University of Michigan to hide freshmen grades from transcripts in mental health move

Incoming University of Michigan freshmen will have their first-semester grades kept off their transcripts under a new policy aimed at easing academic pressure and addressing concerns over student mental health, reports Fox News.

The policy will begin in fall 2027 and apply to first-year students in the university's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Students will still receive traditional letter grades during the semester, but their final grades will appear on transcripts only as a "P" for pass or "NC" for no credit.

The grades will not count toward students' GPAs.

University officials said the change is intended to give students more room to explore courses without worrying that one poor grade could follow them throughout college.

"Our goal is to help first-year students acclimate to the demands of college and allow intrinsic motivations to guide personally meaningful academic journeys — core elements of a liberal arts and sciences education."

The university said the program is designed to "curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals." It will not include an opt-out provision.

"An opt-in structure would defeat the purpose of facilitating students’ transition to campus, supporting mental health and well-being, and bolstering intrinsic motivations for learning," the university said.

Although final grades will not appear on transcripts, the school will retain them internally. Officials said they may be used for advising, scholarships and academic awards, internship and professional applications, athletic eligibility, financial aid and degree progress.

The LSA is the largest of Michigan's 19 colleges and has approximately 19,700 undergraduate students.

Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert criticized the approach, arguing that students need to learn how to handle ordinary academic setbacks.

"We’re raising a generation of students to believe that discomfort is dangerous," Alpert, author of "Therapy Nation," told Fox News Digital. "It isn’t. A bad grade can be upsetting, embarrassing and stressful. That’s not a mental health emergency. That’s college."

Alpert said removing the consequences of poor grades could leave students less prepared for challenges outside college.

"This is therapy culture invading the classroom. We’ve spent years turning normal human emotions into symptoms. Stress becomes a mental health issue," Alpert said. "College should be one of the places where young people discover that they’re tougher than they think.

"A bad grade isn't psychological harm," Alpert continued. "Sometimes it's the wake-up call a student needs."