The transition to online courses is definitely the right decision by the university to help control the spread of COVID-19. However, the transition is during a time of great stress and anxiety for many students. The way that students can manage their courses is not the typical style they would under normal circumstances. Therefore, the grading should change with the changes in circumstances. It would be incredibly beneficial to the students if there was an option to make classes, even those that are part of a graduation requirement, credit/no credit based on the choice of the student.

There is a significant portion of the student population that does not live in the Central Time Zone. If they are able to return to their permanent address, their entire schedule is thrown off to what they are used to because of a factor out of their control. As well, not all students learn as well through online lectures as they would through standard lecture. For that matter, not all professors are as comfortable creating online lectures and using online functions overall. All of these changes, amidst the pandemic and with the loss of the university counseling center, are certain to add stress to many students and that would be reflective on their grades. Many students are very protective of their GPA as it directly relates to grad school admissions and the ability to receive internship and job offers. Any help by the university to ensure that GPAs do not get skewed, due to the circumstances outside the control of anyone, would benefit numerous students.

Carnegie Mellon University (https://www.cmu.edu/alert/coronavirus/communications/mar-16b-2020.html and Georgetown University (https://georgetownvoice.com/2020/03/13/covid19/ have both taken steps of changing their grading policy. They are allowing students to choose particular courses to be changed to pass/fail significantly later in the school year. Carnegie Mellon is allowing students to make the change a week after final grades are posted. They are also allowing classes that are required for graduation to be pass/fail. While it is certain that other universities will be making similar policy changes, I am hoping that UIUC will follow the lead that these universities have started.