Pass by catastrophe
Urban legend of automatic passing grades after a catastrophe.
Pass by catastrophe is an academic urban legend that claims students automatically receive passing grades if a catastrophic event occurs during their studies, on the grounds that fair assessment becomes impossible and they should not be penalized. The legend is notable for its persistence despite a lack of evidence supporting any such blanket policy at any institution.
Quick Facts
- First documented appearance
- mid-1970s
- Investigator
- Jan Harold Brunvand
- Investigator's book
- Curses! Broiled Again!
- Sociologist
- William S. Fox
- Fact-checking website
- Snopes
Facts from the source article.
Examples of the legend
The urban legend known as "pass by catastrophe" includes several variations. One claims that if a student dies during an exam, everyone else in the room automatically passes. Another says a natural disaster during a test has the same effect. If a university is destroyed by fire or other means, all enrolled students are said to immediately graduate with a bachelor's degree. A different version states that a student hit by a campus shuttle bus receives free tuition. The most common story is that a student whose roommate commits suicide will get straight As for that semester. This version inspired the films Dead Man on Campus and The Curve, along with episodes of several TV shows. Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand looked into the roommate suicide claim and found no college or university with such a rule. Sociologist William S. Fox studied this legend and its variants, including one where any roommate death applies, and also concluded it is baseless. Snopes classifies the story as false, noting the rumor seems to have started in the mid-1970s.
In practice
Contrary to the popular myth of a blanket rule, many schools and jurisdictions instead offer individual accommodations for students facing hardship. In the United Kingdom, the Joint Council for Qualifications permits candidates to request a score adjustment of up to 5% if they have already met all exam qualifications but suffered from temporary illness, injury, or another indisposition at the time of assessment. If a qualified candidate dies before finishing the exam, an honorary certificate may be requested, though it carries no academic weight. In Victoria, Australia, students take the General Achievement Test (GAT) mid-year. If a later event harms their performance on final exams, their final results are calculated from their coursework and GAT scores. On November 12, 2019, a police raid severely damaged the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The university responded by ending the semester two weeks early, allowing all students to move to the next semester with online classes and arranging alternative evaluation for the shortened term. Starting December 31, 2019, students in the United States and Canada began advocating for pass-by-catastrophe measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, many universities and pre-secondary schools switched to a pass/fail grading system instead of letter grades. On December 14, 2025, the day after the 2025 Brown University shooting, Brown canceled most in-person final exams. Students were given the option to be graded solely on coursework submitted before the shooting, to choose a satisfactory/no credit (pass/fail) grade, or to complete projects, take-home exams, or final papers by January 7, 2026, for either a letter grade or the revised S/NC option.
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