Cumberland University announced today that it will move all summer semester courses to a distance learning format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In addition to moving summer courses online, the university has opted to implement an alternate grading option for current students. For the spring semester only, students will be able to choose whether they would like their courses graded using the traditional grading method, or using an alternate method consisting of the grades Pass, D grade or Fail. 

This alternate grading method comes in response to unanticipated student struggles brought on by the pandemic. Many students may struggle with online learning, access to technology, and additional academic, health or financial stress during this time. 

“This has been a difficult time for all of us,” said Cumberland University President Dr. Paul C. Stumb. “We want nothing more than for our students to be back on campus, but at this time we feel it’s best to continue our online courses through the summer semester. 

“We know our students are going through a lot right now, and to ease some of the stress that comes along with grade point averages we want to give them the option to choose if they want to keep the traditional grading method for this semester or opt for a modified pass/fail option,” Stumb continued.  

The university has been administering all classes in a distance learning format since March 16, 2020, and will continue that through the summer semester. All campus events have been indefinitely postponed and the Commencement ceremony has been rescheduled for June 20, 2020.

Cumberland University’s COVID-19 task force is meeting regularly to monitor the situation in an attempt to make decisions that keep students, faculty, and staff as safe as possible, while simultaneously continuing a commitment to higher education. 

For more information and updates visit https://www.cumberland.edu/coronavirus/.