New credit/No credit option for graduate students Spring 2020
March 31, 2020
Dear Brandeis Graduate Students,
I want to acknowledge again the significant disruption to your Brandeis experience with the rapid move from in-person to online teaching along with the closure of the library and research labs in the past weeks. The Deans of the graduate schools in Arts and Sciences, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, and the International Business School have made a set of recommendations to introduce flexibility and options for graduate students in their schools with respect to grades for Spring 2020. After review and approval by the Committee on Academic Standards and Policies the following new policies will be put into effect for this semester in response to the COVID-19 disruption:
Graduate students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Ph.D. students in the International Business School may elect to cover any number of grades from Spring 2020 that are a B- or higher with a CR once they have seen their grade in a particular course: CR would cover B- or higher and NC for anything lower. If a GSAS student elects to take the CR/NC option for a required course, we strongly encourage programs in GSAS to allow the course with a CR grade to satisfy the program requirements.
Masters students in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and the International Business School may elect to cover any number of grades from Spring 2020 that are a C+ or higher with a CR once they have seen their grade in a particular course: CR would cover C+ or higher and NC for anything lower. Spring 2020 C+ or CR grades will not count toward the maximum number of C+ grades during their particular program and will be accepted for credit. CR or C+ grades for Spring 2020 will be allowed to fulfill any program or concentration requirement and will be allowed to double count for requirements as a regularly graded course would. Consistent with current policy, grades below a “C+” will be considered as unsatisfactory and will not be counted as credit for degree requirements.
The deadlines for covering a Spring 2020 grade with a CR are May 13th for graduating students; August 21st for students graduating in August; and October 15th for all other graduate students. Once a Spring 2020 grade has been posted, students may email registrar@brandeis.edu to request the grade be covered with a CR or NC.
These policy changes for Brandeis graduate students are effective for Spring semester 2020 only. Please contact your Dean and faculty within your school for further details and questions you may have about these new policies.
As we each struggle to find some equilibrium in this unprecedented time I urge you to continue to virtually connect with your classmates and faculty both in your online-classes and “outside.” As we enter another week of social distancing, with more weeks likely to come, it is more important than ever to find new ways to connect and support each other.
All the very best,
Lisa
Lisa M. Lynch, Provost