The fall 2027 plan would have kept professors' letter grades off first-semester transcripts. President Domenico Grasso said misconceptions threatened the pilot before it began.
Under the proposal, professors would have continued assigning letter grades, but first-semester freshmen's official transcripts would have shown only "pass" or "no credit."
The College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts planned to start the pilot in fall 2027. The university said it aimed to support students' mental health as they adjusted to college.
When the university introduced the plan in August, it described the goal as addressing a mental health crisis among college-aged people. It also said the policy could ease the move from high school by reducing first-semester pressure tied to GPA while students adjusted to academic and social life.
Professor Derek Peterson backed the proposal in comments to ABC News. He pointed to pressures freshmen may face, including living away from family for the first time. Peterson also cited working while studying and managing their own schedules.
Critics questioned whether shielding first-semester grades would help students cope with stress. Some argued that facing setbacks is part of learning to adapt to college and life. Others said students might put less effort into classes if their transcripts showed only pass or no credit, making it harder to establish study habits. A Michigan Advance editorial also questioned whether making grades less visible would help students build resilience.
In a letter to leaders of the College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts, university president Domenico Grasso said the school would not proceed with the pilot. Inside Higher Ed reported that Grasso cited extensive media coverage and what he called distorted accounts of the university's intentions and students' academic strength.
Grasso said misconceptions and questions about the program threatened its chances of success before it began. He also worried that students could be unfairly portrayed as coddled or unprepared for the demands of a Michigan education.
The debate concerned transcript policy at a university, not K-12 classrooms. Michigan school spending and third-grade reading outcomes were covered in a separate report.
LSA announced on Sept. 30, 2026, that the pilot would not proceed, after public criticism and questions about whether it could meet its goals, The Michigan Daily reported.
