What you need to know about Credit/No Credit

The online tool for choosing the Credit/No Credit grading option will be available to students beginning Wednesday, May 13. Learn how it will work.

From BU Today on May 8, 2020

The online tool for choosing the Credit/No Credit grading option will be available to students beginning Wednesday, May 13, but online guidance for making the decision is available now.

The University announced in early April that it would adopt a special grading policy for the 2020 spring semester because of the “disruptive, stressful, and unconventional way” the semester has unfolded in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. With most students remaining at home after spring break, and classes held remotely, BU is offering all undergraduates and most graduate students a Credit/No Credit option that will not affect their grade point average. Students will be able to choose between keeping their letter grade in each class and the Credit/No Credit option. The policy applies to this semester only.

Graduating students will be able to make their choices online between May 13 and 19, while students not graduating will have from May 13 to June 30 to decide.

The selection tool will be built into the grading display on the Student Link. It will offer a list of eligible classes, the letter grade received in each, and the student’s current selection. It will also show whether a Credit or No Credit grade would result. A sample screenshot of the tool is included on the guidance page.

Screenshot from Boston University Student Link. A table shows four courses, and how you can request credit or no credit for certain classes. The example shows an original B grade that someone then switched to the “Credit” opt.
Students may change their choice for each course from letter grade to Credit/No Credit and back again several times. Whatever choice is in place at the time the selection period closes will be final.

For undergraduate courses, any grade of D or above will translate into a Credit designation if the student chooses the Credit/No Credit option. Your original letter grade will not show on your transcript if you select Credit/No Credit.

The three schools with unique constraints—the Goldman School of Dental Medicine, the School of Law, and the School of Medicine—offer grading policies that are specific to their schools. Other graduate programs have developed their own minimum grade requirements for credit.

The Credit/No Credit policy does not apply to courses that are already graded as Pass/Fail, which will continue to be graded that way. A short list of other exceptions is on the guidance page for students.

Grading choices in a small number of courses may be sent for review because they serve multiple student populations that have different grading rules. If a course selected to be Credit/No Credit is on the list to be reviewed, students will see a pop-up message indicating that. Students will be emailed when a decision is made on their request.

The guidance page also includes information for faculty, advisors, and others who work with students around graduation. Faculty must still submit their letter grades by May 12.

The grading tool was created by Information Services & Technology staff working with staff from Enrollment and Student Administration.