Michigan Hides Letter Grades for 3,500 LSA Freshmen in 2027 Pilot
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 11
Michigan Hides Letter Grades for 3,500 LSA Freshmen in 2027 Pilot
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 11
Summary
About 3,500 incoming first-year students in Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts will receive only pass or no-credit marks for their first semester starting in 2027.
Letter grades will still be assigned by instructors, but they will be hidden from first-semester GPAs and official transcripts under the university's new grade-covering pilot.
Michigan said the change is meant to ease mental-health pressures, help freshmen adjust to university demands and encourage them to try challenging courses without lasting GPA damage.
The policy applies only to LSA students—not freshmen in Michigan's other 18 schools and colleges such as engineering and business.
Professor Derek Peterson backed the move as support for students in a vulnerable transition, and Michigan joins schools including MIT, Caltech, Swarthmore and Wellesley that already use similar first-year grading policies.