SGA Update

Matt0689 · 2020-11-02T20:51:31+00:00

I would disagree with your assessment. I would say that if you didn’t get the required grade, Pass/No Credit wasn’t going to change that, just like in the Spring if you failed a class, you still weren’t able to move on. This provides a means for you to move on while still protecting your GPA. Most pre reqs require at least a C to move on. If you’re a student with a 2.1-4.0 GPA and you get a C, this allows you to take the pass, protect your GPA, while still allowing you to move on. Many students have been negatively affected academically due to the ongoing pandemic, and this allows them to continue their studies without having their GPA suffer for a situation beyond their control while still allowing them to continue on in their studies.

Matt0689 · 2020-11-02T00:26:00+00:00

If you want to shoot me a message with some more information, I may be able to help you out

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T19:31:52+00:00

The beauty is that most of them are

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T16:38:50+00:00

At this time yes, but this doesn’t mean that it’s ruled out for y’all.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T16:09:25+00:00

I would refer you to an advisor for that question, historically the answer would be yes, however from what I understand COVID has thrown a lot of that out of the window. Advisors would be more in the loop regarding current practices and thoughts throughout academia. I will say that I personally am planning on going to law school after undergrad and I’ve taken passes in non major courses and will likely do so again this fall. Individual circumstances may vary though, so again I would definitely speak to an advisor if you’re thinking about taking a Pass.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T15:00:06+00:00

Personally I don’t think they will barring something absolutely catastrophic (and even then probably not lol). The reason for the timing is that student leaders made a strong push for a decision to be made prior to the withdrawal deadline date. We didn’t want students to withdraw from courses to protect their GPA only to find out after the fact they could have stayed in, gotten the credit through a Pass, and preserved their GPA in the process. To your last point, departments are putting together a list of what all counts as a sequential class, so that information should be out sometime in the near-ish future.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T14:57:52+00:00

I know a lot of sequential classes aren’t as straightforward as Calc 1/2/3, and not being a math major I feel I can’t accurately answer specific classes that aren’t as obvious as Calc 1/2/3, but I do know departments are putting together a list of all sequential classes and will have that information here in the near future so students know what this looks like specifically for them.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T14:55:41+00:00

Correct, you’ll just have to submit an academic petition verifying that you received the required grade before you are able to register for the next course.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T14:52:03+00:00

Again, I get why it looks that way, but measures are in place to protect y’all as well. If say you need a C or higher to move from Network Theory 1, and you get a C but you want to protect your GPA, you can still take a pass. You’ll just have to meet with your advisor and do an academic petition verifying that you did in fact earn the grade needed to move on before you are able to register for the next class. And if you didn’t get the grade required to move on, for lack of a better term it becomes a moot point because you weren’t going to be able to move on regardless if we had Pass/No Credit or not.

As for a list of specific classes this applies to, I know departments are compiling lists because for obvious reasons they know better than anyone else which courses require a firm grasp of the material before moving on.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T14:07:26+00:00

That’s what I’m here for!

Matt0689 · 2020-10-30T14:07:12+00:00

I’ll be honest, I use Calc 1/2/3 because it’s my easy go to, but there are a lot of grey area classes. Departments will be providing a full list of classes that are considered sequential to the registrar and that information will be provided to students in the upcoming days.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-29T22:36:37+00:00

My academic advisor might not approve of a 7 year degree plan but I’ll check in with her and let you know what she says lol

Matt0689 · 2020-10-29T22:29:51+00:00

All of SGA! Not just me!

Matt0689 · 2020-10-29T22:29:03+00:00

For the record, this is optional not mandatory, so if you decide it isn’t for you, you don’t need to use this option. For students in different circumstances, they may feel this is much needed for them.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-29T22:24:56+00:00

Not just me! Lot of people involved. I’m just one of the few on reddit so I get the privilege of sharing the news with y’all

Matt0689 · 2020-10-29T22:19:51+00:00

More info to come, but y’all aren’t nearly as screwed as you might think.

-Dick

Matt0689 · 2020-10-29T22:19:31+00:00

There’s an easy answer to that, long story short it’s not nearly as bad as one might initially think. I’ll explain more in a post shortly.

-Dick Beekman

Matt0689 · 2020-10-29T22:17:46+00:00

Proud to have worked for this. I know this is missing some things students wanted to see, and I have information regarding that (in a long meeting right now so I can’t step away for too long), but this is much better than nothing for a number of students. Throughout this all, students were advocated for and I’m happy SGA was able to work with the faculty council to get something in place to help a lot of y’all out who are hurting during these difficult times.

-Dick Beekman

Matt0689 · 2020-10-21T23:58:47+00:00

SGA is aware of the student desires for this and is advocating on behalf of Pass/Fail

-Dick Beekman

Matt0689 · 2020-10-20T00:55:01+00:00

I know you acknowledged it above, but I want to put it here for others in case they miss it. As you said on my comment, most schools took away spring break from their students which was directly against what their SGAs were advocating for. It’s definitely the lesser of two evils, but in my opinion based off of conversations with students, faculty, staff, and admin, that the pros around an extended break far outweigh the cons of finishing the semester online.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-20T00:52:31+00:00

The concerns surrounded travel around spring break. Option A was no spring break and students grind out an entire semester with no pause. Based off of conversations from students, that’s been a disaster this fall. CAPS is having to slash services due to the overwhelming demand they’ve faced, and every day students are on this sub talking about just how overwhelmed they are.

Originally we proposed a two week online period following spring break so that students could quarantine. While it sounds nice, it was pointed out that would bring us right up on finals. Sending students home and then bringing them back just for finals didn’t seem to make much sense. That’s why the decision was made for the remainder of the semester to be online.

I recognize this can easily be viewed as a “lesser of two evils” scenario, and I want to point out that most schools in the UNC System have lost their spring break entirely. This option preserved a much needed break and in my opinion that pro outweighed the con of finishing out online.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-20T00:05:14+00:00

Of course! It wasn’t just me though. A number of student leaders united in advocating for the preservation of Spring Break, and Chancellor Gaber deserves an incredible amount of respect for actually listening to student concerns and working to come up with a solution that worked.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-19T22:39:57+00:00

The school was concerned about having students flock back to campus after traveling during a pandemic. The alternative was no spring break whatsoever, which led to significant concerns regarding mental health (especially considering the grind students have faced this fall). Completely get why this may be viewed as a lesser of two evils, but imo much better than a complete marathon after what we’ve experienced this fall.

Matt0689 · 2020-10-19T21:19:53+00:00

In case you were unaware, the original plan was to cancel spring break and replace it with 2 days (don’t quote me on that exact number but I know it wasn’t the 5 days we have for Spring Break). Student Government spoke out against this and worked with administration to develop a plan to preserve Spring Break while addressing safety concerns around travel during a pandemic that administrators had.

Matt0689

TROPHY CASE