A Message from Dean Diller:
We hope you are healthy, living in a safe place, and managing with the tremendous isolation and disruption we are all experiencing in our lives. We continue to devote ourselves to providing you the education you came to Fordham for.
We are writing to let you know that the faculty has voted to modify the grading system for this semester so that all courses will be graded pass/fail. The only exceptions to this policy are courses that have already concluded, including all sections of 1L Legal Writing and 8 upper-level courses.
A simple pass/fail system has the advantage of reducing competition among students and encouraging them to support each other. It is also the most effective way to neutralize the advantages that some students have. To the extent that factors other than hard work affect students’ ability to perform this semester, a simple pass/fail system does the most to recognize the arbitrariness of those extraneous factors.
The faculty did not make this decision lightly. The entire faculty participated in discussions and had the opportunity to vote on this decision. The faculty considered the decisions made by other schools, the information we received from employers, and the tremendous number of communications we received from students, through the SBA and otherwise. Many of you wrote to us directly, and we appreciate how candid and open you were in sharing your personal challenges. We are moved by your commitment to your families, your education, and your futures.
The current disruption in our academic program is unprecedented, and we are all apprehensive about the future. We know that students, like faculty members, are not all of one mind on the best course for the school to take at this moment. We understand that no decision will satisfy everyone.
The faculty’s decision was guided by concerns for compassion, fairness, and community. More than ever, we are committed to the spirit of the Fordham family and caring for each other. We hope that reduced competition among students will foster greater communication, sharing, and support. Members of our community are struggling in myriad ways: some are ill, some are caring for others who are ill. Even those who are healthy are now caring for children home from school and other relatives. Many are living in conditions that are not conducive to studying. Even the luckiest among us are anxious, self-isolating, and fearful. Faculty will vary in their ability to adjust to online teaching, disparately impacting students across the curriculum. We do not think that all students will be similarly situated or similarly disadvantaged by the current crisis, so we believe that fine distinctions in grading would be arbitrary and reflect differences unrelated to students’ educational accomplishments.
There are a few classes that are already finished for the year, most importantly 1L Legal Writing. Given that the current emergency situation did not affect those classes, the faculty believed it would be appropriate for all completed courses to be graded on their ordinary curve and included in a student’s GPA. The faculty chose not to carve out other types of courses, although it was aware of the arguments that some people made for less uniformity. Similarly, the faculty believed that non-JD students should be treated the same as JD students, so the non-JD curve will be modified for this semester to mirror the JD grading system. Any student requiring a grade to qualify for employer tuition reimbursement or similar funding requirement should contact our Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Kimathi Gordon-Somers.
The faculty considered a number of alternatives to the solution it adopted. It rejected various forms of “optional” pass/fail systems, concluding that they provide insufficient protection to students who choose the “pass” option. Such a choice could be read as a signal by employers that exams did not go well. Because of this potential, the faculty was concerned such a system would not sufficiently ameliorate the stress of the regular grading system and the disparities of the situations students are in.
The faculty’s decision was not made in a vacuum, and our students are facing the same job market as those graduating from other law schools. We have been in touch with major employers and monitored approaches taken by other schools. Many other law schools will also be departing from their regular grading systems and employers are expecting that students from many schools will not have traditional grades for this semester.
After discussions with employers, we have concluded that we will be moving our summer on-campus interviewing program to next January or early February. Major employers favor such a move for two reasons. First, there is a possibility that summer programs may begin later and, therefore, may run longer than originally scheduled, and employers will not have the capacity to conduct interviews while still working with this year’s summer class. Second, employers will have greater clarity on their hiring needs at that point. This switch will also enable employers to consider Fall 2020 grades in decisions. We expect that most or all law schools with major summer interviewing programs will make the same decision. This point is of particular importance as many students have reached out expressing anxiety that a pass/fail grading system will prevent them from improving on their fall 2019 grades.
Moving the summer on campus interviewing program to next winter may require adjustments to our schedule in a variety of ways that we are working through. We will keep you apprised of how the system will work.
We know that without standard grades, the faculty will need to work harder to assist you in the job market through recommendations and by other means. We are pleased that so many faculty have committed to providing this support. Our Office of Career Planning is also focused on how to assist you in this rapidly changing landscape. Please know that we are ready to do whatever we can to be your advocates.
Our prime concern remains your well-being. We are committed to your education and are working with the faculty to make your online classes as effective as possible. We will be in touch as we address other outstanding issues relating to these unique circumstances. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us, the faculty, and our administrative team.