Coronavirus In Colorado: College Students Petition To Move Grades To 'Pass/Fail'

DENVER (CBS4) - Universities across the country are trying to stay the course despite the COVID-19 crisis. Most have or will be moving to online education and while some have changed the grading scale along with it others have not.

Shannon Robinson is a graduate student at the University of Colorado Denver campus.

"To suddenly go to all online, our libraries are closed, our tech center is closed. Some are engineering and design majors, they don't have access to studios," she said.

Thousands of students are finishing their semester through online courses which she says isn't always easy.

"Some students had to go home, some students had to leave the dorms, some students don't exactly have internet connection at home, some don't have computers. They do their homework and everything from a smartphone or at the school library," Robinson said.

She's now launched a petition asking that the school move away from the standard grading scale A to F and start using a simple pass or fail. It would mean little to no impact to their GPA which Robinson says can be essential for grad school applications, internships and also requirements to man scholarships.

Other schools including the University of Colorado Boulder have already made similar changes.

"A lot of messaging is 'all for one,' and it just doesn't seem like we are receiving the same policies or academic safety nets to catch us from falling in this crisis," Robinson said.

In response, officials at CU Denver sent students an email saying they hear their concerns and are working t develop more "flexible grading options."

For Robinson it's a start, that she hopes will give everyone a chance to be successful.

"If we as students are still able and still held to the standard to attend our classes we deserve policies that will help us maintain the same course," she said.

The university has not said what other options they will offer.