Academics
Penn to standardize course times, eliminate back-to-back classes in fall 2021 schedule revamp
Under the new format, classes will start at one of eight designated start times beginning at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m. Students will have at minimum 15 minutes between classes.
Penn will suspend operations, COVID-19 screening testing on Tuesday as snowstorm continues
Irvine Auditorium is the only COVID-19 testing location set to open on Tuesday, for symptomatic and close-contact COVID-19 testing only.
Dissatisfied with virtual learning, some students take the spring semester off
Some students who had previously taken a gap semester in the fall opted to turn their time off into a full gap year to pursue extracurricular hobbies and internships.
SCUE calls for sector requirement revamp, more FGLI support in first White Paper since 2015
SCUE releases a White Paper every five years recommending long-term changes to Penn's academic policies. This year's paper was set to be released in 2020, but was delayed due to COVID-19.
Deans’ email discouraging pass/fail option amid pandemic leaves students disheartened
Deans' discouragement towards the pass/fail grading option has left students feeling disheartened with Penn's attitude towards mental health.
Penn professor Robert Schuyler retires after backlash from using Nazi phrase and salute
Schuyler, who believed his speech at an archaeological conference was being suppressed, said he used the Nazi phrase and salute to reference limits on free speech in Nazi Germany.
Prof. who used Nazi salute faces call for firing from colleagues in open letter to Penn
The letter was co-authored by University of York Ph.D. candidate Liz Quinlan, the speaker that Prof. Robert Schuyler engaged in a brief altercation with at the Society for Historical Archaeology conference before he used the Nazi phrase and salute.
Penn cancels class of prof. who used Nazi gesture — but students still want him fired
Anthropology Department Chair Kathleen Morrison confirmed that ANTH 220: "Historical Archaeology Laboratory," the course professor Robert Schuyler was scheduled to teach, will no longer be offered in the spring.
Students demand Penn fire anthropology professor who used Nazi phrase and salute
Robert Schuyler, an associate professor of anthropology, held his arm in a Nazi salute and used the Nazi phrase “Sieg heil” during a brief altercation with an invited speaker at an archaeological conference.
Penn professor uses Nazi phrase and salute at archaeology conference, sparking outrage
Robert Schuyler, who teaches anthropology and holds a position at the Penn Museum, held his arm in a Nazi salute and said “Sieg heil to you” after a speaker told him that the meeting, a Society for Historical Archaeology conference plenary session, was not the place for him to discuss a question he had raised about membership.
Penn Law brought 551 students to campus for a hybrid fall semester deemed a 'success story'
Although the University decided last minute no longer to bring undergraduate students back to campus in the fall, Penn Law opened its doors to approximately 550 students of its estimated 751-person class for in-person learning through Nov. 25, when classes ended for the semester.
Profs. deem online semester a success, but hope to teach in person soon
Reflecting back on the positive experiences of the unprecedented semester, professors nevertheless said they hoped to return to teaching in person as soon as possible.
New Penn course to examine the voting controversies of the 2020 election
The course will cover topics including voting rights, mail-in ballots, voter registration, felon disenfranchisement, and redistricting.
Professors and international students praise long-awaited Econ reclassification
The reclassification, which will go into effect spring 2021, will allow international students majoring in economics to apply for a two-year work extension in the U.S. under the Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students.
As COVID-19 disrupts travel, a global seminar on Indigeneity in South America turns to Zoom
Instead of traveling to Argentina and Chile, students who enroll in PSCI 313: People of the Land: Indigeneity and Politics in Argentina and Chile will conduct a series of Zoom interviews with experts in the field.
Penn to reclassify economics as STEM major, easing path to visas for international students
While most student visas are valid up to one year after graduation, international students majoring in STEM-designated programs can become eligible for an additional two-year work extension in their Optional Practical Training.
Ezekiel Emanuel, Biden COVID-19 advisor, to teach Penn course on Benjamin Franklin in spring
Despite his newfound responsibilities to the Biden presidential transition effort, Emanuel said he will be fully engaged in his Penn teaching duties. His course PHIL 118: Ben Franklin & His World will examine controversial aspects of Franklin’s life such as his participation in the slave trade.
Angela Duckworth’s spring Grit Lab course opens to first years and select high school students
This spring, Duckworth is opening the class to high school students in the Young Scholars High School Program, a non-degree program offered by Penn's College of Liberal and Professional Studies.
Penn grad student wins Rhodes Scholarship to research foster care-to-prison pipeline
Fierceton will pursue a Ph.D. in social policy and conduct research on the foster care-to-prison pipeline, representing a disproportionate risk of incarceration for young people in foster care, at the University of Oxford beginning in fall 2021.