Extension of the P/D/F Option for the Spring Semester

Dear Columbia Engineering Undergraduates,

I hope that your semester is off to a good start and that you are all staying healthy and safe. Please remember to take care of yourselves both physically and mentally this semester. Please know that your advisers are here to support you in a myriad of ways – just reach out to them.

In acknowledgement of the continuing difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Committee on Instruction has voted to extend the academic policy accommodation from the fall semester regarding pass / D / fail (P/D/F) grading for the spring semester. Specifically:

• SEAS undergraduate students will be allowed to take one (1) course this semester for a P/D/F grade with no restrictions on the type of course (core, non-tech elective, major or minor requirement). The course will count toward its respective requirement.
• SEAS undergraduate students will have until the last day of the class to choose this P/D/F option (February 22nd for Spring A courses or April 15th for Spring B or full-semester courses).
• Continuing SEAS undergraduate students will have until the end of the second week of the fall semester (September 17th) to choose whether or not to uncover the grade in this class. Graduating seniors will have until June 1st to decide. Under no circumstances will a student be allowed to uncover a grade after the respective deadline.
• This option to P/D/F a course this semester is in addition to the existing option to P/F a non-technical course (the latter needing to be >=3000 level per the existing SEAS policy).

To exercise the P/D/F option this semester, please send an email to your Center for Student Advising (CSA) advisor with the complete course information.

It is hoped that these accommodations will provide you flexibility for dealing with the added stressors of this unusual situation in which we continue to find ourselves.

However, it is critically important that you understand the potential implications of choosing the P/D/F option on future plans that may require a transcript, including internships, jobs, or post-graduation education. Additionally, given the sequential nature of the SEAS curricula, electing to P/D/F a course could have impacts on student-success in future classes.

Students are strongly encouraged to speak with your Advising Deans in the Center for Student Advising before exercising this option.

Best wishes for a successful semester,
Barclay Morrison
Vice Dean for Undergraduate Programs