Editor’s note: university officials sent out an email March 30 offering a credit/no-credit option. For more information, read our article on it here.
A student started a petition to change OCU’s grading process to pass/fail for the remainder of the semester.
Macey Cox, Spanish junior, posted a petition on March 23 to change.org requesting OCU classes be changed to pass/fail to help students who are afraid the switch to online classes will negatively affect their GPA.
OCU classes were moved online for the remainder of the semester on March 19 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
“We believe it is only fair to change our classes to pass/fail and give everybody an equal learning opportunity,” the post reads.
Cox said she created the post after hearing about a similar situation with the University of Arkansas.
“I actually have a friend who goes to Arkansas University. She had mentioned to me that her school was doing the same petition, and they had 7,000 signatures. Of course, their school is a lot bigger than ours, but I was like, ‘oh yeah that’s awesome.’ I did some research and thought ‘would this be a good idea to do this? Would I get in trouble?’” Cox said.
Cox said the post started to get attention after some of her friends started spreading the word about it.
“I actually just sent it to the girls on my team. I’m in a group with about five of them. I just said spread the word, and within two days we had 500 people sign it,” Cox said.
The petition had 655 signatures at presstime.
Cox said she took online courses from sixth grade until her high school graduation, but she recognizes there are some students that might struggle academically with an online learning environment.
“There’s a lot of students who rely on that one-to-one conversation they have with the professor, or they rely on that interaction with other students or asking the person next to you for help or studying together,” Cox said.
Avery Mahan, vocal performance freshman, said the move to online could specifically have a negative effect on performing arts students.
“I think that with the performing arts students, there is a greater concern, just because it really is hard to get such hands-on training when online,” Mahan said.
Cox said the creation of the petition was not meant to have any negative effect on OCU.
“This whole petition is not in any way, shape or form, to guilt or shame OCU for switching online. Obviously, it was the protocol. Everyone did it. What else do you do when there’s a dangerous, scary, weird pandemic?” Cox said.
Cox also said if classes are changed to pass/fail, students’ GPAs should remain the same.
“If OCU does it this way, you don’t get an A or a C or whatever on your grades, you just get a P, because you passed it,” Cox said.
Cox said she understands why some people may not agree with the petition.
“If one person in the class is working really hard for that A, and then another person in the class is just passing with a C, they both basically are getting passed in that class the exact same instead of getting credit for that A and credit for that C,” Cox said.
Mahan said she was originally opposed to the petition.
“I worked really hard to have good grades at OCU, and that was not an opportunity that I wanted to lose,” Mahan said.
Mahan said after thinking about it more, she changed her mind and signed the petition.
“I don’t think it’s fair to cater to the most privileged out of us while leaving the ones that are maybe less fortunate behind,” Mahan said.
Jay Williams, religion senior, said he heard the potential option of the grading process being the student’s choice.
“I saw some other person from the University of Oklahoma say that it’s optional for the students up until the final week of class to opt into having pass/fail versus an actual grade. That way, if they need a GPA boost and the grades allow for it, they have that option, but if they want to take pass/fail for whatever reason, they have that option as well,” Williams said.
Liv Story, acting sophomore, said she likes the idea of giving students the option.
“If they could give students the option between choosing pass/fail or percentages, I think that could be effective, but I don’t know if the system is set up to do so,” Story said.
Mahan also said she believes students should have the choice.
“I really think it should be the student’s choice rather than enforced. That would be the most important thing for me,” Mahan said.
Cox said she doesn’t know the logistics behind the university making a decision based on the petition.
“I don’t know actually how it works with OCU considering it or allowing it. I don’t know if there’s a certain percentage of the school that would have to sign it in order for them to let it be passed,” Cox said.
Williams said he hopes the university passes the petition.
“The university wants us to be flexible and I think we’re all fine with that, yet at the same time, I think there should be a lot more flexibility with our grades,” Williams said.
The OCU Communications Office sent out an email on March 30 saying students will have the option of choosing credit or no credit. More information can be found in the official document online.
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