@momo2x2018 not sure about this particular class or prof but it sounds like he/she doesn’t like the pass/fail option. Either that or the median is 95%!
I thought the P/F could be figured out in week 9. If it’s a Core class, why would anyone drop? That could be a very problematic action if the course is part of a sequence, for instance.
UChicago is doing things a bit differently than most other schools. The P/F option is clearly designed for those who have “compelling reasons” to make such a request (per the letter). The request for the Core course has to be made to the Office of the Dean of Students, not the prof. Now, I’m guessing that Jay Ellison will be very understanding; however, we can be confident that at least some students would want to use P/F opportunistically in order to slide by on reduced effort - especially in courses that they feel they “have” to take. It’s naive to think otherwise. There are parents on other threads actively discussing the opportunity for their kids to do P/F in order to maximize their GPA for med school! Hardship vs. Med-school: That is the full spectrum of P/F cases this quarter. Such is the way of the world. Anyway, that’s very likely why UChicago put such a high bar on the P/F request for Core and leaves it up to the Dean of Students to figure out. If it’s truly a “compelling” case, no student will fail to submit. If it’s not, then hopefully no student is lacking in common sense.
It’s possible that the prof wants to save some students the pain of being turned down or simply wants the class to have the same motivation that they’ve always had. Grades are highly correlated with grasping the content and making salient points during discussion, etc.