Please refer to this article for updated information regarding the P/NP for Fall 2020.

According to a Dec. 7 email disclosed to The UCSD Guardian, undergraduate students may be able to retroactively change their major/minor/general education requirement classes to pass/no pass for Fall Quarter 2020. Rather than changing their grade status on WebReg––like during Spring Quarter 2020––students will likely have to submit an undergraduate student petition with their course instructor, department chair, and/or college. Students will be able to petition starting on Jan. 4 until Jan. 29, 2021.

Following permission from the aforementioned individuals, the petition would then go to the UCSD Academic Senate Education Policy Committee for review. The EPC already noted in the email that they will approve any P/NP grade change petitions that come before them for Fall Quarter 2020. However, delays are expected given that the EPC only meets once a month. This has been the typical process for petitions in previous quarters but is subject to change for the fall.

This change in policy interpretation came to light after nearly all other University of California campuses indicated that they would allow P/NP options for major requirements. Various UC campuses, now including UCSD, cite that they changed grading policies to help students cope with the stresses of the ongoing pandemic. However, unlike other UC campuses, UCSD’s change is comparatively limited in scope and occurred during the last week of instruction. 

“Due to the extenuating circumstances of COVID-19, I believe this policy change should have already passed weeks ago,” Thurgood Marshall junior Leah Peterson said to The UCSD Guardian. “Student’s lives have been uprooted by this pandemic and they have had to adapt to changing living spaces, stress about their loved ones falling ill, and new work responsibilities to care for their families in this precarious economy. Classes should be the least of anyone’s problems as we adapt to these trying times.”

Although the EPC indicated that they will be lenient, changes to major/minor/GE requirements will still be dependent on the department’s discretion. Changing the grade to P/NP will count towards the 25 percent maximum allowed by UCSD. If you have any questions about P/NP options, please reach out to your academic advisors. If you would like to submit an undergraduate student petition, please refer to this document. 

This article was edited on Dec. 8, 2020 at 12:40 PM to clarify new details about the Fall Quarter 2020 P/NP option.

This article was edited on Dec. 9, 2020 at 7:50 AM to clarify the predicted petition process and to include GEs as part of the policy change.

Photo taken by The UCSD Guardian.