Covid-19 Response Town Hall Discussion
Written by Diana Isabel Torres Goñi
Photo by SMUSA
As students face juggling schoolwork and the anxiety and stress that comes with the current pandemic, some are questioning how much the administrative team and professors are willing to support their students.
On Friday, Bryn de Chastelain, the VP Academic & Advocacy, held a Town Hall live stream where students had a chance to ask what steps are being taken and get clarification on why some options have been ruled out.
A common question was that of changing the grading system, most students advocating for a grade freeze which would allow students to keep their grade as is now and the semester would be taken as complete. The idea of grade freezing surged after Dalhousie and MSVU published a change in their grading system. However, a close look to these universities’ grading adaptations showed that their grading is not a grade freeze system; instead, it has switched into a pass/fail system, which gives students the option of taking a GPA neutral Pass if their grade threatens to lower their overall GPA. This also allows for marking a failing grade as ILL which becomes GPA neutral for “compassionate reasons, or illness”, but does not give credit for the course taken.
Bryn de Chastelain claimed that SMUSA is advocating for this system to be put in place at SMU, which as of now offers the options of appealing your grade through Academic Appeal and AE grade. De Chastelain highlighted that grade freeze is not being discussed as there is still a lot of content to cover in classes and that a grade freeze wouldn’t be beneficial for all; however, they’re advocating for the Pass/Fail grading system that Dal and MSVU have implemented.
Another common concern is that of financial security for students; on this, the VP assured students that SMUSA is trying to put together a support system of bursaries. He also pointed out that the financial aid department has bursaries in place to help students, and that the Canadian Government’s EI plan also applies to international students that qualify (you must’ve earned $5000 over last year).
It seems that just like us, the administrative teams are running around with their heads cut off, putting fires out whenever they pop-up, but unable to get to the source of the problem. These are unprecedented times, and no one is prepared for what is going on. My best advice while we wait for the heads to take action, is to reach out to your professors to ask for extensions, plan to get together (remotely) with fellow students to work through assignments, keep active to reduce stress, and keep pressing the representatives at SMUSA and those in charge of making decisions on our future.
Contacts:
Mary Navas—SMUSA President & CEO, president.smusa@smu.ca
Bryn de Chastelain—SMUSA VP Academic & Advocacy, vpacademic.smusa@smu.ca
Dr. Rob Summerby-Murray— President and Vice-Chancellor @smuprez
Stay home and stay safe.