When colleges and universities quickly moved their classes online last March, many faculty members gave students the option of pass/fail (P/F) grading. Usually P/F implies a student must reach the minimum passing grade of D to be awarded a P. This brings up the question of what passing a course with a D means. How much of the course material did the student actually master? Will they be prepared for future classes in the same discipline? Was the passing level the decision of a single faculty member or did a department agree on what all students must master in that particular course to assure continuity in progress through the discipline? Typically, this is a single faculty member's decision. But is that really in the best interest of students? A better practice for students' academic development is to have all faculty members who act as instructors of a specific course and who understand how the course fits into the larger curriculum agree on the minimum level of mastery required to pass the course. They should also agree on how to assess their students. There are lessons from competency-based education (CBE) programs and institutions regarding the management and meaning of pass/no pass "grading" that can be of value to students. These include the need for clear, explicit definitions of skills and knowledge and valid and reliable assessments developed collectively by faculty and used for timely feedback.