Isaac Hoops/The Nevada Sagebrush
Campus as it appears on August 24. NSHE elected on Nov 18 to continue the S/U grading system after it was removed before the start of the academic year.

 Update: Thursday, 1:33 p.m. 

The Nevada System of Higher Education has elected to continue the satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading system for the 2020-2021 academic year as of Wednesday, Nov 18. 

“NSHE students will soon receive campus notification with more specific details about their grading options during the COVID-19 pandemic,” NSHE Chancellor Melody Rose said in a statement. “Those details will include deadlines for requesting an S/U grade, and on some campuses, a limitation on the total number of S/U grades that may be granted during the academic year. Students will be fully supported by academic and financial aid advisors, and provided guidance regarding their grade options, as well as potential consequences of S/U grading, prior to approval of S/U requests.”

The decision comes after a Board of Regents meeting was held on Friday, Nov 13 where many students voiced concern about the policy not continuing after the Spring 2020 semester ended. 

Domonique Hall, President of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, Reno took to Twitter earlier this month encouraging students to send in more concerns. 

“Came back to Twitter to say I am so proud of all @NSHE  students who have submitted public comment on behalf of S/U at the Board of Regents meeting. We are listening and there are TONS!” Hall tweeted.

A petition started by Hall on the platform Change has received more than 2,000 signatures requeesting NSHE to continue the S/U grading policy. 

The decision to continue the S/U grading system was continued by all NSHE institution presidents, according to Rose’s statement. 

“The presidents’ decision to extend S/U grading through 2020-21 was not one taken lightly,” the statement read. “Using S/U grading can have wide-ranging implications for students with certain scholarships, in particular disciplines, or with an intention to attend graduate school. However, we understand the anxiety that the on-going pandemic and resulting economic downturn have caused for our students, and we believe our campus advisors will provide students with the information needed to make informed and thoughtful decisions.”

Among those who signed to continue the policy was university president Brian Sandoval. Sandoval began his role back in early October. 

Sandoval issued a statement to the campus community Thursday morning saying the decision to revert back to the S/U grading system is to provide a “sense of normalcy”. 

“We will be following a similar process as last spring when we implemented this option,” Sandoval said in the statement. “It should be noted there are several implications associated with changing from a letter grade to an “S,” including program accreditation, scholarship eligibility, degree progression, professional licensure and graduate/professional school admissions.”

He added students will be required to meet with an academic advisor before requesting to use S/U grading. 

According to Kerri Garcia, the university’s Executive Director of Marketing & Communications,  said faculty and staff knew of the change on Wednesday, Nov 18 when a university-wide meeting was held. 

Students will be receiving more information in the coming days from the Provost office, according to the university. 

This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information becomes available. 

Andrew Mendez can be reached at andrewmendez@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @AMendez2000.