Summer 2020 NRO Policy

(See also the summer 2020 NRO Policy Changes chart.)

Eligibility - students

• Available to all students who are enrolled and taking courses summer term 2020.

Description

• Students may elect to receive an NR in up to three NR-eligible regularly graded courses summer term 2020. The letter grade submitted by the faculty member will not be shown on transcripts or included in the calculation of their grade point averages.
• Students may either indicate that they wish to receive an NR regardless of what grade the instructor assigns or indicate the lowest grade they wish to display on their transcript.

Grades and GPA

• A regular letter grade is assigned by the instructor and recorded internally.
• If a student receives an NR:
  • The letter grade submitted by the instructor, while not used in computing any recorded grade average, is available for internal use (e.g., in connection with the limit on the number of D’s allowable).
  • A ‘non-recorded’ D will be counted toward the maximum of eight D’s allowable in the minimum course count for the degree
    • It will make the student liable for academic action by the Committee on Standards.
    • An E grade is recorded, and it is averaged normally.

Eligibility – courses

• Various departments and programs, or instructors, believe certain courses are unsuitable for use of the option.  They are considered “out of bounds”.
  • A list of courses that are “out of bounds” is maintained and published by the Registrar on the Timetable of Class Meetings each term.
  • In addition to the individual “out of bounds” courses, students may not use the NR option on any:
    • First-Year Seminars
    • Courses studied off-campus
    • Beginning language courses (taken in satisfaction of the Language Requirement or prior thereto)
    • Graduate courses

Restrictions - faculty

• Departments and programs may not make any change to or from the out-of-bounds status for their course(s) following the publication of the Timetable for a given term.
• Departments and Programs may not grant an exemption from the out-of-bounds status to an individual student.
• Instructors assign a regular letter grade.
  • Instructors are not informed which members of the class have elected the option.
  • Instructors may, however, know how many students elected the option.

Restrictions – students

• NR grades awarded summer term 2020 that result in a standing of ‘Non-Recorded’ (NR) are not counted in the maximum of three uses of the option over the student’s career.
• After the fifteen-day deadline to elect an NRO, the student may neither change the choice of course under NRO nor drop the use of the option unless they officially drop the course from their record.
• A course that receives NR is included in the student’s sum of credits toward graduation.
• Summer 2020 an NR may serve to satisfy:
  • Distributive requirements
  • The World Culture requirement
  • Major requirements, if approved by the relevant department/program
  • Prerequisite courses to the major
  • At most one course in the minor, including prerequisite courses.
  • Uses of the option resulting in the standing of NR or grade of E (up to the maximum of three) taken summer 2020 are not included in the total of eight courses that may be taken Credit/No Credit or under the Non-Recording Option.
  • Students should note the crucial NRO dates published on the term calendar for selecting the option, changing the course chosen, withdrawing from the election of the option, and for altering the choice of grade.
    • The Registrar does not grant extensions of either deadline for any but the most extenuating and compelling circumstances.
    • Should a student withdraw from the course selected for NRO after the end of the initial fifteen days, they do not use the eligibility associated with the designated course but are not able to make use of NRO in that term.
    • Students sometimes desire the release of the concealed letter grade, e.g., for use in a major, for general education credit, or for admission to a graduate school for example. Such requests are not considered.

Procedure

• Within the first fifteen days (usually eleven class days) of a term a student may indicate use of the Non-Recording Option in up to three courses summer term 2020.
• The student indicates the lowest letter grade they are willing to have recorded and used in averaging for each course.
• The student may also, instead of a letter grade, indicate the intention to have a final standing in each course of NR (Non-Recorded).
• At any time after this initial period, but not later than five class days before the last day of classes for the term, a student may revise the choice of lowest acceptable grade or of NR.

Outcomes

• There are three possible outcomes for a course under the option:
  • If the grade assigned by the instructor matches or surpasses the student’s final choice, it is entered and serves in all respects as a regular letter grade.
  • If the grade is not an “E” but otherwise lower than the student’s final selection, or the student chose to receive an NR, the entry on the student’s permanent record and on transcripts is NR.
    • The standing of NR is permanent: requests to revoke it and reveal the letter grade originally assigned by the instructor must be refused.
    • Should the assigned letter grade be E, this grade is recorded and averaged in the normal fashion no matter whether the student chose a grade or NR. The student receives no course credit.