Office of the Provost announces changes to withdrawal, grade forgiveness policies due to COVID-19

Emily Broyles, Reporter
October 16, 2020

Students concerned about grades post-midterm can now have hope with App State’s new COVID-19 related grade forgiveness. The Office of the Provost announced dropped classes will be excused this year because of the pandemic in a campus wide email sent Oct. 16.

The UNC Policy 400. 1.5(R) was recently revised. The policy sets the UNC System standard “for course withdrawal and grade replacement,” according to the email.

Each institution in the UNC System is developing its own process for course withdrawals during certain circumstances. App State was directed to provide students with the option to withdraw from courses in the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters because of COVID-19.

Because of this change, here is what App State is altering for students:

The last day to drop a class for the fall 2020 semester is Dec. 18 at 11:59 p.m. This is the Friday after final grades are due Dec. 14.
All drops this semester will not count as career drops. Drops this semester, including those that already have happened, will be considered “impacted by COVID-19.” This will also be in the case for the spring 2020 semester.
Any course a student is taking during the fall 2020 semester and spring 2020 semester can be retaken for grade forgiveness in a future semester. This will not count as one of the student’s four grade forgiveness courses already provided by the university.
The timeliness of finishing a degree and financial aid may be affected by the drops. The university encourages students to consult with advisers and the Office of Financial Aid before dropping a course.

“Our top priorities remain preserving the health and safety of our faculty, staff, and students and maintaining the academic progress of our students,” wrote Mark Ginn, vice provost for undergraduate education. “We encourage our students to continue to stay focused on completing their educational goals and to use the resources available both on campus and remotely, to help them.”

Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Heather Norris also signed the email sent to students.

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