IN the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, education had to be conducted online due to schools and universities being closed as part of movement restriction measures to control the spread of the coronavirus. Many universities and students were unprepared for online learning, with students having difficulties accessing online classes. As such, higher education institutions in the United States, including Ivy League universities, adopted a pass/fail grading system.
There are different variations of this grading format, including mandatory pass/fail, pass/no record, and optional pass/fail. It differs from one university to another as it is based on the university and their students’ situation. For example, Stanford University implemented a credit/no credit grade, while Yale College adopted a universal pass/fail policy.