Mount Allison will not be offering the pass\/fail option to students this semester, and is instead forgoing academic suspension and dismissal due to low GPA this year.<\/p>\n
So that means that all students will have a grade point average recorded on their university transcript, but no student will be barred from returning to class this fall if their grades are low.<\/p>\n
Normally, any student who has a GPA of 1.0 or less is placed on automatic Academic Suspension, which means they aren\u2019t allowed to take any more Mount Allison courses for one full year.<\/p>\n
The student would then have to apply to be readmitted to the university, and put on Academic Probation. A second suspension will result in their dismissal from Mount Allison, which means they can\u2019t return to the university for three years.<\/p>\n
This year, while students will have a low grade recorded on their transcripts, they will still be allowed to return to school next year regardless of the grade.<\/p>\n
Mount Allison Students Union Vice President (and elected president of the 2021-2022 term), Charlie Burke says that while pass\/fail was helpful for some students it wasn\u2019t helping the ones who were struggling the most.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we put forward pass fail last semester, there was never a guarantee that we\u2019d be able to do that again this semester,\u201d says Burke. \u201cIt was pretty clear that the University Senate felt that the the pass\/fail motion didn\u2019t support the students who were struggling the most, students who were failing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knowing that they couldn\u2019t push for pass\/fail this semester, the MASU worked on another motion to keep students with low grades from \u201cslipping through.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Provost and Vice-President, Academic and Research Jeff Hennessy, \u201cthe results from the Fall term showed that student grades were actually higher than previous Fall terms.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says that since professors modified their courses due to the circumstances, that may have helped students\u2019 grades.<\/p>\n
Hennessy also says that \u201cvery few of the scholarship-eligible GPA category used these alternative grades in the Fall,\u201d and that \u201cthe decision on a motion from the MASU was to focus on students who may be in danger of academic sanction due to grades and to suspend enforcement of unsatisfactory standing this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burke admits that while the temporary removal of the academic suspension and dismissal protocol is good news for students who are struggling to keep their grades up, she understands why students may be upset that they can\u2019t request the \u201cpass\/fail\u201d grading system.<\/p>\n
She says that there are larger conversations about grading in progress that stand to benefit the student body.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about grading schemes, what is the difference between qualitative and quantitative grading, and how much of an emphasis should [be put] on grades in general, and shifting some of those ideologies,\u201d Burke explains. \u201cWe\u2019ve been talking about shifting the evaluation off of grades, and continuing to have those conversations about how much weight our GPAs be given in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo those students who are upset about it, please reach out to the academic support services because there\u2019s still time. We totally hear you, we totally get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students can direct questions around changes to academic assessment to\u00a0assocregistrar@mta.ca.<\/p>\n
Specific questions about scholarships can be e-mailed the Financial Aid and Awards Counsellor:\u00a0financialaid@mta.ca.<\/p>\n
Students struggling with mental health or wellness can contract\u00a0wellness@mta.ca.<\/p>\n
Students requiring accessibility aid can contact the Meighen Centre at\u00a0accessibility@mta.ca.<\/p>\n
Hear this story as reported:<\/p>\n\n