UP OKs appeals for ‘pass’ marks

The University of the Philippines Board of Regents (UPBOR) has approved appeals of various academic units to give students “pass” marks instead of numeric grades for the subjects they took last semester.

The UP-BOR, the highest policy-making body of the university, approved all submitted appeals for exemption from the numeric grade system, according to the office of student regent Isaac Punzalan.

“As reported in the meeting, more than 60 units (departments/colleges) across the UP System were granted approval to exempt their classes from the numeric grade system and give out the pass mark, as an option, to their students,” the student regent said in a statement.

“These appeals were submitted by the faculty handling these classes and were later on examined and endorsed by their respective constituent universities,” he added.

The UP-BOR earlier decided to end early the second semester of the university on April 30 due to the coronavirus disease pandemic.

“Faculty members who have sufficient basis to give their students a grade as of the end of the semester must give a numeric grade to students with passing status and a deferred grade to those failing or incomplete,” read the guidelines issued by UP president Danilo Concepcion.

Meanwhile, grades would be deferred when there is no sufficient basis for giving students a grade at the end of the semester. Those with deferred grades would be given a year to complete the requirements.

Punzalan described the decision as a victory in the campaign to mass promote students.

“Despite the disappointing outcome of the decision of the BOR on the fate of this semester in its last meeting, we were still able to assert our demand for the expedited and blanket approval of all appeals to allow the ‘pass’ mark,” he said.