Are We Handling Young College Students with Kid Gloves?

As a psychology professor and director of a psychological assessment clinic, I have seen firsthand the struggles of young adult college students. The University of Michigan’s recent announcement of the Grade Covering Pilot Program for first-year students, which records first-semester grades as a pass (P) or no credit (NC) on transcripts, has sparked a heated debate about the best way to support these students.

The pilot program aims to ‘curb the mental health crisis’ among young adult college students. However, I firmly believe that this approach is misguided. Students need to know their standing in a course, and an official academic record, such as a transcript, should reflect that. By simplifying the grading system to a binary P or NC, the pilot program eliminates the opportunity for academic distinction and merit recognition. This can lead to a lack of motivation among students, as they may feel that their efforts do not matter.

Traditional letter grades are a helpful metric for student progress and tend to reflect the level of care, effort, and time students dedicate to a course. They also provide a clear indication of an instructor’s ability to teach the information clearly. While it is true that the transition to college can be tough for young adult college students, I believe that we should not coddle them with overly simplistic grading systems. Instead, we should provide them with the support and resources they need to succeed.

One of the main issues with the pilot program is that it fails to address the root causes of student stress and anxiety. Gen Z college students are a particularly fascinating demographic because they are ‘digital natives,’ experienced the disruption of their learning and education during their formative years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have consistently reported more mental health problems than previous generations. These data indicate that Gen Z is struggling in ways we never expected.

The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic still reverberate through the psyches of Gen Z. Their experience with loneliness, their yearning for social connection, and their preoccupation with their own mental health may be doing more harm than good. Their lightning-fast access to information allows them to mindlessly go down a rabbit hole where they spend hours and hours wondering whether their academic challenges are the result of ADHD, autism, or dyslexia, when in fact it could be lack of motivation.

As the director of a psychology assessment clinic, my job is to disentangle the complex concerns clients (many of whom are students) articulate and make sense of the challenges that they face on a day-to-day basis. In most instances, our clients’ concerns do indeed result in diagnoses, but there are several instances when clients do not meet diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. In those cases, we sensitively explain to them that the stressors and concerns that they are facing are indeed valid, but that not every adverse situation or maladaptive response is attributed to a DSM-5 diagnosis.

Sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom warns that the psychologicalization of everyday stressors or setbacks does more harm than good. Moreover, it is difficult to keep pace with the perpetual ‘moment of rapid change in how people identify themselves and how many people feel empowered to identify and sort themselves,’ explains Cottom. Colleges and universities are likely struggling to figure out the best way to address these issues; however, the pilot program just isn’t the solution.

I am optimistic for the incoming freshmen at the University of Michigan. The University of Michigan is a highly competitive school with a 16 percent acceptance rate for undergraduates. Accepted applicants tend to have high averages—about a 3.8 GPA and SAT scores of 1389. These are compelling statistics that depict a highly capable student body. During their four years of college, I hope these students embrace the enthusiasm and even lean into the uncertainty of their first year. I hope that they aren’t afraid to make mistakes as long as they learn from them. Sometimes the best ideas are born from mistakes and even catastrophes. I also hope that they give themselves and each other grace.