Alternative Grading Policy

Spring 2020 Semester

COVID-19 has caused significant, abrupt changes in the lives of our students, faculty, and staff. In particular, all courses and instruction transitioned mid-semester to a fully online and remote environment for the Spring 2020 term. As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CCRI instituted an Alternative Grading Policy (AGP) for the Spring 2020 term.

This AGP reflects the Statement of Principles on Acceptance of Credit issued by national higher education consortia, including the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities on April 15, 2020.

In particular, CCRI implemented this AGP to provide transparent, timely, and equitable accommodations for all students because all members of the college community have been disrupted by the pandemic. This document is intended to both clearly articulate the AGP and to answer questions on how the AGP may have affected CCRI students.

Pass/Not Pass or Incomplete Options

All courses for Spring 2020 were graded Pass/Fail by default. This change was intended to provide flexibility and support to the CCRI community while continuing to allow students to maintain their academic progress.

A Pass grade will count toward graduation requirements and will fulfill CCRI program requirements. Courses not passed will receive an FCOV on the student’s transcript to reflect that this course was Not Passed during COVID-19.

Grades students receive as part of the AGP (Pass or FCOV) are excluded from Spring 2020 semester GPA calculations and cumulative GPA calculations.

Students could request, and faculty could award, an Incomplete (I) grade under the AGP if specific criteria were met. Those criteria are:

Faculty must make additional plans with the student to complete all course requirements;
The student must be passing the course for which an Incomplete grade is requested at the time of the request; and,
Fifty percent (50%) of all coursework must be completed at the time of the request for an Incomplete grade. The 50% coursework completion requirement applies as part of the AGP in place of the seventy-five percent (75%) coursework completion required under CCRI’s regular grading policy.

Extended Deadline to Withdraw from Courses

The deadline to withdraw from a course was extended to Friday, April 24, 2020.

However, withdrawing from courses may have affected a student’s financial aid status. Students who wished to withdraw from any course(s) were encouraged to consult with the Financial Aid team prior to making a final decision to make sure they were aware of any potential financial aid consequences.

Access to Traditional Letter Grades

Students could request to receive a letter grade in any or all Spring 2020 courses by submitting the Letter Grade Request Form no later than April 30, 2020. Once a student requested a letter grade, that decision was final. However, in the case of extenuating circumstances, there is a Letter Grade Appeal process in place for students to appeal their decision by December 31, 2020. Letter grades were applied toward the calculation of a student’s GPA calculation.

We encouraged students to carefully consider their decision to receive a letter grade. Students who had questions regarding whether to request a letter grade could contact Advising & Counseling (email [email protected] or text 401-308-3537).

In particular, students were encouraged to consider receiving letter grades if any of the following applied:

Enrolled in the Joint Admission Agreement (JAA) program
A RI Promise student
Receiving Veterans Benefits
Currently enrolled in either the Pre-Health/Nursing or Health/Nursing Programs

Letter Grade Appeal Process

Students who wish to appeal their decision to remain in Pass/Fail grading or their request for letter grades in their courses will be required to complete the Letter Grade Request Appeal Form. Forms must be submitted by December 31, 2020. Students will be notified of the appeal decision via their CCRI email.

Courses Excluded from the AGP

Spring 2020 courses that concluded prior to March 16, 2020 are excluded from the AGP.

Duration of the AGP

The AGP will remain in effect solely for the Spring 2020 term. CCRI has resumed its standard grading, incomplete, and withdrawal policies effective for the 2020 Summer I and Summer II sessions and future academic semesters.