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Extension of Spring 2020 Grading Method--FINAL deadline

May 21, 2020

Dear Students,

As we near the completion of the spring 2020 semester, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all, as well as our faculty and staff, for the truly extraordinary flexibility and dedication you have displayed as we worked through the many challenges presented to us by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
These are certainly unprecedented times, and we should all be proud of how well we have managed to cope.  Over the past several months many people have worked hard, adjusting the University’s operating systems and policies to our unexpected and evolving circumstances. We have continuously reevaluated these efforts in order to be as supportive as possible and to strengthen your academic experience. 
 
Towards that end, in March we announced the adoption of a default pass/fail grading method in consultation with current UMD students, faculty members, deans, and department chairs, as well as our peer institutions across the country. You may recall that the announcement of this interim grading policy indicated that students had a deadline of May 12, the last day of classes, to go online and elect to receive a letter grade rather than accept the pass/fail grading method. 
 
I now understand that some students were confused or had other concerns about the process and timing required to decline the pass/fail grading option. I write today to acknowledge those concerns, and to announce an additional final period in which to choose the letter grade option.
 
The website for making your grading choices will open again at noon May 22, 2020, to give you another opportunity to choose to receive letter grades; it will close again at 11:59pm, May 31, 2020. 
 
If you are satisfied with your current grading choices, you need not do anything.  If, however, you wish to receive a letter grade for a course and have not yet successfully made that choice electronically, you will need to visit the website before the May 31 deadline and designate that choice for each course for which you have not yet indicated your wish to receive your earned letter grade.  There will be no further extensions beyond that time so please make your selection carefully and in time to check and be sure that all changes were successfully made as you intended.
 
Please note also that extending this deadline means that availability of transcripts and diplomas will be delayed slightly after the end of the semester.  We will make every effort to minimize this inconvenience.
 
I wish you all the very best as we finish this challenging semester and look forward to celebrating with our graduating seniors tomorrow at Maryland’s first-ever virtual commencement. 
 
Please take care and be well,
 
Mary Ann Rankin
Senior Vice President and Provost

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The University of Maryland, College Park is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 40,700 students, 14,000 faculty and staff, and nearly 400,000 alumni all dedicated to the pursuit of Fearless Ideas. Located just outside Washington, D.C., we discover and share new knowledge every day through our renowned research enterprise and programs in academics, the arts and athletics. And we are committed to social entrepreneurship as the nation’s first “Do Good” campus.

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Spanning 12 schools and colleges, Maryland offers more than 300 degree-granting programs, many of them ranked among the best in the country. Our faculty includes two Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 58 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. And our students, who include the highest achievers in the state and nation, enjoy experiences unique to our location just outside the nation’s capital, including internships, research, and leadership and service opportunities.

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The University of Maryland is one of the world’s premier research institutions. With our strategic location and scores of partnerships with government and businesses, UMD conducts groundbreaking research on some of the biggest challenges facing our global community, including cybersecurity and terrorism, bioengineering, public health equity, food safety and climate change. We strive to discover new knowledge and put it to work through innovation and entrepreneurship, advancing economic development and transforming lives. 

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At the University of Maryland, the arts, the humanities and the sciences intersect to address important societal issues and shed new light on the human experience. Our vibrant campus arts community collaborates with local and national cultural organizations such as the Phillips Collection, Kennedy Center and Folger Shakespeare Library. Student and faculty artists, designers, historians, writers and performers are exploring new media, presenting new perspectives, investigating new techniques and engaging new audiences.

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Home of the Terrapins, the University of Maryland has one of the nation’s most recognizable and successful athletics programs. More than 550 student-athletes compete each year in 20 intercollegiate sports—12 for women and eight for men. Since 2005 alone, Maryland has won 19 national championships, including NCAA titles in women’s basketball, men’s soccer, men's lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, and field hockey. Since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014, UMD has won a combined 32 regular season and tournament championships. Fear the Turtle!

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The Terp experience extends beyond classrooms, labs and studios. It encompasses residence halls and dining halls, clubs and sports, fraternities and sororities, campus events and performances, and countless off-campus destinations. Maryland touts 800-plus student organizations, dozens of prestigious living and learning communities, and countless other ways to get involved. Students here can create a unique identity and grow as individuals, even as they’re part of a close-knit and diverse community. 

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