Grades Policy Fall 2020

Dear Students,

Over the course of the past several weeks, we have received requests for a change to the Fall 2020 grading policy from the Undergraduate Student Government as well as from individual students. After extensive deliberations that involved consultation with the college deans, the UIC senate, and many faculty, we are making a change to the undergraduate grading policy for courses taken in Fall 2020.

The new policy, which is detailed below, converts all grades of “D” to “Credit,” and all grades of “F” to “No Credit.”

We believe that this policy protects students who are concerned that a very low grade will harm their grade point average, while at the same time retaining the general grading policy on which students have relied all semester.

Further details about the effect of this policy on specific issues, such as the effect of a grade of ‘Credit’ on issues of progression in foreign languages and quantitative reasoning, as well as licensure requirements for some degree programs, will be provided by individual colleges and programs as necessary.

This policy applies to all undergraduate courses and to undergraduates taking graduate courses. Please read through the policy below very carefully and direct follow-up questions to your advisor.

Undergraduate Grading Policy Modification for Fall 2020 Courses

1. Grading Modifications for undergraduate students for Fall 2020
   • Instructors will report a letter grade for every student in their courses as usual.
   • All grades of A, B, and C will be recorded on transcripts as usual.
   • All grades of D will automatically be recorded on the student’s transcript as Credit (CR), and all grades of F will be recorded as No Credit (NC).  In other words, no student will receive a D or F on their transcript for Fall 2020.
   • A grade of CR can be used to satisfy General Education requirements. 
   • Grades of CR and NC are not included in the student’s GPA calculation.
   • The courses with CR/NC grades that were converted from D/F as a result of this special policy will not count toward the number of courses or credit hours students can earn under the CR/NC option in one term or in total.
2. Courses with Prerequisites
   • Fall 2020 courses that require a C grade or higher in order to serve as a prerequisite for another course will not fulfill the prerequisite with the grade of CR. 
3. Financial Aid Implications
   • Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will still be assessed at the end of Spring 2021 semester for all enrolled students.
   • CR/NC courses will not count in the student’s cumulative GPA for SAP purpose
     • Students must still maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA after 60 attempted credits.
   • Courses recorded as NC will count as an attempted/not completed course in a student’s overall completion rate and maximum time frame calculation.
     • Students must maintain an overall completion rate of 67% to remain financial aid eligible.
     • Students must not have exceeded 180 attempted credits to remain financial aid eligible.
     • Students failing SAP at the end of Spring 2021 semester can still appeal the decision after cancellation occurs.

Susan Poser
Provost