IT’S ONLY FAIR | GUY SIMONS

Grade forgiveness is when a student retakes a class after receiving an F, and if a better grade is received, the failing grade is removed from the student’s transcript. Implementing grade forgiveness at CU Denver would help students tremendously.

Sometimes students have family problems during the school year that hinder them from working as hard as they would like to. This often leads to a failing grade in the class—this fail stays on the student’s transcript, even though it was not their fault. Allowing the student to retake the class and get a better grade would be much more fair.

Another reason grade forgiveness would be fair to students is because they pay so much for tuition that they should have the option to change their grade if they want to and have the ability to. CU Denver students have already proven that they are hard workers because they got into this college; they deserve a second chance if they make mistakes the first time and are willing to pay to take the class again.

Also, the transition from high school to college can be so overwhelming that freshman can fall behind and end up with a bad grade because they were not prepared for college in high school which is no fault of their own.

Grade forgiveness is not so that slackers can just try again; only students who care about their future will pay to retake the class. Taking the initiative to retake a class and improve is a sign of determination: Aren’t those the kind of people the world needs? People who truly care about their future, people who are passionate about what they do.

Grade forgiveness would also help the university financially. More students would be retaking classes, which would lead to more university income. This would then lead to a rise in graduation rate because fewer students would fail and more would graduate.

Grade forgiveness is a policy the school should consider for students. It would not only benefit the students, but CU Denver as a whole. This is a way to give students the second chance that they deserve. It is a way to give students a clean slate and a better future.

ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES | ASHLEY BAULER

CU Denver currently doesn’t allow for grade forgiveness. If a student receives an F, the F stays on their transcript; even if they retake the class, both grades would appear on their transcripts. This is a consequence of attending a university that is slightly more rigorous than other schools in the state and country. If a student is concerned about getting an F and what that will do to their GPA, then they should attend a different university. It’s college: toughen up.

While several factors can impact a student’s grades, why is it the school’s policy that should dictate who gets grade forgiveness and who doesn’t? There are plenty of resources and options for students who are having difficult times in college.

A student has the option to take an incomplete or to withdraw from a class. Many will say that taking a withdrawal is worse than just taking the F, but for CU Denver, a student cannot withdraw for grade reasons. If a student gets to the final three weeks of the semester, they must write a letter to the Dean in order to receive a withdraw.

If in a job interview post-graduation, a student can point to the withdrawal policy and show an employer the letter they wrote and letter of approval received from the Dean, if truly there were circumstances that they couldn’t foresee or cope with.

Beyond that, the school does investigate the circumstances that surround a student taking an incomplete. For example, if a student’s parent dies, the school will grant an incomplete instead of letting a student fail and will willingly do what they can to not allow employers to see a student in a negative light because of receiving an incomplete.

Many students want grade forgiveness because they are too lazy and immature not to accept that the reason they failed was because of themselves. While work and financial issues can cause stress, those are reasons the school will accept the letter for withdrawal, if it truly is impacting a student so negatively that they can’t finish. It is on the student to take responsibility for their education and future.