Correction AppendedBeginning in fall 2011, the minimum grade required for a student taking a class pass/fail to receive a "P" will be changed from a D- to a C-, according to Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe at the faculty meeting.

In addition to the proposal to change the minimum required grade, the faculty also approved a proposal to allow certain University required courses to be taken pass/fail.

Both proposals were voted on and approved for the required second time at the April 14 faculty meeting, according to Jaffe.

As reported in a March 15 Justice article, students will be allowed to take classes pass/fail that satisfy non-Western, quantitative reasoning, and school distribution requirements. However, they cannot take classes satisfying oral communication, the final semester of the language requirement and writing intensive requirements pass/fail.

According to Jaffe, this was part of a compromise between the students and the University to make changes that both parties wanted.

"It was a package deal: The students wanted to be able to use pass/fail for University requirements; faculty were concerned that someone could satisfy a University requirement by getting a D- in the course. The deal was, we will raise the minimum [pass/fail] grade and allow it to be used for University requirements," said Jaffe.

Usman Hameedi '12, junior representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, "The issue was that faculty were not comfortable with the D- passing because they felt that a D- does not reflect a legitimate understanding of the material and should not be considered a 'pass.'"

On the other hand, Hameedi explained, students wanted an opportunity to use pass/fail more to explore new areas of knowledge without worrying about how it will affect one's GPA.

Thus, both proposals were passed, bumping the grade requirement up to a C- at the wishes of the faculty and allowing pass/fail to be used to satisfy University requirements as the students requested. The number of classes a student can take pass/fail will not change.

The proposals brought to the UCC for changes to pass/fail originally came last year from then-Union Director of Academics Danielle Wolfson '11 and then in a slightly revised version from other subcommittee members this fall, according to Hameedi.

Hameedi wrote that he is excited about what these policy changes will bring to the Brandeis community.

"The student/faculty compromise is fantastic for both parties. Now students are able to delve into areas they normally won't, and teachers don't have to worry about students not respecting the course work and still providing satisfactory work," wrote Hameedi.

Jaffe said that the success of the two changes to the pass/fail system, and whether they should remain modified in the proposed manner, will be evaluated a few years down the road.

"The UCC will look at who is taking classes pass/fail, what courses they are taking, and who is using them for requirements and then assess whether the new measures are appropriate," said Jaffe.

Editor's note: This article has been edited to reflect the following correction: The article originally stated that students would be able to take their foreign language requirements pass/fail under the new option. This is not true. Students will not be able to take the final semester of a language requirement under the pass/fail option.