Sacramento State’s Associated Students, Inc. Board of Directors passed a resolution in support of the university offering a credit/no credit option to students for the fall semester despite Steve Perez, provost and vice president of academic affairs stating that it may be too late to implement during ASI’s meeting Wednesday.

Steve Perez, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said implementing this option in spring 2020 took the university two months and it may not be possible for the fall with three weeks until the end of the semester. 

“It is extremely late in the semester,” Perez said. “I don’t know that we have the personnel to be able to pull this off.”

Perez also said this option could be disruptive to transfer credit evaluations and degree evaluations.

The CSU Chancellor’s Office said in a memo sent to provosts that campuses will be allowed to offer the credit/no credit option to students in the fall semester, Marty said during the Nov. 18 board meeting.

Samantha Elizalde, vice president of academic affairs, said ASI would like to play a role in educating students about the option but that the final decision of implementation is up to university administration.

“This piece of legislation is from ASI as a resolution in support,” Elizalde said. “It is totally up to administration as to whether or not they are going to implement it and as to how they are going to implement it.” 

ASI President Noah Marty provided an update to the board on the survey ASI sent to students regarding the credit/no credit option, which would convert grades A through C- to credit and grades D+ and F to no credit for students who selected the option.

RELATED: Sac State ASI in favor of credit/no credit option

Marty said the survey received 3,647 total responses and 1,769 responses with comments with 96% in favor of the credit/no credit option as of Wednesday. There were 320 responses in favor  that referenced the semester being “stressful” and 48 referenced “mental health.”

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Only 151 responses opposed the credit/no credit option and most referenced not wanting mandatory credit/no credit that would discount the work of students who worked for good grades, Marty said.

The board also approved transferring $10,000 from its travel fund to the Crisis Assistance and Resource Support (CARES) fund, giving $7,500 to the Seth Nelsen Student Emergency Grant and $2,500 to the Student Emergency Housing Fund.

Sac State President Robert Nelsen praised the board for their donation to the CARES fund, especially to the Seth Nelsen Student Emergency Grant that is named after his son. 

“We wanted to make sure that other students, if they needed medicine, if they needed food, if they needed to have their car fixed — whatever it was going to be, that they would have that opportunity,” Nelsen said. 

Nelsen said these grants are necessary to give students the opportunity to finish their degrees through any life struggles, calling them a “safety net.” 

“These funds quite literally have changed people’s lives,” Nelsen said. “Not everyone has the same resources, but everyone is one of our brothers and sisters here at Sac State.”