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Credit/No Credit Grade Option

Opting in for Credit / No Credit Grades for Spring 2020

Opt-In Process begins May 13

At the end of the Spring semester 2020, University of Memphis students will have a choice of opting-in to receive grades of Credit (CR), CR* for undergraduate students or No-Credit (NC), or retaining the letter grades they have earned.

  • Faculty will enter letter grades on the regularly scheduled date.
  • Opting-in is optional and will be the student’s decision after considering all factors carefully.
  • The choice of the grading type (letter grades or CR/CR*/NC) will apply to ALL courses this semester (i.e. not individual courses).
  • TN eCampus courses are included in this process and grades will be converted should a student opt-in.
  • Undergraduate students may choose to keep their earned letter grades or choose the credit/no credit option below:
      • CR (A through C-)
      • CR* (D+ or D)
      • NC (F)
  • Graduate students may choose to keep their earned letter grades or choose the credit/no credit option below:
      • CR (A through B-)
      • NC (C+ through F)
  • The CR/CR*/NC does not change your overall GPA from the previous semester but does award hours earned (no hours awarded for NC).
  • Students on academic warning or probation will be given a “hold harmless” semester with the CR/CR*/NC grades.
  • Academic scholarships and the HOPE scholarship will not be harmed by the CR/CR*/NC grades. Satisfactory Academic Progress students should consult the Financial Aid Office. https://www.memphis.edu/financialaid/covid19faq.php 
  • Students should consult with their academic advisor and the Financial Aid Office to understand the best option.
  • The dates where students can opt in will be from May 13 to May 19. The opt-in form will be available in the myMemphis portal and at https://umwa.memphis.edu/forms/index.php/grade_select on May 13.
  • The Registrar’s Office will post an opt-in form for submission during that period.
  • The grades of CR/CR*/NC will not be reversed or changed later.

Things to consider before choosing to opt-in for Credit/No Credit Grades:

Graduation: Students who are planning to graduate this summer or fall need to recognize that a CR/CR*/NC option will not raise or lower their GPA. Students using the C/NC option will need to have entered the graduation semester with the required graduation GPA. Depending on the results, the letter grade option may raise the GPA.

Improving GPA/Course Repeats: A CR/CR* grade will not improve a GPA, and a NC will not hurt a GPA. In the case of a repeat, the CR grade will remove the impact of the original grade on the GPA. (It is advisable to discuss with Financial Aid how CR/NC and repeats work with scholarships such as Hope, Lottery, and other aid programs.)

Academic Standing: Students who are on academic warning or probation should consult with their CARES advisor. Go to Academic Standing

Financial Aid & Scholarships.  The Student Financial Aid & Scholarship Offices have contacted students who may be impacted by the CR/NC option and will provide additional guidance once final grades have posted. If you have additional questions, send an email to financialaid@memphis.edu or scholarships@memphis.edu.

Helpful information regarding Financial Aid and Covid-19 can be found at https://www.memphis.edu/financialaid/covid19faq.php

The Financial Aid website is https://www.memphis.edu/financialaid/. The Scholarships Office website is https://www.memphis.edu/scholarships/.

Graduate School, Professional Schools, and Law School: Students who plan to apply for these programs should contact the Admissions Offices of these programs in order to determine what impact CR/NC grading will have for their admissions application prior to the decision. Since almost all schools will be adopting credit/no credit or pass/fail policies this semester, we do not anticipate that taking advantage of the CR/NC option will normally have any impact on admission decisions.

Athletes: Athletes should contact Fernandez West for up-to-date information on NCAA requirements and grading.

The Process: 

  • Instructors will enter standard grades during the regular grading window (May 1-May 11).
  • The Registrar’s Office will lock grades (“roll to academic history”) at the regular scheduled time.
  • A message will go out to students to review their grades in Banner.
  • Students can opt-in to CR/CR*/NC by coming to this website and completing an electronic form. (The opt-in form will be available in the myMemphis portal and at https://umwa.memphis.edu/forms/index.php/grade_select on May 13.)
  • Opt-in window closes May 19.
  • Grades will be converted to CR/CR*/NC by the Registrar’s Office for those who opted-in.
  • Academic standing will be posted based on GPA (based on letter grades or CR/CR*/NC grades).

Grades will be posted on or before May 13, and students may opt into the CR/NC process at that time.

April 1 Email Communication

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students:

In response to our changing circumstances, the University of Memphis will be offering all students a credit/no credit grading system for this semester. Academic work with graded tests and other assignments will proceed within the parameters of remote instruction and flexibility. Grades will be submitted in the same way and on the same dates as originally planned (see schedule for grades); however, students will have a choice between taking grades in all of their classes or opting for the credit/no credit system.

This system is intended as a unique response to the unprecedented and unforeseeable events causing our transition to online classes. Students will have the option of leaving their semester grades as posted. However, students will also have the option of notifying the Registrar that they would prefer to have all grades for this semester converted to credit/no credit grades. The grade of credit will earn the same credit hours as letter grades, but will not be factored in the student’s GPA. Grades of “no credit” will not earn credit hours, but will also not be factored into a student’s GPA (i.e. be the equivalent of a W grade). Students should consult with their academic advisors to understand how any grade conversions may affect their academic progress.

Additional details will be posted on this site as they become available.

We will be returning to our regular grading scale for all classes this summer and fall.

Regards,

Dr. Tom Nenon
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost