Credit/No Credit Policy

December 1, 2020

Dear Baruch Undergraduates,

President Wu and I have heard from a number of students interested in extending last semester’s Credit /No Credit policy to the current semester. The Undergraduate Student Government has also indicated their support, through a resolution and a petition signed by many students.

I realize that it has taken some time for me to respond to these genuine and important expressions of concern, and I do apologize for that. We have been discussing your concerns and your requests carefully and regularly. The context of this matter is very complicated, and the delay in our response was a consequence of our not wanting to rush to respond without full consideration of all the options that might be available to us.

We understand the challenges students are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result of Baruch’s change to remote, online learning. However, we have come to the conclusion that implementing a Credit / No Credit policy at Baruch again this semester is not possible. I want to assure you that we have not come to this conclusion lightly.

As you know, during the Spring 2020 Semester, in response to the sudden and unexpected State mandate to move the vast majority of CUNY’s instruction to distance formats, the University – as a whole, and with Board of Trustees’ endorsement – made the determination that a University-wide Credit/No Credit policy would be in place for that semester only. This decision was in response to the sudden and drastic onset of the COVID-19 epidemic. However, the University’s decision was for Spring Semester 2020 only, and did not extend into the Fall 2020 semester.

A small number of CUNY Colleges had pre-existing Credit/No-Credit policies, and were able to move quickly to revert to their previous policy. Baruch is not one of those Colleges, although Baruch College does have a very limited pass/fail policy in place.

Baruch would have to start, from the beginning, the process of exploring the possibility of a longer-term, Baruch-specific Credit/No Credit policy. This exploration must be done in full consultation with faculty and students (including with the USG). We estimate that this can be completed prior to the end of the upcoming Spring 2021, but not before.

I appreciate the sincerity and the strength of your request, but cannot offer an immediate resolution along the lines you would prefer.

Sincerely,

James McCarthy
Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs