Dear Clemson students, instructors and academic support staff:
I am amazed at how well we have been able to quickly move to a completely online manner of instruction in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty, staff and students are all to be commended for meeting this challenge head-on, in true Clemson fashion.
At the same time, however, the disruption caused by the abrupt change of course and the ongoing daily uncertainties and stress caused by the pandemic have made life difficult for many of our students.
In order to provide additional support and peace of mind, Clemson is announcing the creation of a new special grading policy for the spring semester.
The new approach provides students the flexibility to choose a final grade option that best meets their academic and career goals, while preserving the integrity of the University’s grading system.
The policy creates three grade classifications – in addition to the option of accepting the traditional letter grade earned – depending on a student’s performance in a given class:
- Pass: Available to undergraduates earning grades of A, B, or C, and graduate students earning grades of A through C-.
- Passing grades count toward credit requirements but will not affect a student’s GPA.
- Typically accepted as transfer credits.
- Special Pass: Available only to undergraduates with a course grade of D.
- Course credit, but no impact on GPA
- Usually not accepted as transfer credits
- Not eligible for academic forgiveness
- No Grade: Available to undergraduates with grades of D or F, or graduate students with a grade of F.
- No course credit and no impact on GPA.
- Not eligible for undergraduate academic forgiveness.
At the end of the semester, students will have the option of converting their traditional letter grade in each course to Pass, Special Pass or No Grade, following the parameters outlined above. Academic advisors will help students determine which grading strategy is most advantageous based on the individual student’s academic goals.
To provide students maximum flexibility, we also are extending the deadline for course withdrawals to April 17.
I am grateful to faculty, staff, and student government leadership who participated in developing and approving the new policy. Detailed information on the process will be made available in the coming days.
To all our students, know that the faculty and staff are here to help you get through this difficult period with as little disruption to your academic life as possible. This is just one more way we are working to address the unprecedented situation in which we all find ourselves.
Best of luck for a great finish to the semester.
Sincerely,
Bob Jones
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost