Class work. Exams. Grades. Deadlines. As the Coronavirus began to shut down campuses across Canada, its implications were starting to hit home for JD students. 

Dean Mark Walters and other senior administrators spoke to these issues in virtual town halls on March 26. The sessions addressed concerns around decisions the law school had made in the face of the pandemic. 

Walters, Associate Dean Art Cockfield and Assistant Dean Phillip Drew detailed some of the behind-the-scenes planning intended to ensure the global health crisis would have minimal impact on student grades and prospects. 

Hosted on the Zoom meeting platform, the town halls dealt with questions submitted in the prior 24 hours. New concerns were also raised and responded to using the platform’s Q&A function. 

“This has been unprecedented for all of us, and as a result, the law school has to make some difficult and quick decisions,” said Walters. “Our basic goal is to get you through the academic year successfully – and for those of you in third year to have you graduate on time so that you can move on to the next stage in your career.” 

Drew added, “We are in a situation that we have never seen in the world before and we are making arrangements and amendments so that we can continue to provide you with the best legal education and experience possible.”

Many questions were asked about the school’s adjusted grading system, which Dean Walters had previously announced by email. He wrote, “Final grades for each course will be determined by instructors in the ordinary way by assigning letter grades according to the established grading-curve policy. However, we appreciate that, despite our best efforts at accommodation, students may still be affected by the present crisis and feel that they have under-performed. Students may therefore elect to receive a ‘pass/fail’ notation on their transcript for any course after learning of the letter grade that they would otherwise receive.” 

At the town halls, Walters said, “The compromise that we’ve decided upon really does advance your interests and that was really at the heart of everything that we’ve been doing.” 

“We’re absolutely aware that some students are struggling with disadvantages,” said Cockfield. “We designed this to be a fair and flexible system. There are essentially two fail-safes. You’ll have an opportunity to see your final grade. If you don’t like it, you can convert it to ‘pass.’ Also, once you see your final grade, you’ll have an opportunity to drop the entire course … This is essentially a rip cord that you pull if you feel that you’re in a situation where you need that fail-safe.” 

As for why this optional pass/fail grading system, rather than a mandatory one was chosen, Cockfield explained, “One of the things that we constantly heard from a lot of students was they want to keep letter grades to be able to differentiate themselves and compete for jobs. Other students prefer the pass/fail system. Our system was created to account for these differences.”

Another much-asked question was how employers will view Queen’s Law transcripts. “Our decision was taken after a great deal of consultation and thought,” said Drew. ‘We consulted a variety of stakeholders, including your Law Students’ Society reps, faculty and very senior members of the profession throughout Canada and around the world. They have advised us that this grading system is the best way to go. What we heard from the profession was that we actually give our students a bit of an advantage by allowing the employers to see how students are actually performing now. We’re doing what we believe is best for our students.”   

In response to the question of whether transcripts will be confusing for employers, Walters responded, “Anybody reading a transcript from the year 2020 is going to confront notations on the transcript that are unusual.” 

Drew added, “Employers all get the fact that we are in an extraordinary time and when they see the P on a Queen's transcript, they will know that something out of the ordinary has happened. That's essentially why we implemented the ‘P.’ It tells the employer that something in the person’s life at this particular time in this particular situation has made it so he or she cannot operate optimally.” 

Several other questions were asked about why exams were going to be held on the originally scheduled dates. “The rationale for that is partly about administrative possibilities and fairness concerns for students,” replied Walters. Reasons include: the exam schedule is set months in advance in order to avoid conflicts; there is already a short turnaround time for instructors to submit final grades to allow students four days for determining whether to opt for a ‘pass’ in one or more courses before Queen’s University releases all official grades on May 12; students have other set plans; and it’s important that third-year students graduate on time.  

Walters, Cockfield and Drew also answered questions about special exam accommodations, the school’s Academic Integrity Policy, application of the grading curve policy, alternate plans for 
Spring Convocation, and a contingency teaching plan for September if social-distancing measures are still in place. 

“We are going to be planning for whatever comes at us and it may well be that in September universities throughout Canada are still going to have to teach remotely,” Walters responded. “We’re in a unique position at Queens. We already have online programs, so we have a team in place with expertise and knowledge in this area. I want to reassure first- and second-year students that we will have a system in place that continues to provide an excellent legal education to you, no matter what happens.”