CLARIFICATION APPENDEDThe Faculty Senate supported the Student Union's Pass/Fail Plus proposal, but the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has tabled discussion about final approval of the proposal until next year due to continued concerns about its implementation, Dean of Arts and Sciences and UCC chair Adam Jaffe said in an interview with the Justice.

The proposal would allow students to fulfill their general University requirements with a class taken pass/fail as long as they achieved grades above a C+.

The March 25 minutes state that Senate members supported the proposal to allow one class to be pass/fail, "especially as it would encourage students to attempt more challenging course work and most felt that it should not be limited to only one course in the general education requirements."

Additionally, according to the minutes, "[Senate members] felt this plan would alleviate the need for several sections of the larger lecture courses and allow some of the small seminar classes to fully enroll."

The Senate passed a motion in support of a Pass/Fail Plus proposal that would be applicable to all classes except the University Writing Seminars.

According to the Faculty Senate minutes, UCC members had suggested that this plan should not apply to foreign language, writing intensive and UWS requirements.

Union Director of Academic Affairs Danielle Wolfson '11 said she would incorporate the UCC's proposed changes into a revised proposal.

Senate members asked Wolfson why the proposal only allowed students to apply the option to one required class, according to the minutes. Wolfson explained that usually one class out of the required general University requirements is of student concern, and that the proposal would allow students to take a more challenging class without fear of failing. "Many in the Senate supported this idea, especially as it would encourage students to attempt more challenging course work and most felt that it should not be limited to only one course in the general education requirements," the minutes state.

"Faculty in general see the benefit of pass/fail in terms of allowing students to explore options and consider taking courses they would otherwise not take because they seem to frightening," Jaffe said.

"But at the same time faculty also have concerns in general about pass/fail because they observe some students in their classes who are not doing the work, ... and there is some suspicion ... that the people who are not doing the work are people who are taking the course pass/fail," he said.

Jaffe added that there is also concern about the "apparent practice among students of using Pass/Fail essentially for GPA maximization by taking courses and getting an A- or B+ and then covering it up with a P."

He also said that there was some concern, whatever the outcome, that allowing required courses to be taken pass/fail would create the impression that the University took those classes less seriously than before.

Jaffe said that Brandeis was "either unique or very rare" in allowing students to decide whether a class will remain pass/fail after they know their grade.

He said he expected the UCC to appoint a committee to undertake a broader examination of university pass-fail policies next semester.

Senior representative to the UCC Michelle Barras '10 said, "We did research about other universities, ... and there were a bunch of universities of our caliber that do allow you to pass/fail some or all of the general requirements."

Senate member Prof. Judith Herzfeld (CHEM) wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that she did not have concerns about students taking classes pass/fail to avoid challenging work.

She encouraged students to consider what covering a grade for an easy class would look like on their transcript and added that it was not the University's place to step in if students opted not to take advantage of the opportunities the University offers them.

Clarification: The article originally quoted Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe as calling Brandeis "unique" in allowing students to decide whether a class will remain pass/fail after they know their grade. This partial quotation is potentially misleading, as Jaffe actually said, "We're very aware that Brandeis is either unique or very rare in terms of a school that gives you that option." The article has been updated to more accurately portray Jaffe's message.