The COVID-19 Flexible Grading Policy was designed to provide students with maximum flexibility during the ongoing and challenging transition of all courses to distance learning.
For some, the Credit/No Credit policy can seem complicated, so we thought we would highlight key takeaways of the policy:
1. The CR/NC option is available to ALL Undergraduate and Graduate students for ALL CUNY courses; no student may be denied the option of a CR/NC grade in any course.
2. The CR/NC grades have no impact on the GPA.
3. A faculty member does not award a CR/NC grade to the student.
4. CR/NC is a choice students make in CUNYfirst after they have seen the letter grades that they have earned.
5. Students have up to 20 business days after the University’s final grade submission deadline.
6. No student with a CR grade in a course will be prevented from taking a subsequent course (even those that require a minimum grade to advance).
7. Letter grades of A, B, C, D qualify for conversion to CR and credit is awarded.
8. The letter grade of F qualifies for conversion to NC and no credit is awarded.
9. The WU grade (unofficial withdrawal) DOES NOT qualify for conversion to NC. Therefore, for the Spring 2020 semester only, the F grade might be the more compassionate option.
10. There are three grading options for students to consider if they are NOT doing well in a course:
a. The W – a withdrawal from the course by the appropriate deadline (which may have financial aid implications).
b. The INC – a contract with the faculty, initiated by the student, to complete course requirements by the Fall 2020.
c. The CR/NC option.
11. Faculty advising are strongly recommended to advise students on the implications of selecting a CR/NC option.
For further explanation, here are a few scenarios to explain the impact of the Flexible Grading Policy:
1. If a student receives an F grade, the student can opt into the CR/NC policy. The F grade can be converted to NC, with no impact on GPA. In fact, the assignment of CR/NC on grades A through F does not have any GPA impact whatsoever.
2. If a student has missed the final exam, or a few assignments, and was earning a passing letter grade, you may consider giving the student an INC for the course. The student will have one more semester to complete the required work.
3. If a student receives a WU grade, this grade has the same weight on the GPA as an F, but cannot be converted to NC. The student could potentially appeal this WU grade through the process set out by the Course and Standing Committee. The process for the student is as follows: The student would be required to visit the Registrar for verification, gather signatures on the appeal form, provide documentation supporting the appeal, and a letter requesting the change of the grade from WU to W. The appeal package is then reviewed by the committee, which approves or denies the appeal.
We must consider compassionate grading for all students, as their successful completion of the semester and their subsequent progression is our priority. We ask that you are especially mindful of the impact of your grading this term.
By the Faculty Senate Committee on Course and Standing
