Academics
Penn Law will implement a mandatory Credit/Fail grading system for spring 2020
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.
In a new course on pantomiming, students will study — and dress up as — Charlie Chaplin
The seminar will examine the history of European-style pantomime and the social and political impacts of Chaplin’s twentieth-century silent films.
Penn professors are 'pleasantly surprised' after first few days of virtual classes
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.
Virtual experiments and mailed equipment: How professors are moving labs online
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.
Students praise flexibility of pass/fail policy, but some want a later deadline to opt in
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.
Penn students can now opt in to pass/fail grading for all courses. Here’s what that means.
The new University-wide pass/fail policy eliminates many restrictions that the four undergraduate schools have placed on pass/fail courses.
Penn will allow students to opt in to pass/fail grading for all courses by April 13
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.
As Penn students petition, some schools have already adopted pass/fail grading
Some institutions have implemented mandatory pass/fail grading systems, while others are allowing students to opt-in to pass/fail grading.
Wharton introduces six-week online course on coronavirus and global crisis management
The course, titled “Epidemics, Natural Disasters, and Geopolitics: Managing Global Business and Financial Uncertainty,” will run for six weeks starting March 25.
SHS alerts over 100 Penn students, faculty, and staff about potential coronavirus exposure
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.
Penn Abroad urges students studying in Europe to return home immediately
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 moves spring semester classes online and asks students to move off campus by March 15
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.
‘Not everyone has a home to go to’: International, FGLI students await U. coronavirus plan
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.
Online classes, travel bans: How the Ivy League is responding to the coronavirus outbreak
A growing number of universities are banning international travel and mandating that classes shift to online platforms to limit the spread of the virus.
Penn cuts off University-related travel and large on-campus events due to coronavirus
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.
Penn asks teachers to prepare for possible online classes amid coronavirus spread
Vice Provost for Education Beth Winkelstein wrote that as of now, classes are expected to meet as scheduled when Penn returns from spring break on Monday, March 16.
Best-selling author Ottessa Moshfegh discusses her novel and existential despair at KWH
Moshfegh was invited and introduced by Penn professor of Religious Studies Justin McDaniel, who teaches the popular course, Existential Despair.
New Wharton course will teach students ‘financial savvy’ in the fall
The course, Consumer Financial Decision Making, will be open to students from all years and schools and will explain how to make financial decisions relating to mortgages and insurance.
Wharton to introduce its first course on artificial intelligence in 2021
Artificial Intelligence for Business will be the first course to be fully dedicated to studying AI in a business context.