New Penn State ‘grade forgiveness’ policy gives students a second chance

• Anne Danahy/WPSU
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Anne Danahy is a reporter at WPSU. She was a reporter for nearly 12 years at the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pennsylvania, where she earned a number of awards for her coverage of issues including the impact of natural gas development on communities.
  
  She earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and a master's degree in media studies from Penn State.
  
  Before joining WPSU, she worked as a writer and editor at Strategic Communications at Penn State and with the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute before that.
  
  She hosts a Q&A program for Centre County's government and education access station and teaches a news writing and reporting class at Penn State.

 Emily Reddy / WPSU

FILE PHOTO: Old Main, the administration building at Penn State, is seen in this file photo.

(State College) — Under a new Penn State policy, undergraduates who get a D or an F in a class, will be able to ask retake the class and, if they do better, have their higher grade count toward their GPA.

The university says the change — “grade forgiveness” — is part of a broader effort to help more students succeed.

David Smith, head of the Division of Undergraduate Studies at Penn State, said the university has been developing a systematic way of working with students struggling academically.

“We know that students encounter difficulties beyond just the academics — mental health, financial requirements of working often get in the way,” Smith said. “So when courses don’t go well, the damage to the GPA can really set them back in terms of being able to finish a degree.”

The Faculty Senate approved the policy. It will take effect in summer 2020. Smith said it’s one of a number of policy changes geared toward helping students succeed.

“If you encounter difficulty, is that the end of the path?” Smith said. “Or, do we create ways for you to learn and grow.”

Other initiatives include a policy on academic warning and suspension.

“I think at many institutions, there’s the longer held notion of sink or swim — you either succeed or you don’t,” Smith said. “We provide resources. If you take advantage of them, great. If you don’t, you’re an adult, it’s sort of on you. I think that’s an outdated way of thinking about institutions of higher education.”

Under the new policy, the lower of students’ two grades will still appear on the transcript. But, because it will not be included in the GPA, that can help students academically, including declaring a major and graduating. Both require a 2.0 GPA.

Students can take advantage of the grade forgiveness policy for up to 12 credits.

Many institutions, including some in the Big 10, already have similar policies. For example, at Lock Haven University, if a student re-takes a class, the second grade counts toward the GPA. But, if the student receives a lower grade the second time, the second, lower grade is still used to calculate the GPA.

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