COVID-19 Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) Policy

Undergraduate Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) Policy Changes for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021

The College has amended the Satisfactory/Fail grading option for fall 2020 and spring 2021.

  • At the conclusion of the semester all instructors will assign letter grades for classes as normal.
  • Once grades have been assigned, students will have the option to select up to two of their classes to be graded on a Satisfactory/Fail basis. (Seniors: see special requirements below)
  • This option is available for all undergraduate courses within the College, School of Medicine and Dentistry, or the Warner School that are traditionally letter graded. Courses offered by the Eastman School of Music are not eligible for the S/F option.
  • Students may use one “S” grade from a course taken S/F in fall 2020 or spring 2021 to partially satisfy requirements for a cluster. This means that the student will not need to uncover the grade in order to use this one course for a cluster.
    • Students may use one “S” grade from a course per cluster when using that cluster to satisfy a divisional requirement.
    • Students may not use an “S” grade to satisfy requirements for an additional cluster. (Note: per the College rules, this is a cluster that isn’t being used to satisfy a divisional requirement.)
    • Courses must already be listed as eligible for use in the cluster (see the cluster search engine) or must be independently approved as a cluster exception.
    • Students must continue to meet the minimum GPA requirement for clusters with the remaining letter graded courses.
    • Incompletes (“I”) finished with an “S” after fall 2020 or spring 2021 may be used retroactively under this rule change only if the selection of S/F was officially recorded before the request deadline (see below).
    • Courses graded under the modified satisfactory-fail (P/F) system in spring 2020 may be used in clusters if the student received a “P” grade. These may be used in addition to an “S” under this policy change.
    • Seniors may elect to uncover their S/F grades (per current policy) without uncovering “S” grades used to partially satisfy requirements for a cluster. Students will be required to positively indicate their preference to keep the “S” used for cluster requirements when petitioning to uncover grades.
    • This rule change applies to courses offered in other schools in the University as long as the other requirements above are met.
  • Unless otherwise noted above, S/F grades will remain subject to the rules per the existing Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) option.

Timeline

Starting after grades are submitted, students may elect to change courses to the Satisfactory/Fail option with a limit of two courses. The option remains available until the request deadlines below.

Term Grades Earned InRequest Deadline
Fall 2020March 1, 2021
Spring 2021September 22, 2021

Special Requirements for Graduating Students

  • Students in the Class of 2021 graduating in December will be able to select the S/F option for two courses in fall 2020 until January 15, 2021.
  • Students in the Class of 2021 graduating in May will follow the rules above for fall 2020 courses but will be required to select the S/F option for spring 2021 courses by May 7, 2021. This is required so that students may officially graduate at the end of the semester.
  • Students in Class of 2019 or 2020 who are completing degree requirements in fall 2020 will be able to select the S/F option for fall 2020 until January 15, 2021. This is required so that students may officially graduate at the end of the semester.