Credit/No Credit


Important Information about Credit/No Credit

It is the student's responsibility to understand and abide by these rules. Please make sure that you meet all the requirements as this may lead to your request not being processed. 

  1. You must be in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or the School of the Arts to elect CR/ NC through the College's workflow process.
  2. You can elect only one class per semester as CR/NC. We will process your request in the order submitted (decided by the date you signed it) unless you officially void your first request by completing the rescind form. You may then go online to elect another course if you wish. All of this has to be done before the CR/NC deadline.
  3. You must earn a grade of “A,” “B,” or “C” in order to receive Credit. A grade of “C-” will count as CR for those who use the +/- grading option. A grade of “D” or “F” is considered No Credit. This is not a pass/fail option. A grade of “D” is passing but you will not pass with a “D” if you choose the CR/NC option.
  4. The course you select for CR/NC cannot be in your major or minor. If you are unsure you should check with your major or minor department/advisor.
  5. If you are enrolled in 12 hours and you take a class for CR/NC you will not be eligible for the Dean’s Honor Roll (qualifications for Honor Roll are 3.5 in 12 or more graded hours).
  6. You must be enrolled in the course you plan to elect for CR/NC during the allotted CR/NC period posted by the University. If you are not enrolled during that time, we will not process the form. In the event that you add the course at a later date, you will not receive CR/NC for that course.
  7. If you plan to apply to another KU school, you will need to check with their admissions office to see if they will accept courses taken for CR/NC. The School of Education and the School of Business will not accept a grade of CR/NC for certain classes. The School of Pharmacy counts a grade of CR as a C. Please contact the schools that you may be interested in for the future.
  8. PRE-LAW STUDENTS – Please check with the admissions office of the law school you plan to apply to if you have questions.
  9. PRE-GRADUATE/PRE-PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS - Students planning to attend graduate or professional schools should check with their admissions offices to see how they interpret grades of credit or no credit.
  10. PRE-MEDICAL PROFESSION STUDENTS - If you apply to medical schools, CR/NC grades do not affect the GPA's calculated by medical school application services. However, most medical schools recommend or require that core entry requirements, usually including biology, English, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and mathematics, be taken for letter grades, not CR/NC.
  11. CR/NC CANNOT BE CHANGED AFTER THE CR/NC PERIOD. This means that you cannot elect CR/NC before or after the University posted time period nor can you change a course that has been selected CR/NC after the University posted time period.
  12. If you want to void your selection of CR/NC, you must request this by completing the rescind form before the end of the University posted CR/NC period applicable to the course.
  13. If you are in a discussion or lab that is separate from the lecture (e.g.. BIOL 100 is separate from BIOL 102), you will NOT be able to take both credit/no credit.

Pandemic Rules and Deadlines

Effective Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Summer 2021

  1. One or more (up to all) courses can be taken as Credit/ No Credit
  2. Credit/ No Credit opted courses may be in student’s CLAS major(s) or CLAS minor(s)

Spring 2020 classes

• Graduating spring 2020 - May 29, 2020 deadline

• Graduating summer 2020 - July 31, 2020 deadline

• All other students - December 18, 2020 deadline



Summer 2020 classes

• June 22, 2020 - deadline was not extended



Fall 2020 classes

• Graduating fall 2020 - January 8, 2021 deadline

• All other students - April 30, 2021 deadline



Spring 2021 classes

• Graduating spring 2021 - June 4, 2021 deadline

• Graduating summer 2021 - August 13, 2021 deadline

• All other students - December 3, 2021 deadline



Summer 2021 classes

• Graduating summer 2021 - August 13, 2021 deadline

• All other students - deadline of December 3, 2021

Effective Prior to Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022 and going forward:

  1. Only one course per semester can be taken as Credit/ No Credit
  2. Credit/ No Credit opted courses cannot be within student’s CLAS major(s) or CLAS minor(s)
  3. Credit/ No Credit requests (apply or rescind) can only be made within the posted Credit/ No Credit window (see Registrar’s Academic Calendar)

Credit/No Credit Policy Statement

2.2.8 A student may elect to be graded on a scale of CR (credit) or NC (no credit) instead of on a scale of A, B, C, D, or F as provided below.

2.2.8.1 Students seeking the credit/no credit option in a semester-long course must register their choice in their dean's office during the 21st through the 30th instructional days of the semester. In all eight-week courses, including summer session, students must choose credit/no credit during the 11th through the 15th instructional day of class. In courses of other duration, students must choose credit/no credit during the week that 40 percent of the class sessions have been completed. In courses shorter than one week, students must choose credit/no credit before the first class session. After the deadline, students may not alter their choices. 

2.2.8.2 A student may use the credit/no credit option for at most one course per semester.

2.2.8.3 For undergraduate students, the grade of CR (credit) will be received for grades of C- and above, and the grade of NC (no credit) will be received for grades of D+ and below. For graduate students, the grade of CR will be received for grades of C and above, and the grade of NC (no credit) will be received for grades of C- and below. [To be implemented Spring 2012]

2.2.8.4 The instructor will not be informed when a student has chosen this option, and will assign a conventional letter grade, which will then be converted by the University Registrar to CR or NC as appropriate.

2.2.8.5 Courses graded CR or NC will not count in computing grade point average. Courses graded CR will be included in the total hours counted toward graduation; courses graded NC will not count as hours earned.

2.2.8.6 No course graded CR or NC can count toward the satisfaction of the requirements for an undergraduate major or toward the satisfaction of the requirements for a graduate degree or a graduate certificate, except in the School of Law. Courses graded CR or NC may be taken in a student’s undergraduate major or in a student’s graduate program if the student does not need to count them toward the satisfaction of requirements. [To be implemented Spring 2012.]

2.2.8.7 The College, schools, departments, programs, and other academic units may establish degree requirements, major requirements, minor requirements, certificate requirements or other academic requirements requiring that the CR/NC grading option not be chosen for most or all of a student’s courses. [To be implemented Spring 2012]

Reference: U.S.R.R - 2.2.8