Pass by catastrophe explained

Pass by catastrophe is an academic urban legend proposing that if some particular catastrophic event occurs, students whose performance could have been affected by the event are automatically awarded passing grades, on the grounds that there would then be no way to assess them fairly and they should not be penalized for the catastrophe.

Examples of the legend

The most common version of this story is that if a student's roommate commits suicide, the surviving student will be awarded straight As for that semester.[6] This version provides the premise for the films Dead Man on Campus and The Curve, as well as episodes of several television series.[7] [8]

In his book Curses! Broiled Again!, urban legend expert Jan Harold Brunvand investigated the claim that a student whose roommate commits suicide will receive straight As for that semester. He could not find any college or university which actually had such a rule. Sociologist William S. Fox described this legend and variants, such as the rule applying to any death of a roommate; he also concluded that the claim has no basis in fact.[9] The website Snopes rates the story as false.[10]

In practice

Many schools and jurisdictions, while not adopting any blanket rule as claimed by the legend, may make allowances or adjustments for individual students in cases of hardship. In the United Kingdom, the Joint Council for Qualifications allows candidates to apply for an adjustment of their score (up to 5%) if they have met all the qualifications for the exam but experience "temporary illness, temporary injury or other indisposition at the time of the assessment".[11] If an eligible candidate dies before completing the examination, an "honorary certificate" can be requested; however, it has no academic value.[12]

In Victoria, Australia, a student takes the GAT midway through the year. If an event happens that affects their performance in the final exams, their results will be derived from their coursework marks and the marks they received on the GAT.[13]

On 12 November 2019, Hong Kong police raided and seriously damaged the Chinese University of Hong Kong.[14] The university management team thus announced a premature end of semester two weeks early. All students could proceed to the next semester for online classes, and arrangements would be made for evaluating their work in the shortened semester.[15] [16]

Beginning on December 31, 2019,[17] some students in the United States of America and Canada advocated for various forms of pass by catastrophe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, numerous universities and pre-secondary institutions adopted a pass/fail system as opposed to letter grades.[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mkele. Yolisa. 2018-12-08. Would you automatically get your degree if your varsity exploded?. 2021-03-26. TimesLIVE. en-ZA.
  2. Web site: Francis. Natalie. 2019-10-14. Passing by catastrophe: EP-style. 2021-03-26. The Stanford Daily.
  3. Web site: The 10 Weirdest College Urban Legends. Gordon. Jill. March 13, 2009. Onlinecollegecourses.com. 29 April 2017.
  4. Web site: Williams. Avery. 2017-02-06. We asked a lawyer at UNC if getting hit by a bus means the university pays your tuition. 2021-03-26. The Tab. en-US.
  5. Web site: Palmer. Kathryn. 2019-10-03. If You Get Hit by a Bus, You Get Free Tuition. Wait, What?. 2021-03-26. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  6. News: Hollywood Discovers an Apocryphal Legend. Reisberg. Leo. September 11, 1998. Chronicle of Higher Education. 29 April 2017.
  7. News: Film review: A Novel Way to Get All A's. Gates. Anita. August 21, 1998. New York Times. 12 May 2015.
  8. News: The Curve (1998). https://web.archive.org/web/20150711094534/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/160467/The-Curve/overview. dead. 11 July 2015. Movies & TV Dept.. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Bhob Stewart. Bhob Stewart. 2015. 12 May 2015.
  9. Book: Brunvand, Jan Harold. Jan Harold Brunvand. Curses! Broiled Again!. 1989. W.W. Norton and Company. 0-393-30711-5. 295–298. The Suicide Rule. registration. https://archive.org/details/cursesbroiledaga00janh/page/295.
  10. Web site: Grade Expectations. 9 June 2011. Snopes. 14 September 2018.
  11. http://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration A guide to the special consideration process
  12. News: A guide to the special consideration process. 1 September 2019. JCQ. 11. 31 October 2020.
  13. Web site: What makes the GAT crucial, and how to get ready for it. Renata. Galiamov. blog.connecteducation.com.au. 2019-10-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20191016051022/https://blog.connecteducation.com.au/getting-ready-for-the-gat. 2019-10-16. dead.
  14. Web site: Chinese University of Hong Kong looks even more like a war zone as night falls. 2019-11-12. Shanghaiist. en-US. 2020-01-16.
  15. Web site: CUHK announces premature end to semester as Hong Kong universities switch to online teaching. Cheng. Kris. 2019-11-13. Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. en-GB. 2020-01-16.
  16. Web site: 中大人資訊專頁 on Instagram: "中大宣布2019-20年度第一學期結束...". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B4zW4XVBi6m . 2021-12-24 . registration. Instagram. en. 2020-01-16.
  17. Web site: Archived: WHO Timeline - COVID-19. 2021-07-20. www.who.int. en.
  18. News: Hartocollis. Anemona. 2020-03-28. With Coronavirus Disrupting College, Should Every Student Pass?. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-07-20. 0362-4331.

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