IOWA CITY, Iowa (The Gazette) — Iowa’s three public universities have announced grading options as the COVID-19 pandemic forces students into online education instead of classroom instruction. University of Iowa and Iowa State University undergraduate students are being allowed to take the letter grades their instructors record or choose a pass/nonpass option. The Gazette reports that the new option could help students who, for example, don’t do as well as they believe they could have without the coronavirus-related disruptions.

The University of Northern Iowa already has a credit/no credit option but has modified and expanded its use. The pass or not-pass marks won’t factor into a student’s grade-point average.