Policy Changes Related to COVID-19

The following information reflects academic policy changes made during spring 2020, fall 2020, and spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pass/No Credit and Pass/Unsatisfactory 

Spring 2020

  • Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Faculty Executive Committee voted to create an exception to the UNC Charlotte grading policy for Spring 2020.
  • Students, both undergraduate and graduate, had until June 1, 2020 to select this alternative grading method
  • This grading exception applied to all courses for which a student was enrolled in spring 2020.
  • Elected grading included:  Pass (P), No Credit (N), & Unsatisfactory (U) or Standard Letter Grades

Academic Year 2020-2021 (fall, spring, & summer)

  • Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Faculty Executive Committee voted to create a grading policy exception for Academic Year 2020-2021 for undergraduate students.  More details can be found here.
  • For graduate students, the deadline for a students to request Pass/Unsatisfactory grading for their fall 2020 courses was extended until December 14.  To request a Pass (P) grade to replace a C grade, students must submit an Academic Petition and select the request type "Other Course-Related."
  • This grading exception is limited to three courses for the academic year and no more than 2 courses in a single term.
  • Elected grading includes:  High Pass (H), Pass (P), & No Credit (N) or Standard Letter Grades

Dean's and Chancellor's List

  • The Faculty Executive Committee approved an exception to the Academic Policy allowing students to be eligible for Chancellor’s List or Dean’s List if they had earned at least 9 credit hours (instead of 12) in courses graded A, B, or C.
    • This allowed students to accept a Pass (P) grade in some courses, as long as the student accepted letter grades in at least 9 credit hours. This exception applied only to spring semester 2020 and academic year 2020-2021. 
  • This exception can be found in the Academic Honors policy (Spring 2020 & 2020-2021 Academic Year) and as well as in the current Catalog.

Grade Replacement

  • On October 19, 2020, UNC System policy 400.1.5[R] was amended to exclude all spring 2020, fall 2020, and spring 2021 courses from the maximum number of allowable grade replacements.

Honors College Credit

  • The Honors Council's grading policy for the academic year 2020-2021 was amended to stipulate "no honors student may elect a Pass (P) in an honors course for honors credit".
  • For questions, please contact the Honors College.

Withdrawal

  • For undergraduate students, withdrawals taken during the spring 2020 (full-term and session B), fall 2020, and spring 2021 did not count against the withdrawal limit and was considered withdrawn due to extenuating circumstances

Special Probation

  • A student on academic probation whose cumulative GPA remains below 2.0, in spring 2020, was placed on special probation.
  • A student whose cumulative GPA remained below 2.0 at the end of fall 2020 was suspended from the University unless the student earned a term GPA of 2.3 or higher in the fall term, which placed the student in a "continued probation" status.
  • "Special Probation" was noted on the student’s permanent academic record. The student was allowed to continue into summer and/or fall.
  • Special probation did not apply to fall 2020.

Transcript Comment

  • Students enrolled in spring 2020 (full-term and Session B), fall 2020, and spring 2021 had a comment added to these terms on their transcript: "A global health emergency during this term required significant course changes. Unusual enrollment patterns and grades could reflect the tumultuous time, not necessarily the student's work."
  • Any student who wishes to have this comment removed may make this request by emailing registrar@uncc.edu.