Students will not be given the option to participate in the Credit/No-Credit policy for the Fall Semester and should prepare for the possibility of another virtual semester for the Spring.

These and other tissues came up at John Jay’s second virtual Town Hall of the semester, on Oct. 6.

Last semester students were given the option to change letter grades into credits or no credits until June 25th; 25 business days after the final grade submission deadline. Passing grades of D or higher were given the “CR” option, while F grades were converted to no credit.

The policy was implemented to relieve students during the challenging transition to distance learning. John Jay President Karol Mason said at the Oct. 6 virtual town hall, “it was only used in the Spring because of the transition of learning.”

Ned Benton of the Faculty Senate, announced that this is a CUNY-wide decision; not from John Jay. 

Around 200 people attended the Town Hall meeting. This is the second virtual Town Hall of the Fall semester; and both meetings have occurred during community hour.

At the last Town Hall on September 8th, some other concerns were raised by students. That was the first Town Hall of the Fall semester and it had the same number of attendees.

Students raised the issue of accessibility during remote learning. 

Virtual learning is still a novice for some, leaving students worried about how professors would adapt to their accessibility needs. 

President Mason said, “We are aware that we need to continue to educate our faculty on what accessibility means.”

Although some of John Jay’s resources have moved to online, services such as the Food Pantry are still available on campus for students. The food bank is working on delivering food to homes and providing vouchers if students are unable to travel to campus.

In these uncertain times, the Emergency Fund is available for students in need. The “once per year” requirement starts each fall semester.

Generally, students may only receive one grant per academic year, but an appeal can be submitted with information explaining the extraordinary circumstances. 

The issue of the U.S. Presidential election also came up.

There are 27 days until the election, and the deadline to register to vote is October 9th.

With this in mind, Urban Male Initiative has partnered with the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership in facilitating workshops to register and apply for an absentee ballot for anyone that is unsure of the process. The workshops happen every Thursday and Friday during community hour. 

For more information on voting, visit ny.gov/services/register-vote.