University announces credit/no credit option for students


corona-on-campus-march-20-10

Cincinnati freshman Johnny Evers Smith eats his lunch March 20 in the Health Professions Building. 

Students will now have the option to opt for Credit/No Credit classes, according to an email from the Office of the Provost.

"This option is available to you on a course by course basis. This means that you can choose to change one, none, all or any combination of your current courses to Credit/No Credit," said Provost Mary Schutten.

In addition, students can withdraw from one or more of your courses through May 20, 2020. This decision comes amid growing coronavirus confirmed cases in the state of Michigan. Because of the coronavirus, all classes for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester have been moved online. 

A petition was made an anonymous student in response to the university's extension of online-only classes until Monday, April 6, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Michigan. The petition was updated on March 17 to address concerns students had about falling GPAs. As of March 24, the petition had over 7,500 signatures. 

CMU intends to release additional academic support to students by developing a pilot advising and grade policy.

"What the provost and her team have done is put forth a great safety net that protects students while they’re going through this shift," President Bob Davies said at the March 24 Academic Senate meeting. "At the same time (Credit/No Credit) provides the opportunity for students to be rewarded for their hard work in the circumstances."

Here are the directions CMU provided to convert to credit/no credit classes: 

How to sign up for Credit/No Credit 

  • Any undergraduate student may choose to take a spring 2020 course Credit/No Credit (CR/NC).
  • Your instructor is not notified when a course is taken Credit/No Credit and will assign the appropriate letter grade at the end of the course. The grade is automatically converted to credit or no credit, according to the following guidelines:
    • You must earn a grade of ‘C’ (not C-) or better in the course to receive credit. The course will appear on your transcript with a grade of “CR”.
    • A grade of “NC” will be assigned for any grade below a “C”, which indicates that no credit has been earned for the course and will not count toward your degree requirements.
    • The grades of CR or NC have no effect on your grade point average.
    • This semester, courses taken CR/NC will not count towards the 25-credit hour maximum that can be applied to a degree or the maximum of seven (7) credit hours that can be applied to University Program requirements.

    You are strongly encouraged to talk to an academic advisor to fully understand how choosing the Credit/No Credit option may affect you. The following outcomes may vary from student to student.

  • Courses taken for “Credit” will count toward a degree when a grade of ‘C’ or better is earned but will not be used to calculate your cumulative grade point average (GPA). Professors have been asked to be ready to tell you your estimated grade by April 25.
  • Grades in Credit/No Credit courses can impact your satisfactory academic progress standing for federal financial aid.
  • If you are repeating a class this semester, and you switch that course to Credit/No Credit, the letter grade you previously earned will not be used in your GPA.
  • If you are uncertain how Credit/No Credit courses would impact certification or licensure programs, please connect with your academic advisor.
  • If you are uncertain if you should change a course to Credit/No Credit, please connect with your academic advisor to help you make that determination.

If you have any questions about financial aid, including satisfactory academic progress, you should contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) at 989-774-3674 or at financialaid@cmich.edu. You can also visit the OSFA website.

In order to take a course Credit/No Credit, please follow the directions below:

  1. Visit the Records & Registration page on the Registrar’s website.
  2. Complete the “Credit/No Credit Form” under “Academic Forms.”
  3. Submit the form via email to records@cmich.edu.

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