CARLISLE, Pa. — In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Penn State Dickinson Law has implemented a mandatory Credit/No Credit standard for all Dickinson Law courses. This change applies only to the spring 2020 semester.
“Our goal was to arrive at a grading system most responsive to both the individual and the collective needs of our entire student community,” said Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway. “This decision was made after extensive deliberations.”
“Our faculty have academic and professional standards that we are obligated to uphold as we present our program of legal education and prepare students for entry into the legal profession,” said Conway. “As part of our decision-making process, we solicited student feedback and, as importantly, we considered the health and well-being of our students and the varied distinct stressors that each of our students continue to experience as part of this crisis.”
Dickinson Law students were invited to complete a survey in which they were asked to provide input and feedback on different grading options. More than 85 percent of the student body completed the survey. The decision to move to Credit/No Credit aligned with the student survey results.
“Every decision I have made and every decision my colleagues have contributed to making are informed by the trust that each of our students has placed in us and in Dickinson Law,” said Conway. “We care deeply about the well-being of our students, and their progress through life and through law school, including during this time of uncertainty.”
Students’ transcripts will include a notation indicating the mandatory grading policy for the spring 2020 semester in recognition of the unprecedented nature of the global coronavirus pandemic.