ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WOWO) — The University of Michigan is preparing to launch a new grading policy designed to ease the transition into college, but the plan is drawing criticism from people who worry that shielding students from the consequences of poor grades could simply delay the pressure. Begin ning in fall 2027, the university’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts plans to pilot a program in which first-year students’ first-semester letter grades will not be included in their grade-point averages or appear as traditional grades on their transcripts. Students will still receive and know their actual grades in their classes. Instead, their first-semester transcript record will use a pass-or-no-credit system. University officials say the goal is not to lower academic expectations but to give new students an opportunity to adjust to the demands of college without having their first semester permanently affect their academic records. Tim McKay, associate dean for undergraduate education in LSA, said the program has two primary goals: encouraging students to explore academically and supporting student mental health. “We need to give them a space to get used to the reality that we’re going to be asking them to do very difficult things that might go beyond what they were used to,” McKay said. He said the university wants students to be challenged without feeling that an early academic setback has created a permanent consequence. “We want that to happen in a way which is safe enough that they’ll come through it strong – rather than feeling like it’s suddenly they’ve had something permanent and very consequential happen to them,” McKay said. The plan has generated national criticism, including an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal that characterized the approach as “Coddle U.” McKay rejects that characterization. Students interviewed about the proposal on the Ann Arbor campus offered a more mixed reaction. Some said adjusting to college can be difficult and welcomed the additional flexibility, while others questioned whether delaying the impact of grades simply postpones the inevitable pressure to perform. Adriana Yost, a sophomore studying small business management on U-M’s Dearborn campus, said the approach could give students room to experiment while still allowing them to monitor their performance. “You’re still seeing the grades so you can really keep track of your progress, figuring out what works,” Yost said. She also noted that students would have some protection if they tried a challenging class or academic direction that did not work out. “But at the same time you know in the back of your head ‘if I really do mess up and if I try something and it really doesn’t work for me, it’s not going to affect me long-term in the future,'” she said. Connor Olsen, a junior studying business, said he understands the effort to reduce stress but worries the policy could postpone students learning how to manage college-level expectations. “I understand the idea that they’re trying to take stress off of people that are coming straight into the school,” Olsen said. “However, I do think there’s going to come a time where they’re going to matter,” he said, adding that students eventually need to develop habits involving studying, office hours and time management. Sophia Xu, a senior studying microbiology and pre-med, also questioned whether the policy would merely move the pressure to the second semester. “I think that making the first semester pass/fail just shifts this issue onto (the) winter semester,” Xu said. She said students could enter the second semester feeling pressure to suddenly perform at a higher level in order to establish or protect their GPAs. The policy will apply to first-semester, first-year students in LSA, U-M’s largest school or college on the Ann Arbor campus. LSA accounts for more than half of undergraduate enrollment there. Transfer students will not be eligible. The exact number of students affected by the pilot will depend on the size of the incoming class in 2027. For comparison, nearly 5,000 students entered LSA in fall 2026, according to McKay. The university is still determining several details of the program, including whether students will have the ability to request that their first-semester grades be included on their transcripts or in their GPAs. McKay indicated that allowing students to voluntarily add those grades back into their GPAs is unlikely. “We’re trying to say that we think the best summary of your experience on campus would not focus on your first semester,” McKay said. “But would include the other grades that you have.” That creates questions about students who perform particularly well during their first semester and might otherwise benefit from having those grades included. The university says it is also considering how the policy could affect students applying to graduate programs, internships and other opportunities where academic records can matter. McKay acknowledged that transcripts are used for graduate-school applications, but argued that performance in more advanced courses may provide a better indication of a student’s academic ability. “We want to make sure that no one is or even feels harmed by this,” McKay said. Venessa Keesler, president and CEO of Launch Michigan, said the discussion at U-M reflects a broader debate about what grades actually measure. She noted that educators increasingly are questioning whether strong grades always demonstrate that a student has mastered the skills and knowledge needed for life after school. “Education in general is saying kids can get all As and not be ready,” Keesler said. “So, why not? And it shifts the conversation to demonstrating mastery of skills, mastery of knowledge, mastery of competencies.” Keesler said employers use transcripts in some circumstances, while graduate programs may also consider standardized test scores and other measures. “I have said to my kids more than once that their bachelor’s degree is less about the grades and more about persistence,” Keesler said. Thomas Guskey, a professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky’s College of Education who has studied grading policies, said he supports U-M’s approach. Guskey said the university is attempting to place more emphasis on learning during a student’s transition into college while maintaining a meaningful standard for passing. He also pointed to U-M’s 97% retention rate for full-time first-year students returning for their sophomore year, saying that suggests the university’s motivation is educational rather than financial. The pilot will be evaluated based on whether students demonstrate greater academic exploration and whether the policy improves mental health. McKay said the university will look at factors including how many classes students take, the variety of courses they choose and whether they develop the early academic momentum associated with graduating on time and performing well. The university is still determining exactly how mental-health outcomes will be measured. McKay pointed to U-M’s Healthy Minds research as one potential source of information. The policy also raises broader questions about whether traditional letter grades are the best way to measure student achievement. Lily Wu, a senior studying economics and international studies, called the proposal “a little too lenient.” Wu suggested that a less dramatic approach might be to eliminate the A-minus distinction so that students would face less pressure over the difference between an A and an A-minus. McKay said U-M is not attempting to eliminate the broader grading system. “We rely on these grades for many purposes, including things like financial aid and measuring a student’s progress toward (a) degree and all these things,” McKay said. “So we’re not interested in trying to unsettle the entire system. We just want to change the reaction that people have to the system.” The debate comes as Michigan officials are also examining how well high schools prepare students for college and careers. Denise Brown, a high school math teacher with Redford Union Schools, said one concern is that students can arrive at college having earned strong grades without necessarily being prepared for the academic demands they encounter. Brown said she supports U-M’s approach if the university provides students with the resources and feedback needed to adjust to higher expectations. “I hope it’s setting the expectations for the students to know that you’re in a different environment and the expectations are now different and now you have to prepare yourself,” Brown said. For U-M, the coming pilot represents an effort to change the relationship between first-year students and their grades without eliminating grades altogether. Students will still know how they performed. The difference is that, during their first semester, those letter grades would not follow them into the traditional GPA and transcript calculations. Whether that creates a healthier transition into college — or simply postpones academic pressure — will be one of the central questions U-M will attempt to answer when the pilot begins in fall 2027. The post U-M Plan to Hide First-Semester Grades Sparks Debate Over College Pressure appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less