In response to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the nation, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County has recently switched to make its classes fully online. However, the university has failed to address the new concerns students will be facing at home. With our worlds suddenly flipped on their heads in only a few days, it is unrealistic to expect the same quality and timeliness of coursework that we had been delivering for the first half of the semester.

In light of these difficulties, we request UMBC follows in the footsteps of other universities in giving students the option of making classes pass/fail. A student's GPA should not reflect issues beyond their control, especially during a global crisis that is impacting all of us in substantially different ways.

We are not requesting all classes be changed to pass/fail grading. We understand that this could be detrimental to students applying to graduate programs or those with exceptionally high marks in their classes and little difficulty transitioning online. Students should be able to make this choice for themselves. As autonomous adults, the best person to evaluate one's situation is the person themselves. We simply wish that every student has the best opportunity to succeed and not put a roadblock in their path for the future.