Spring 2020 Graduate Student Grading Policy

Spring 2020 Graduate Student Grading Policy

Dear UIC Graduate Students and Faculty,

Due to the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated effects on UIC graduate students, and with the consent of the UIC Senate Executive Committee and the College Deans, the Office of the Provost is enacting the following modifications to the grading policy for graduate students at UIC for the Spring 2020 Semester:

Grading Modifications for Graduate Students for Spring 2020

• Instructors will report a letter grade for every graduate student in the course as normal.
• Graduate students will receive A and B grades on their transcripts.
• Graduate students will receive Credit (CR) for any C grades.
• Graduate students will receive No Credit (NC) for any D or F grades.
•  A grade of CR or NC will not be calculated into the student’s GPA.
• Individual graduate programs will inform graduate students whether they will need to retake courses for which they receive CR or NC in subsequent semesters for a grade.
• Students enrolled in dual degree (Bachelors-Masters) programs who are taking 400-level courses for graduate credit will be subject to these graduate grading modifications for those courses.
• Students enrolled in both IBHE-certified certificates and campus certificates where the Graduate College is the admitting college will be subject to these graduate grading modifications for these courses.

Incompletes and Academic Probation

• Graduate students who received an Incomplete grade for courses taken prior to Spring 2020 will be given an additional semester to fulfill the requirements of their Incomplete grade.
• Graduate students on probation who do not get off probation based on their college requirements in Spring 2020 will have an additional semester to fulfill their probation requirements and will not be penalized for taking courses CR/NC.

Financial Aid Implications

• Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will still be assessed at the end of Spring Semester for all enrolled students.
• CR/NC courses will not count in the student’s cumulative GPA for SAP purpose.
  • Students must still maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA throughout their enrollment.
• Courses recorded as NC will count as an attempted/not completed course in a student’s overall completion rate and maximum time frame calculation.
  • Students must maintain an overall completion rate of 67% to remain financial aid eligible.
  • Students must not have attempted more than 150% of the required credits of their program to remain financial aid eligible.
  • Students failing SAP at the end of Spring semester can still appeal the decision after cancellation occurs.

Academic Deadlines

• Registration for Fall 2020 semester opened March 30.
• Course late drop deadline was April 3.
• Registration for Summer Sessions I & II begins on April 15.

This Policy Applies to Students in all UIC PhD and Masters programs EXCEPT:

• Masters of Business Administration (MBA),
• Masters of Engineering (MEng),
• Masters of Public Health (MPH),
• Masters of Jurisprudence (MJ),
• Masters of Law (LLM),
• Masters of Social Work (MSW).

In Addition, the Following Professional Doctoral Programs ARE NOT Covered by this Policy.

• College of Applied Health Sciences:
  • Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD);
  • Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
• College of Dentistry:
  • Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD)
• College of Law:
  • Juris Doctor (JD)
• College of Medicine:
  • Doctor of Medicine (MD)
• College of Nursing:
  • Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
• College of Pharmacy:
  • Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
• School of Public Health:
  • Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

Sincerely,

Susan Poser
Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs