Penn's first week of online classes was not without technological issues. But many students praised professors for their dedication and compassion amidst COVID-19.

Academically Based Community Service course professors are grappling with how to redesign their classes in light of Penn shifting to virtual instruction due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Penn Law Dean Ted Ruger announced in an email to Penn law students on Wednesday that the new grading system will apply to all law students and full-semester classes.

The seminar will examine the history of European-style pantomime and the social and political impacts of Chaplin’s twentieth-century silent films.

For many professors, the first day of virtual classes, conducted via online platforms like Zoom, went well despite worries that virtual learning would detract from the quality of instruction. 

Some lab classes have been canceled altogether while others will require students to watch and analyze pre-recorded videos of their teaching assistants completing the labs. 

Some students praised the policy's flexibility but demand an extended deadline to choose pass/fail, while others claimed students in less privileged environments during the coronavirus pandemic will continue to be at a disadvantage.

The new University-wide pass/fail policy eliminates many restrictions that the four undergraduate schools have placed on pass/fail courses.

Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote in an email to Penn undergraduates Friday morning that students must opt in to take their classes pass/fail, and have until April 13 to do so.

Some institutions have implemented mandatory pass/fail grading systems, while others are allowing students to opt-in to pass/fail grading.

The course, titled “Epidemics, Natural Disasters, and Geopolitics: Managing Global Business and Financial Uncertainty,” will run for six weeks starting March 25.

In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn's Director of Campus Health Ashlee Halbritter said out of the over 100 cases of potential exposure Penn identified, none of the cases were high risk.

Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote that Penn would provide financial assistance with flight costs and that he would be working to ensure students abroad in Europe receive "as much academic credit as possible" for this semester.

Penn will extend spring break by one week and move to remote instruction beginning March 23, President Amy Gutmann Provost Wendell Pritchett announced in an email to  Penn faculty.

Global travel bans and the uncertain fate of Penn's classes and dormitory availabilities have left international and first-generation, low-income students unsure of where they will live and how they will pay for housing and meals. 

A growing number of universities are banning international travel and mandating that classes shift to online platforms to limit the spread of the virus.

A further update on whether Penn is shifting to online classes will come later this week, Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote in an email to the Penn community.