When ETSU student Jaden Siddle found out ETSU would move to online classes for the rest of the semester due to COVID-19, he knew he wanted to help make the transition less stressful for his fellow students.
On March 21, Siddle created an online petition on Change.org to change all spring 2020 classes to pass/fail. This grading option would allow students to receive a pass or fail grade instead of a regular letter grade in a course.
The freshman biology major and criminal justice minor decided he want to start a petition for ETSU after seeing some of his friends from other universities create petitions for their schools.
“So, after we got sent home for spring break, and it was looking like we were about to have online classes for the rest of the semester, I was trying to figure out a way to make it less stressful,” Siddle said. “Because I knew that the transition was going to be difficult for most students.
Siddle said he only wants classes to change to pass-fail for this semester, and he hopes students will be able to return to campus in the fall.
“Especially if you don’t have access to the internet, or you’re not used to online classes, and you prefer how it was before – this will take off a lot more of that stress,” Siddle said. “It will make it easier for everybody, and we’ll be able to hopefully come back next semester.”
Siddle’s goal is to get 5,000 signatures. Once that goal is reached, he said he plans to print out a PDF document of all the signatures and comments and send it to ETSU President Brian Noland.
As of 2:40 p.m. EST on March 26, the petition had reached 2,637 signatures and 89 comments.
Many comments come from fellow ETSU students, including Matthew Sifford, a senior media and communication major with a concentration in advertising and public relations who is set to graduate in May.
“I left my comments because I felt like my situation was not going to be the only one that was like that,” Sifford said.
Sifford said he has filed for unemployment and is doing whatever he can do “just to keep the lights on in [his] apartment and pay rent,” all while worrying about graduation and navigating online coursework. He worked regularly at the Ruby Tuesday’s across from campus before the outbreak. Sifford said although he is still technically employed, he can now only work one to two shifts a week doing to-go orders.
“So, on top of trying to worry about graduating, I have to try to find another job or two,” Sifford said. “I know for myself, pass/fail would alleviate a lot of stress for me, and I’d say that for most people that’s probably going to be the same.”
Sifford also believes transitioning to pass/fail for this semester will benefit more than just students.
“I mean, I also think it also really helps the professors because a lot of them aren’t used to teaching online classes,” Sifford said. “Because I know … one of my roommate’s friend’s teachers has never taught an online class for a reason, and now he has to suddenly figure out how to do online classes. So, it’s not just helping students, it’s helping pretty much the university as a whole.”
During a virtual press call following the March 23 ETSU Board of Trustees Meeting, Noland said administrators will meet to discuss adjustments in grading policy including the possibility of pass/fail grading. Siddle said if administrators decide against pass/fail, he still plans to send the petition to Noland.
