College of the Canyons is one of the 115 California community colleges adopting a new set of educational rules and standards in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Friday.
The new rules allow students to retake courses taken during the pandemic; changing classes to a “pass/no pass” grade; and no-passes will not result in probation or dismissal procedures.
Jasmine Ruys, associate vice president of enrollment services at COC, said Friday that the decision came after California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley instituted changes at a statewide level.
“We’re trying to make sure that we get to students in the best way possible that’s going to be right for their educational situation,” said Ruys. “Everybody’s in kind of a little different circumstance on where they are.”
Earlier this week, the chancellor’s office had extended the excused withdrawal from classes without any proof of why a student would need to drop the course.
According to officials, the latest rule changes are as follows:
- Allowing students to retake any course attempted during the pandemic; colleges must disregard the previous grade when computing a GPA once the course has been completed.
- Waiving the deadline – which had already passed – for selecting a pass or no pass option instead of a letter grade. Students should, however, be aware that the University of California and California State University systems require courses for a major to be completed with a letter grade.
- “No pass” grades will not be considered in probation and dismissal procedures. Students intending to complete a course under the current situation, rather than withdraw, will not be negatively affected should they ultimately be unable to successfully complete the course.
Ruys did say the new rules come with some caveats, however, particularly for those who plan on transferring once they complete their associate’s degree.
“The CSU and UCs have not given us permission yet to lax their rules, but I know that there are discussions right now,” said Ruys. “Because of that pass/no-pass, some of the schools do calculate that as if it’s a ‘C,’ instead of an ‘A.’”
“So that’s why it’s really hard, and it depends on your transfer institution and where you’re headed,” said Ruys. “We want to make sure students are making the right choices for them.”
COC students looking for more information about how coronavirus is affecting their instruction can visit https://www.canyons.edu/.
