Graduate Optional Alternative Grading
Exception Request Pathway

Fall 2020 Graduate Optional Alternative Grading Exception Request Pathway

Optional alternative grading (OAG) is available for graduate students with special circumstances for the Fall 2020 semester and IUG and undergraduate students in graduate courses via an exception process. This process is designed for students who have been significantly impacted by the global pandemic due to circumstances beyond their control, and for whom the variety of available academic options and allowances (e.g., late-dropping courses; deferring grades; extensions for benchmark examinations and degree completion; exceptions to Concurrent degree policies; etc.) cannot otherwise meet their needs. Students should request alternative grading and programs should approve alternative grading very cautiously and with attention to understanding all short- and long-term implications of this decision. The procedure for requesting an exception to receive OAG is described below.

Optional Alternative Grades:

The following grade changes are available if approved for OAG in graduate courses:

• Grades of “A”, “B”, or “C” may be replaced by “P”.
• Grades of “D” may be replaced by “V”.
• Grades of “F” may be replaced by “Z”.

Courses for which students choose P will NOT be used in calculating the student’s GPA and WILL appear as earned credits on the graduate transcript. It is strongly recommended that only grades of B-, C+, or C be converted to P.

Students will NOT earn credit on the graduate transcript for courses (including 400-level courses) assigned V or Z (attempted credits will still appear on the transcript), and the grades for these courses will NOT be included in the GPA. Note that credits attempted but not awarded can impact financial aid.

Procedure to submit an exception request for Optional Alternative Grades:

1) Consultation: In all cases, please see the section below on Important Items for Consideration when discussing whether to request an exception to receive OAG.

Graduate students wishing to request OAG should first contact their graduate program head to discuss their request and review the implications, including any potential negative impacts, of selecting OAG.

Students enrolled in an Integrated Undergraduate-Graduate degree program (IUG students) wishing to request OAG for a graduate or undergraduate course as part of their graduate career should contact their graduate program head to discuss their request and review the implications, including any potential negative impacts, of selecting OAG. IUG students wishing to request OAG for a graduate course as part of their undergraduate career should contact their academic adviser and the graduate program head for the program offering the course to discuss their request. IUG students will be able to directly select OAG for undergraduate courses on the undergraduate career via LionPath (see https://keeplearning.psu.edu/alternative-grading/).

Undergraduate students taking graduate courses wishing to request OAG should contact their academic adviser and the graduate program head for the program offering the course to discuss their request and review any potential negative impacts of selecting OAG.

Students who are not comfortable discussing their options with their graduate program heads are invited to reach out to Dr. Sarah Ades, Associate Dean for Graduate Student Affairs, or Dr. Stephanie Preston, Associate Dean for Graduate Educational Equity, for consultation.
Fall 2020 Graduate Optional Alternative Grading Exception Request Pathway

The Graduate School requires a GPA of 3.0 for a student to be in good academic standing to take a milestone examination and to graduate. Students should have at least 50% of their credits with quality letter grades approaching milestone exams and graduation. If a student considering OAG for the fall will end up with more than 50% of their total credits receiving OAG, the student and graduate program head must consult with the Graduate School to discuss options prior to proceeding with the OAG request.

Students receiving an academic sanction for violating Penn State’s Academic Integrity policy in one of their FA20 courses are not eligible for OAG for that course.

2) Exception request: If a decision is made by the student to proceed with a request for an exception to receive OAG, approval should be obtained from the relevant administrators as outlined in Table 1. If the student’s request is supported by the graduate program, a memo requesting the exception and containing all the required approvals specified in Steps 1 and 2 in Table 1 should be submitted to the Graduate School at gradstudentaffairs@psu.edu by the graduate program. The memo should include:

• the course(s) for which OAG are being requested;
• the letter grade received in each course;
• approvals by the relevant administrators from Table 1;
• a statement explaining the pandemic-related reasons for the request should be attached.

If the graduate program does not support the exception request, the graduate program should write a memo explaining why they do not support the exception. This memo should be submitted to the graduate school at gradstudentaffairs@psu.edu.

Students planning to graduate this semester who plan to request OAG should initiate this process as soon as possible after the final grades have been recorded in LionPath, with the required memo to be submitted to the Graduate School at gradstudentaffairs@psu.edu no later than Jan. 12, 2021 to meet downstream University deadlines for graduation. Please be advised that the University is closed from Dec. 24, 2020 until Jan. 4, 2021, and no requests will be processed during this time.
For students not planning to graduate this semester, requests will be accepted from Jan. 4, 2021 until Jan. 31, 2021.

The Graduate School will review all requests and forward those approved to the Registrar’s Office for the grade change(s) to be recorded.

Important items for consideration:
Several items should be taken into consideration in making decisions about adopting OAG. These include but are not limited to the following.

1. OAG may negatively impact financial aid, employer tuition reimbursement plans, eligibility for certain professional or other licensures, sponsorship agreements, and visa requirements due to the need to report academic progress because courses with OAG are not included in the GPA and/or some entities do not accept the OAG transcript notations.
2. If a student is planning to pursue additional graduate or professional studies (e.g., law or medical school) after completing their courses at Penn State, OAG may negatively impact such applications because some institutions or specific programs may not recognize OAG.
Fall 2020 Graduate Optional Alternative Grading Exception Request Pathway
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3. As stated above, the Graduate School requires a GPA of 3.0 for a student to be in good academic standing to take a milestone examination and to graduate. Students should have at least 50% of their credits with quality letter grades approaching milestone exams and graduation. If a student considering OAG for the fall will end up with more than 50% of their total credits receiving OAG, the graduate program must consult with the Graduate School to discuss options prior to proceeding with the OAG request.
4. OAG will not be available for students with a deferred grade. Students should decide before the end of the fall semester whether they plan to defer the grade or to petition for an OAG.

Appeal process:
Students whose requests for optional alternative grading are not approved by the graduate program or campus/college/school administrator for graduate education and believe that their needs have not been reasonably considered may appeal the decision to the Graduate School.

Table 1: Approval pathway for exception requests to receive OAG

Note: GRAD/UGRD/PROF career refers to the portion of a student’s transcript with courses recorded towards a graduate, undergraduate, or professional degree, respectively.