This is an article that draws on the institutional work literature about provisional institutions. To date, nearly every U.S. sector has been impacted by COVID-19. To sustain their core missions, highly institutionalized organizations such as universities have had to rethink foundational structures and policies. Using a historical ethnographic approach to investigate records from faculty senate deliberations at “Rural State University” (RSU), the authors examine the implementation of a temporary grading policy to supplement traditional, qualitative grades spring 2020 during the outbreak. The authors find that RSU implemented a temporary, supplemental grading policy as a provisional institution to momentarily supersede traditional grading as a means to—as soon as possible—return to it. This finding contrasts with the common understanding that provisional institutions operate primarily as a temporary solution to a social problem that leads to more stable and enduring, ostensibly nonprovisional institutions. The temporary grading policy, the authors argue, constitutes a “late-stage” provisional institution and, with this new lens, subsequently characterize the more commonplace understanding of provisional institutions as “early-stage.” This contribution has theoretical implications for studies of institutions and empirical implications for research on shared governance and disruption in higher education.

这是一篇借鉴有关临时机构的机构工作文献的文章。迄今为止，几乎每个美国部门都受到 COVID-19 的影响。为了维持其核心使命，大学等高度制度化的组织不得不重新思考基础结构和政策。作者使用历史人种学方法调查了“农村州立大学”（RSU）教职工参议院审议记录，研究了临时评分政策的实施情况，以补充 2020 年春季爆发期间的传统定性评分。作者发现 RSU 作为临时机构实施了一项临时的、补充的评分政策，以暂时取代传统评分，作为尽快回归传统评分的一种手段。这一发现与普遍的理解形成对比，即临时制度主要是作为社会问题的临时解决方案，导致更稳定和持久的，表面上是非临时制度。作者认为，临时分级政策构成了“后期”的临时制度，并且在这种新视角下，随后将对临时制度的更普遍理解描述为“早期”。这一贡献对制度研究具有理论意义，对高等教育中的共享治理和中断研究具有实证意义。构成了一个“后期”临时制度，并以这种新的视角，随后将临时制度的更普遍的理解描述为“早期”。这一贡献对制度研究具有理论意义，对高等教育中的共享治理和中断研究具有实证意义。构成了一个“后期”临时制度，并以这种新的视角，随后将临时制度的更普遍的理解描述为“早期”。这一贡献对制度研究具有理论意义，对高等教育中的共享治理和中断研究具有实证意义。