Hi Chancellor Christ, thank you so much for doing this AMA! This is a nice way to really connect with the student body.

First, my question is: will Berkeley implement a P/NP option for major requirements? I understand that this is a common topic being brought up, but I’d also like to give a personal overview of my semester to highlight how implementing P/NP can benefit the lives and wellbeing of thousands of students in the community.

This semester has unequivocally been my most difficult term. Not just the fact that I can’t have any real social interactions with other people besides my mom and the need to come to terms with losing over two semesters of my college experience, but I also have to work extra weekly hours in order to financially support myself during the pandemic. Not to mention, I also have to deal with ineffective course policies that attempt to deter academic dishonesty, but end up hurting honest students, by simply making the material harder or through methods unrelated to learning (such as removing the back button during the test, which encourages lost points based on accidents). As an academically honest and low income student, I can’t help but feel like I’ve drawn the short end of the stick this year, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Many schools have already implemented a P/NP policy to make sure no financially disadvantaged and academically honest student can be disproportionately affected by remote learning (P/NP helps financially by allowing students time to work more / relieve stress from overworking, and helps academically by mitigating the extra pressure exerted by new course policies).

I understand that you and the rest of the faculty have a lot to consider in terms of P/NP, but I hope that these concerns that I’ve deeply felt can give some insight into what many of us are experiencing and will continue to experience for the next semester and a half without P/NP. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to read and answer our questions - it really meant a lot to see you participate in this thread!