The Undergraduate Student Government sent a report to Baruch College’s administration on Oct. 27 proposing that the same optional Credit/No Credit, or CR/NC, policy enacted in the spring semester should be reinstated for this semester.
“[The] Undergraduate Student Government at Baruch College is unwilling to see a fall 2020 semester with no implementation of the Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) policy and therefore is open to negotiations on the matter,” the report stated.
After the spring 2020 CR/NC policy was extended due to the coronavirus pandemic, many students voiced their concerns in a questionnaire created by USG. The survey, which asked whether the Credit/No Credit policy should be enacted, remained open from Oct. 22 to Oct. 26. According to Laiba Hussain, USG’s chair of public opinion, who aided in conducting the survey, over 2,000 responses were received.
“This resolution and report will go directly to the Provost and President of Baruch College,” Vice President of Legislative Affairs Richard Reyes said. “President Wu has done an exceptional job as the President of Baruch. We hope that he acknowledges the needs of the students and urges the Chancellor to enact the CR/NC policy at Baruch College.”
With the data accumulated from the questionnaire, USG prepared a report to send to the administration at their weekly Senate meeting, during which all 17 members voted in favor of it.
The report found overwhelming evidence that distance learning does not accommodate all the needs of every student within the student body.
“. . . Such survey denotes the effects of Covid-19 in relation to education and wellbeing as of present time,” the report states.
The report highlights the struggles Baruch and the other CUNY colleges face, with statistics pulled from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, official New York State and New York City COVID-19 data, Education Technology, Services and Research data, and thedream.us.
Similarly, the report stated that communities of color largely make up the student body and that distance learning disproportionally affects communities of color in general.
According to the report, “The DREAM.US reported on behalf of undocumented students that ‘The percentage of students who work fell from 70% before the start of the pandemic to 43% after; 83% have an immediate family member who was laid off or whose hours were cut due to Covid-19.”
The report also noted that Hunter College re-implemented their CR/NC policy for the fall semester and urges that Baruch should follow suit.
“I stand the CR/NC offered to the students as an option. The CR/NC option is a policy designed to support students in need and those who might need to use the option while maintaining the accreditation of Baruch,” USG President Tony Chen said.
