March 25: Message to Students on Spring 2020 S/U Grading and Drop Options

To:  UF Undergraduate Students
CC:  UF Faculty, UF Staff
From:  Provost Joe Glover
March 25, 2020

Dear Gator Undergraduate Students:

In the past two weeks, our entire Gator community has faced unprecedented change in our work, study, and social lives because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The UF Administration and Faculty are grateful for your resilience and flexibility in shifting your lives away from campus as a result of this pandemic.  Many of you have shared your experiences with us as you make every effort to transition to a new place and a new way of learning, and we recognize the extreme disruption this shift has brought to your lives.

In an attempt to help you continue to progress towards your degree and future career aspirations in a timely manner, the UF Administration and Faculty have approved a change in the current UF S-U Grading and Drop Policies for Spring 2020 courses.  In summary, within the period of April 1 and April 22, you will see a new form on your ONE.UF page.  If you decide to remain with letter grades in all your courses that are currently letter-graded, you will not need to do anything.  If you have decided for any of your courses to shift to S-U grading or to drop with a “W,” you will be able to request those options on your personalized available form.  The dropped courses will not count against your lower division or upper division drop count.  The deadline for S-U grading requests and for dropping a course with a “W” has been extended to April 22. 

You will find more details about this Spring 2020 policy change on a special web site we have created.  This web site includes FAQs that will assist you as you think about what the right choice is for you.  I encourage you to study this information carefully along with guidance provided by your department and/or college through their web sites, academic advisors, and faculty.  We will continue to update this web site with new FAQs as they arise, links to department and college web sites, and any other information that we hope will be helpful to you as you deliberate on how you will proceed.    

In the nearly 160-year history of UF, many outstanding Gators have pushed through great challenges to accomplish remarkable achievements.  Today, we must be inspired by their resilience and strength with our own inner strength and courage that will, in turn, inspire those who follow us.  Even though we must be separated at this time, I cannot be prouder to be a part of our Gator Community of Scholars! 

Sincerely,
Provost Joe Glover