Austin Community College offers students pass or no-pass options for shortened semester

Austin Community College on April 1 announced its will continue to close its campuses to students and the general public through May 31.

At that point, the community college system will have its campuses shuttered for more than two months after grounds were initially closed on March 13 out of concern over the spread of coronavirus.

Following an extended spring break that began March 16, ACC transitioned most of its classes to online formats beginning March 30, suspending face-to-face interaction between students, faculty and staff, according to an April 1 news release from ACC.

Now, ACC will offer students a pass or no-pass option for spring semester classes in response to the impact coronavirus has had on classes, the community college announced April 1.

“We are facing unprecedented times that ask us to be flexible and understanding. There are many students who are concerned about this transition, and we’re listening,” said ACC President and CEO Richard Rhodes in the April 1 news release. “It is our mission to make sure every student gets the support they need to finish the semester strong. That means we need to evaluate our standard way of grading to give students more options during this time of uncertainty. We hope this change relieves some of the pressure our students are facing.”

ACC students may choose a pass/no-pass option after receiving grades for their spring classes at the end of the semester. Students have until May 29 to make a pass or no-pass choice instead of a letter grade, according to the ACC news release. There will be no limit on the number of classes that students may convert to pass or no-pass.

The pass or no-pass options will not count toward or against an ACC students’ grade point average for the semester, ACC stated in its release, though a pass grade will count toward a student’s earned semester hours. These options will be reflected on all academic transcripts.