We know that the grading and policy changes brought about by COVID-19 and our shift to virtual instruction have raised a lot of questions. For more information about the university’s new grading policy for Winter 2020, please see the Registrar’s Winter 2020 Undergraduate Grading FAQ. For additional questions about LSA-specific policies or changes to the Spring and Summer terms, please see below. If your question is not addressed, please make an appointment with your assigned academic advisor or email us at newnanfrontdesk@umich.edu; we are ready to help!
Q1. Will Winter 2020 P (Pass) grades meet course, major, minor, or college-wide requirements?
Yes. P (Pass) grades (C- or higher) for Winter 2020 will meet all course, major, minor, and college-wide requirements. Exclusions that typically apply to P grades in other terms will not apply. However, if a student chooses to unmask a course grade it will be subject to normal course, degree, and graduation requirements.
Q2. Will any classes I take P (Pass)/NRC (No Record COVID) count towards LSA’s limit of 30 ungraded credits?
No. Winter 2020 P grades will not count toward the 30 credit limit.
Q3. What is the deadline for deciding whether or not I’d like to convert a P grade to a letter grade?
Students who are interested in converting a P/NRC grade back to a regular grade will be able to do so until the deadline on July 1, 2020.
For members of the Winter 2020 graduating class, May 28 is the deadline to uncover any Winter 2020 grades you would like to include in determining your eligibility for Distinction. Eligibility for this award will be determined by your cumulative GPA as of the end of the day on May 28. If you uncover a grade anytime after May 28 through July 1, your transcript and cumulative GPA will be updated accordingly but the newly revealed letter grade(s) will not impact your distinction level.
Q4. Will I be able to see my grades before I have to decide whether to unmask them?
Yes. Students will be able to see the letter grade they earned in a class before requesting that the P grade be officially converted to a letter grade. If students do request this conversion, any Winter 2020 letter grades will appear on their transcript and will be used to recalculate their GPA.
Q5. How can I request to have my P/NRC grade converted to a letter grade?
After Winter 2020 grades have been entered, students can request that P/NRC grades be changed back to letter grades on their official transcript on the “View My Grades” page (the quickest way to access this page is to search for “View Final Grades” on Wolverine Access). Once there, students should navigate to Winter 2020 grades where they will see the official P, S, or NRC alongside the letter grade entered by the instructor. To change the grading basis for a particular class, click the “request” button and click “ok.” This video also walks students through the steps of this process.
Please note requests can be made no later than July 1, 2020 and take a minimum of 24 hours to process. After they are processed, updates will be made to students’ grade and academic statistics, including GPA.
Q6. I was on probation going into Winter 2020; what will happen at the end of the semester?
All students who went into Winter 2020 on regular or special probation will remain on regular or special probation into their next graded term of enrollment. The LSA Academic Standards Board will not be suspending or dismissing any students. However in late July, the Board will review the records of those students who elect to uncover some or all of their Winter 2020 grades and, as a result, have a GPA that is now high enough to warrant a change in academic status.
Q1. How will the Spring and Summer terms be graded?
As of right now, grading will once again follow our normal grading pattern. Because students and instructors are going into our Spring and Summer terms prepared for virtual coursework, the default mode will be a letter grade. However students, as normal and when appropriate, can still take classes pass/fail. If this policy should change, we will update this response accordingly.
Q2. Will classes taken pass/fail during the Spring/Summer terms still meet course, major, minor, or college-wide requirements?
No. As of right now, our normal grading policies will resume for the Spring/Summer terms. If departments previously required students to achieve a certain letter grade for major or minor prerequisites, those policies will once again be in effect. Likewise all classes for a major or minor and the final language class used to satisfy the college’s language requirement must be taken for a letter grade. If this policy should change, we will update this response accordingly.
Q3. Since all instruction is virtual, can I take two classes that are being held at the same time?
We don’t recommend it. You should not assume that you’ll be able to watch lectures or otherwise participate in class at your discretion, and class conflicts could mean that you’ll be expected to be online in two different classes at the same time. Though much of Winter 2020 virtual coursework has been asynchronous, instructors will have more time to prepare for their spring/summer classes and will likely adapt their teaching practices a result.
Q4. Will tuition be adjusted to reflect the fact that classes are now virtual?
Please see the current Spring and Summer term tuition rates.
Q5. What are the drop/add deadlines for the Spring and Summer terms?
Please see the LSA Academic Calendar for all relevant deadlines.
Q1. I’ve never taken classes elsewhere; how do I get started?
This page has the most comprehensive information about how to transfer classes back to U-M. There are a few new rules/exceptions, as noted below, but all other LSA Transfer and Residency Policies will still apply. If you have questions about this process, please contact your academic advisor.
Q2. Some classes listed on the Transfer Credit Equivalency database won’t transfer if they are taken online; is that still true?
No, not for courses taken in Winter, Spring, or Summer 2020. All courses currently approved on the Transfer Credit Equivalency (TCE) will continue to be accepted even if the course was taught via a different delivery method (i.e. online). Keep in mind that most U-M departments have never reviewed or formally approved online versions of these courses, and cannot guarantee these courses will still provide adequate preparation for subsequent coursework in their, or other, departments.
Q3. What if a class I want to take is not listed on the TCE?
Students can submit classes for evaluation by submitting a Transfer Credit Equivalency request. All never evaluated courses will continue to be reviewed and approved by the appropriate department to ensure it includes key curricular content that is comparable (including the review of syllabi and exams), but no course will be rejected solely because of the delivery method (e.g., that it’s being taught online).
Q4. Does it matter what grade I get?
Yes. If you are being awarded a letter grade, you need a C or higher for a class to transfer. However for courses taken in Winter, Spring, and Summer 2020 only, any “P” or “S” grades from other institutions that represent a C- or higher will transfer as well (subject to the usual criteria for degree requirement credit). Remember that even though there are grading standards for transfer courses, the grades themselves will not be posted to your U-M transcript nor will they be factored into your GPA (unless you take classes at UM-Dearborn or UM-Flint). However If you apply to graduate or professional school, you'll be asked to share transcripts from every college/university you attended.
