University of Michigan to drop letter grades for some freshmen in 2027

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is looking out for their students' mental health. So, they’re doing away with grades for some of them.

Big picture view:

Imagine coming to college and your major doesn’t give out grades. FOX 2 asked a couple of students about it and they weighed in.

"I think, okay, it has potential," said Hoa Tran. "It definitely, for me, like grades affected me a lot freshman year. But I was able to lock-in after that because I knew the impact of what I had done. Not so, stay proactive. Like it can hurt. It can also not hurt. Kind of depends on the person really. I think it should be an optional thing." 

"It’s a good thing. But I guess, like he said, it should be an option," said student Tanish Bikkina. "You should be able to choose if you want or not. Cuz there are also like, people are just career-oriented. So it’s like they only want to focus on themselves and don’t care about others. I guess it’s an option. People should have the choice."

For now, come fall 2027, the College of Literature, Science and Arts will not give out letter grades for freshman for their first semester. Specifically, the school says students will see grades throughout the duration of their classes.

But the final grade will either be ‘pass’ or ‘no credit.’ The goal, they say, is to help students with their mental health.

Dig deeper:

FOX 2 spoke with family therapist Dr. Ericka Bockneck, and she says she is skeptical that it’ll be effective. She suggests universities focus on the factors behind stress.

"What we know most impacts college students mental health is social isolation, existing mental health problems that go untreated, and the biggest predictor are economic stressors," said Dr. Bockneck. "So, my recommendation to students in general to take care of their mental health are to think about those 3 things: how are they staying connected to others? What kinds of support and resources do they need to stay financially stable while they’re in college? And then really thinking about what mental health challenges are they facing that they’re coming into college with. And what’s going to be their plan to have the most support while they’re in school."

What's next:

The new program won't go into effect until fall 2027.

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