear of it and be more willing to pursue the extension.
“[SJSU] should always think what's the best and right thing for our college and our students,” she said.
