October 12, 2026
The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and University of Michigan-Flint AFT-AAUP 5671 are deeply alarmed at the blatant overreach by university administration into matters of the curriculum.
On August 10, 2026, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) announced piloting a new policy for first year students starting in Fall 2027, by which their first semester grades would be “covered.” Under this grade covering pilot program, first semester grades for LSA courses would be designated as Pass (P) or No Credit (NC) on students’ final transcripts; though, their work would still be graded. This aimed to address nationally-recognized, well-studied challenges of first semester college students. LSA Dean Rosario Ceballo described the pilot program as having the potential to help incoming students “establish early academic momentum, support their well-being, and inspire their intellectual curiosity.”
On September 28, 2026, University of Michigan President Domenico Grasso sent an email to LSA leadership, including chairs, directors, and administrative leads, informing them that he had asked Dean Ceballo to “pause” the grade covering pilot program. This email took the form of a one-way announcement, sent from a mass-mailing account to which the recipients could not reply. In explaining his decision, Grasso said he was responding to the “extensive media coverage” of the grade covering policy, “much of which consists of distorted narratives.”
The AAUP chapters condemn Grasso’s unilateral decision as an act of administrative overreach. It is a violation of academic freedom and faculty governance for the university president to insert himself into matters of curriculum. We further deplore the fact that Grasso’s decision is a reactive one that elevates the importance of media reporting over the expertise of University of Michigan educators.
This top-down reversal of the LSA grade covering pilot program is concerning for at least two reasons.
First, curricular matters are the purview of the faculty, who are the experts on the pedagogical considerations informing grading policies. Within the faculty are structures of governance, including departmental and college-wide curriculum committees, department chairs and associate chairs, deans and associate deans, and the Faculty Assembly, all of which engage in deliberative processes regarding the academic realm. The University of Michigan has thrived when colleges have functioned as incubators for pedagogical innovation. Their deliberative processes should not be short-circuited by outside forces, including the central administration, the Board of Regents, and other elected officials. A university president should never override a curricular decision made at the college level.
Second, under no circumstances should the university cower to outside pressure, particularly not pressure rooted in what Grasso himself identified as “misconceptions.” The President’s email references “extensive media coverage” and “distorted narratives” as the decisive factors in the decision to pause the pilot program. Yet this “unusual step” to interfere, per Grasso’s own words, suggests that the university nevertheless capitulated to negative publicity based on what it judged to be blatant misinformation. Opinions expressed by a broader community, however passionately held or forcefully presented, cannot substitute for the deliberate and thoughtful work of shared governance within our institution. The integrity of the university and its role in supporting a vibrant and democratic society depends upon its ability to defend academic freedom, including pedagogical freedom.
The stakes of succumbing to outside pressure and negative publicity are high, especially when it comes to curriculum. The Trump administration is attempting—in many cases succeeding—to impose control over colleges and universities by overhauling accreditation, threatening open inquiry and free speech, and requiring pledges that amount to political loyalty tests. The proposed changes to accreditation stand to repress teaching and research, including regulating what gets taught and by whom. To pause the grade covering pilot program in response to outside pressure, misinformation, and negative publicity sends the message that the University of Michigan can be easily compelled into submission.
We call on President Grasso to rescind his call for a “pause,” and allow decision-making about the implementation of the grade covering pilot program to continue in LSA through the deliberative curricular processes as laid out in the University Bylaws.
