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Pass/No Credit Policy for Undergraduate Courses

In many courses, it is possible to obtain credit for the course without receiving a letter grade. If students decide to receive a grade based on this system, they will receive “Pass (P)” instead of A, B, C, or D and will receive “No Credit (NC)” instead of F. Students requesting grading according to this system must satisfy all requirements regarding attendance, assignments, and examinations set by the instructor. Course requirements and standards are the same as in the letter grading system, but P/NC grades are not counted when a student’s GPA is calculated by Hunter College. Students can choose whether they want to take a course for a letter grade or P/NC, but certain restrictions apply.

Restrictions for Pass/No Credit Grades:

1.    Departments or programs may restrict a student’s choice in opting for Pass/No Credit. Some programs of study prohibit the use of Pass/No Credit grades in major courses. This applies especially to programs of study leading to outside certification or post-graduate study. Students should check with their departmental advisers for specific policies. On the other hand, there are some courses in which letter grades are not assigned. Departments or majors that restrict student choice of the P/NC option must have this policy approved by the Senate.

2.    Pass/No Credit grades are not allowed for students on academic probation.

3.    A maximum of four courses (including repeated courses) taken at Hunter College may be assigned a Pass/No Credit grade (and/or the discontinued designation of Credit/No Credit) on the Hunter College transcript, excluding any courses with mandatory P/NC (CR/NC) grading.

4.    The grade of P shall be used to replace the academic grades of A, B, C and D. The grade of NC shall be used to replace the academic grade of F. It shall not be used to replace the grade of WU.

5.    If (as a result of a student’s request) a P/NC grade (and/or the discontinued designation of Credit/No Credit) is given where it is not an allowed grade according to existing college, departmental, or major regulations, it will be converted by the Registrar’s office to the underlying grade entered by the instructor.

6.    If, after requesting P/NC grading (and/or the discontinued designation of Credit/No Credit), a student receives an INC, the P/NC grade is applied when and only when the instructor changes the INC (or FIN) to a letter grade. A student’s request for P/NC grading (and/or the discontinued designation of Credit/No Credit) will remain in place until a letter grade is earned.

Alert

Other colleges, graduate and professional schools, services, and employers may not favor Pass/No Credit grades. They may convert “Pass” to “D” and “No Credit” to “F” for their purposes. Such decisions are made by other institutions. Before opting for P/NC grades, students should consult with advisors in the Office of Advising, in their academic program(s), and in the Office of Financial Aid. They should also check the policies of external financial-aid agencies.

How To Opt For Pass/No Credit

In order to select P/NC for a course, a student must complete a form available from the Office of the Registrar. The student must submit the form to the Office of the Registrar by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) one calendar day prior to the last day of classes as indicated in the Hunter College academic calendar (also one day prior to the deadline to officially withdraw from a class with a grade of W). Notification of the student’s P/NC choice will be sent to the course instructor by the Office of the Registrar. Students may not elect the P/NC grading option after these deadlines and there are no appeals allowed for late election.

Please note, once a student chooses a P/NC grade for a course, that choice is final and irrevocable. The form is not valid if the student’s election of the P/NC grading option violates college-wide, departmental, or program-specific restrictions. 

For information on whether a specific program or major restricts the use of the P/NC option, please read the program description of the program or major of interest in the catalog or check with departmental or program advisers.

NOTE: In the Spring and Fall semesters of 2020, some of the above policies were temporarily suspended by CUNY due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Selection of the CR/NC grading option for courses in the Spring and/or Fall 2020 semester do not count against college-wide or program-specific restrictions regarding (1) the number of P/NC (previously CR/NC) uses allowed per semester, (2) the maximum number of uses allowed of the P/NC (previously CR/NC) grading option in total, (3) the selection of the P/NC (previously CR/NC) grading option by students on academic probation and (4) certain other restrictions. Please see here for a complete list of the temporary policies that were in place at these times.

Department/Program

Replace CR/NC with P/NC N

 

Notes

 

AFPRL

Yes

 

Anthropology

Yes

 

Art & Art History

 

No

 

Biological Sciences

 

Yes

 

Chemistry

 

 

Prohibit the use of P/NC for any course related to the major, minor, and CHEM 10000, 10100, 10200, 12100.

Classical & Oriental Studies

 

Yes

 

Computer Science

 

Yes

Prohibit the use of P/NC for for all CSCI and Mathematics courses. CSci 12700 should not have a P/NC restriction.

Curriculum & Teaching

 

 

Prohibit the use of P/NC for all undergraduate courses in the School of Education.

Dance

Yes

 

Economics

Yes

P/NC replacement extends to all programs in econ incl. accounting.

Educational Foundations

 

 

Prohibit the use of P/NC for all undergraduate courses in the School of Education.

English

 

120, 285, and all 400-level classes are excluded from P/NC.

German

 

 

Students are prohibited from using P/NC for any course that is applied to the major or minor or any of the 2 courses listed from GERMN 10100- 49800.

History

Yes

Prohibit the use of P/NC for courses counted toward the major or minor.

Mathematics & Statistics

 

Yes

Prohibit the use of P/NC all courses with Math or STAT prefixes except Math 10000 and Math 10200.

Medical Lab Sciences

 

Yes

 

Music

Yes

 

Nursing

Yes

Prohibit the use of P/NC for STAT 11300, CHEM 10000, CHEM 10100, CHEM 12000, CHEM 12100.

Philosophy

 

Yes

 

Physical Therapy

 

No

 

Physics & Astronomy

 

 

Prohibit the use of P/NC in PHYS 11100 , 12100 and all physics courses higher than level 200.

Political Science

 

Yes

No courses counted toward the major can be taken P/NC.

Psychology

 

 

Prohibit the use of P/NC for all courses applied to the major and minor (including admission requirements and pre-requisites).

Romance Languages

 

Prohibit the use of the P/NC grading option for any and all courses applied to our major and where CR/NC was allowed (including admission requirements and pre-requisites).

Social Work

No

 

Sociology

 

 

Prohibit the use of P/NC for SOC 224, SOC 240, SOC 241, and SOC 470.

Special Education

 

 

All undergraduate courses are excluded from the P/NC option.

Theatre

No

 

Urban Policy and Planning

No

 

Urban  Public  Health

Yes

Prohibit the use P/NC for pre-reqs, and major courses in PH and NFS.

Women & Gender Studies

 

Yes

Prohibit the use of P/NC for WGS 10000, 31000, 20100, 24400.

Asian Studies

 

 

Prohibit the use of P/NC for Asian 33012 and Asian 39002.

Human Rights

 

No

 

Jewish Studies

 

Yes

 

Macauley

 

No P/NC restrictions

Religion

Yes

Prohibit the use P/NC for all courses applied to major and minor where CR/NC was allowed.