What’s New

College of Arts and Sciences Grading Policy for Academic Year 2020-2021

• The Spring 2020 Pass/No Entry [P/NE] grading option (replacing P/NP) will remain in place for Academic Year 2020-2021. To receive a Pass, grades must be a C- or above, and may count towards an academic major. No Entry grades will not show on official transcripts, but will remain on unofficial transcripts for purposes of advising. 
• Letter Grades will remain the default grading system, unless the course was pre- authorized as P/NE. 
• All regular courses will include the P/NE option. 
• Students may elect P/NE up to the last day of reading period. Academic advisor signatures will be required, as has been our standard practice. (Last Spring students had 5 days after receiving final grades to decide if they wanted to switch to P/NE; academic advisor signatures were not required).
• We will revert to our standard Emergency or Educational incompletes protocol and will no longer offer “COVID Incompletes” unless another major public health disruption occurs.

Conservatory Grading Protocols for Academic Year 2020-21

• Letter grades remain the default grading system.
• The Spring 2020 Pass/No Entry [P/NE] grading option (replacing P/NP) will remain in place for Academic Year 2020-2021. P/NE will only be available for Conservatory courses currently available as P/NP. For P, grades must be a C- or above. NE grades will not show on official transcripts but will be visible on unofficial transcripts for purposes of advising.
• Students may elect P/NE up to the last day of reading period. Academic advisor signatures will be required, as has been our standard practice. (Last Spring students had five days after receiving final grades to decide if they wanted to switch to P/NE; academic advisor signatures were not required.)
• For the 2020-21 academic year only, limitations on selecting P/NE will remain lifted for MUTH I-IV, Aural Skills I-IV, and MHST 101. The P/NE option will not be automatically selected, so students who choose to be graded P/NE for these classes must select it by submitting the P/NE form.
• Departmental classes within a major that are listed by name on the major grid will retain the grading option required for students in that major.
• Principal Private Study (PVST), Faculty-taught secondary lessons (PVST) and ensembles (APST) will continue to be letter-graded.
• In any class that is required by name for a major, a NE grade will be considered a failing grade for the purposes of Conservatory Academic Standing. (This includes classes such as MUTH I-IV as well as those within the major department.)
• We will revert to our standard Emergency Incompletes and no longer offer “COVID Incompletes.”
• Non-course requirements for the semester must be completed by the normal departmental deadlines.

College of Arts and Sciences Courses

The four options for mode of instruction are: remote, in-person, hybrid, and remote-accessible. These designations will help students in their course selection and schedule planning.

• Remote courses will be held entirely over Zoom. Faculty may want to consider having occasional opportunities to meet “in person” in an appropriately socially-distanced way.
• In-person courses should typically meet in-person for a minimum of 2/3 of the class sessions.
• Hybrid courses should typically meet in-person for at least 1/3 of the class sessions. Given the need to maintain social distancing protocols in classrooms, for larger courses (20+ students) in-person meetings might require staggering attendance between different cohorts of students within the course. The cohorts would rotate between attending in-person sessions and participating in those sessions via Zoom.
• Remote-accessible courses are otherwise in-person or hybrid courses designed so that some students can participate fully through Zoom.  Remote-accessible courses may include a blend of synchronous and asynchronous instruction. Students studying on campus may also participate in their in-person or hybrid courses remotely.

Conservatory of Music Courses

Conservatory courses are, by default, defined as “hybrid” in nature. Due to the many differences in lessons, ensembles, academic classes, and other credit-bearing activities, it is important to maintain a high degree of flexibility and hybridity. In all cases where conditions allow, there will a mix of in-person and remote experiences. The exact percentage of each will vary and may change during the semester. In most cases, academic classes such as those in music theory and music history will take place primarily online. Details will be articulated on syllabi and students are encouraged to be in contact with faculty for specific questions.

Conservatory Students: Minors and Integrative Concentrations

Degree students in the Conservatory are eligible for a minor area of study or integrative concentration in the Conservatory and/or the College of Arts and Sciences. A student admitted to a minor or integrative concentration program will follow the catalog requirements that are in place at the time of entry to the minor. The specific requirements for each minor and integrative concentration are described in the relevant sections of the catalog.