Spring 2020 Academic Policies in Response to COVID-19

Information About Changes to Brandeis Academics and Operations Due to Coronavirus/COVID-19

Special Grading Options for Students

Pass/Fail Option for Undergraduates

The regular restrictions that apply to the use of Pass/Fail for undergraduates have been suspended for spring 2020 classes.

• Students may elect to cover any number of grades from Spring 2020 that are a C- or higher with a P grade.
• Spring 2020 P grades will not count against the 4 Pass/Fail elections undergraduates are allowed in their career.
• P grades for Spring 2020 will be allowed to fulfill any major, minor or general university requirement, and will be allowed to double count for requirements as a regularly graded course would.
• Consistent with our current Pass/Fail policy, P grades do not factor into a student's GPA.  For the spring 2020 semester, grades of "D" and "E" will remain as letter grades but will not be factored into a student's GPA.  

The regular deadlines for covering a Spring 2020 grade with a P still apply: May 18, 2020 for graduating seniors; August 21st for students graduating in August; October 15, 2020 for all other undergraduates. Once a Spring 2020 grade has posted, students may email passfail@brandeis.edu to request the grade be covered with a P.

If You are an Undergraduate Student

After your final grades post and before the published deadline, email passfail@brandeis.edu with the list of courses from the spring that you wish to convert to a P grade. For the spring term, all courses on your class schedule that receive a letter grade are eligible. 

Credit/No Credit Grading Option for Graduate Students

These policy changes for Brandeis graduate students are effective for Spring semester 2020 only.

• 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 deadline for covering a Spring 2020 grade with a CR are May 18th 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.

If You are a Graduate Student

After your final grades post and before the published deadline, email registrar@brandeis.edu with the list of courses from the spring that you wish to convert to a CR/NC grade. For the spring term, all courses on your class schedule that receive a letter grade are eligible. 

Last Date to Drop a Course

The last day to drop a course with a W (undergraduates) and the last day to drop a course or change to an audit (graduate students) is April 13.

Special Grading Options for Instructors

Credit/No Credit Grading for an Entire Undergraduate Class

Instructors, with the approval of their department Chair, may request to grade all students in a class on the "credit/no credit" basis. Such a change applies to all students in the class and must be made before April 20.  Requests can only be made for classes numbered 1-199 and should be forwarded to the University Registrar.

• A credit grade is considered the equivalent to a C- or better for undergraduates, and a B- or better for graduate students.
• A credit grade will still be allowed to fulfill any major, minor or general university requirement, and will be allowed to double count for requirements as a regularly graded course would.
• Credit/No credit grades do not factor into a student's GPA.

Changes to the Spring 2020 Academic Calendar

• No classes will be held Monday, March 23 through Wednesday, March 25
• Passover break will start at noon, Wednesday April 8 through April 10 (and will also include April 15-16)
• Classes will be in session Wednesday April 8 until noon, Monday April 13, and Tuesday April 14
• The last day to add Module 2 courses is now March 30
• The last day to drop a class with a W notation for undergraduate students is now April 13
• The last day to drop a class or convert to an audit for graduate students is now April 13
• Early registration for fall 2020 has been postponed to April 20- 24.