USC extends Fall semester pass/no pass option

Content warning: This article contains references to sexual assault, drugging and violence.

Students will be able to choose a pass/no pass grading option for Fall 2021 courses until Dec. 3, the last day of classes, Provost Charles Zukoski announced in a communitywide email Thursday. The grading option was reinstated after it was available to students for the past two semesters. 

The decision comes after “challenges for many [students],” including “intermittent academic disruptions” related to coronavirus testing and class modality, such as when students and faculty must use asynchronous teaching following coronavirus exposures, and “a range of social and political struggles,” including “social justice issues and protests” and the Jan. 6 “riot at the Capitol,” the Provost’s Office said in a statement to the Daily Trojan.  

The email also mentioned the allegations of sexual assault and drugging at fraternities on the Row, including one report of sexual assault and six reports of drugging at Sigma Nu last week. The reports resulted in multiple days of student protests outside of the Sigma Nu house, as well as a march from USC Village to the Row. Since then, incidents of sexual assault and drugging were also reported at other fraternity houses, places off the Row and at other unspecified locations. 

Students will have the option to request a grade of “Incomplete” in a course, rather than the typical requirement of waiting until after week 12 of the semester. The University is also extending its withdrawal deadline until Dec. 3. 

Zukoski also announced the creation of USC Academic Advisor Connect, a “new triage service” for students who feel they need “additional support with advisement, advocacy, or help navigating institutional resources.” The service, which launches Monday, will provide students advisors to work with in evaluating their course options in response to their “specific circumstance” serve as advocates with other campus partners for students in “more complex scenarios.” 

In an email sent to faculty Monday, Zukoski encouraged faculty members to provide compassion and care to students “who may be experiencing emotional trauma and stress” in light of the recent sexual assault reports, and to “adopt appropriate modifications” that allow students to complete their coursework. 

In his email to students, Zukoski wrote that the University hopes the flexibility and new advising resource will help students “progress toward [their] academic goals, make lasting connections, and thrive.” 

“In these tumultuous times, please let us remember the importance of civil dialogue, mutual respect and the essential importance of caring for each other,” Zukoski wrote. “These are hallmarks of the USC community.”