As you can tell by now, there have been a lot of changes to how things function at York in the last few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes a number of changes to how your grades will be assessed, when it comes to dropping courses, and the Pass/Fail grading option. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms you’ve heard about in the last week, we’ve outlined some important details about these changes below.
Course Drop
The first big change we’ll talk about here is that the course drop date has been extended to May 9, 2020 for both 2019-2020 full-year (Y) courses and Winter 2020 term (W) courses (excluding students in the Juris Doctor Program from Osgoode Hall Law School). Please refer to the March 30 email from the University Registrar.
It’s really important to know that dropping a course may impact your OSAP funding, so review the eligibility requirements for OSAP.
Did you apply to graduate? Dropping a course may impact your ability to graduate as well.
Pass/Fail Option
The deadline to choose Pass/Fail grading option has also been extended to May 9, 2020. The Pass/Fail option is available to most students. There are some exceptions, including BED, JD and Nursing. Please follow the link for more details.
You (with some exceptions) may choose Pass/Fail for as many Fall/Winter 2019-2020 full-year or Winter 2020 term course and may choose Pass/Fail for as many Fall/Winter 2019-2020 full-year or Winter 2020 term courses as you wish.
If you’re considering choosing the pass/fail grading option, keep the following information in mind:
- Courses that you receive a Pass for will be included in your total credits received and will appear on your transcript as a P.
- Courses that you choose the Pass/Fail option for will not be included in your GPA.
- Choosing Pass/Fail may have an impact on your program progression (i.e. your eligibility to graduate if you are completing your final year and have applied to graduate.)
- If you have a scholarship or
award that is contingent on maintaining a certain GPA and/or number of
course credits:
- you must ensure you are maintaining your minimum course credit requirement; but
- choosing Pass/Fail will not impact your GPA requirements.
For now, you can delay your final choice until May 9 and we strongly encourage you to speak to your virtual Faculty advising office before making a final decision. Academic advisors are still here to support you virtually, so why not take advantage and spend some of this time at home planning your degree?
Medical Documentation (Doctor’s Note) Waiver
To make sure actions are taken quickly when necessary during the pandemic, you are no longer required to submit a doctor’s note or an Attending Physician’s Statement in support of requests for deferred standing or academic petitions for courses impacted by the current situation.
If you haven’t already done so, you are strongly encouraged to connect with your course instructors to make other arrangements to complete outstanding work. A deferred standing and/or academic petition may not be necessary.
If you applied to graduate, your eligibility to graduate will be assessed once all your course requirements are complete.
As we all know, this situation is constantly evolving, so stay informed by frequently checking York’s dedicated Coronavirus Information & Updates Website for all student communications and important FAQs as well as staying up-to-date through This Week @ York.
