Understanding and managing Letter Graded and Credit/No Credit grading options can raise your GPA and find you more time to focus on your major courses.
College courses are offered as Letter Grade Only (A,B,C,D,F), Credit/No Credit, or both. This determination is made by the school and its curriculum committee; not by any one individual professor. You can check course grade options in your school catalog or with your school counseling department.
Why consider Credit/No Credit?
To strengthen your GPA in courses not related to your major. Let's say you are a Business major. To meet your general education requirements, you consider up for Speech, Anthropology, Art History, Geology, Yoga, or Sociology. To earn a Credit, typically students need (and this varies by class), a 70% in the course, which equates to a level of success that earns a C grade. If your schedule looked something like:
Introduction to Marketing (in your major, take as a letter grade) Art History (not in your major, you take for general education; a good but time consuming class) Statistics (typically no Credit/No Credit options with mathematics) Cultural Anthropology (not in your major, if an International Business or marketing emphasis you might want this one as Letter Grade, if in Accounting or General Business, consider Credit/No Credit) Yoga (P.E. Classes are typically Credit/No Credit) Geology (to meet your Physical Science general Ed, typically a non-lab course)
Let's say your grades in these courses look something like:
A - Introduction to Marketing (3 units semester/4 units quarter) C - Survey of Western Art (3 units semester/4 units quarter) B - Statistics (3 units semester/4 units quarter) C - Cultural Anthropology (3 units semester/4 units quarter) CR - Yoga (1 unit) B - Geology (3 units semester/4 units quarter)
Your GPA would be 2.8
If, instead, your grades were:
A - Introduction to Marketing (3 units semester/4 units quarter) CR - Survey of Western Art (3 units semester/4 units quarter) B - Statistics (3 units semester/4 units quarter) CR - Cultural Anthropology (3 units semester/4 units quarter) CR - Yoga (1 unit) B - Geology (3 units semester/4 units quarter)
Your GPA would be 3.33
The reason is courses graded as a CR give you the 3 units, the general education requirement, however, CR does not get averaged in your GPA.
Any downside?
If your course is offered Credit/No Credit, you'll need to talk with the professor to find out when you need to request the Credit/No Credit option. Some professors want to know at the beginning of the semester, some will let you get through the first midterm to see how you're doing in the course, some let you wait a little longer. In any case, make sure you write up a quick note or send an email with your name, student ID number, and request for Credit/No Credit. Make sure you know what you need to achieve to get the Credit, whether that be 70%, 72%, etc.
If you're headed to a prestigious school, you'll need to check that they are okay with you coming in with Credits. Typically the answer is yes for general education courses and no for your major courses. Also, if you are finishing up your entire general education commitment in one school, the second school accepts your completion and doesn't pay a lot of attention to each class.
A couple more upsid e thoughts to Credit/No Credit
Occasionally, you may end up with a professor who, for whatever reason, prefers to be elsewhere or has a reputation as a big ego who gives low grades. My son once took a Political Science class from a teacher who never returned a single assignment; he had no indication of what his grade was. When this happens, go for the Credit/No Credit. The last thing you need is a lower GPA and begin an email grade battle with a teacher who isn't taking care of business.
Maybe life intervenes, you have a good grade in a class, but you fail one test or get sick and miss a week of school; and it's too late to Withdraw. If it's not a major class, Credit/No Credit will let you get through without dinging your GPA. If, unfortunately, you get a No Credit? It isn't great, but it does not change your GPA, however, a D or an F does. You'll need to be careful about notifying your professor, but No Credit can really help limit the sting of a failing grade on a transcript.
Lastly, le t's say you have two tough, time consuming classes. You want to do your best, need to get a great grade, and there's only so much time in the day. If you have one or two general education courses that accept Credit/No Credit, then plan your time so that in the Credit/No Credit courses you meet 75-80% of the course (Credit with a little breathing room), and spend the balance of your time on the Letter Grade courses you need to excel in.
Hi, I'm Kelly. I'm a mom and I teach in the community college system. I meet a lot of optimistic young men and women full of dreams and yet who struggle with the details of life. I write for families and individuals who need a little mentoring to navigate their way through educational and work/career goals. If you or your son/daughter doesn't seem to fit into the system, 2ude offers alternative paths toward accomplishment. Let's celebrate uniqueness and create new opportunities.
A few notes about my credentials. I'm a mutt. Some parts show a glimpse of pedigree, other parts crawled out of the woodwork. I have a Doctorate in Education. Before grad school and teaching I worked in the construction business for years and liked it, but always felt the pull of learning more. I have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and two young women somewhat considered to be step-daughters. It's a little complicated. I teach, as I mentioned earlier, and wrote/managed many grants, created curriculum for several degrees and over 60 courses, and worked a Dean for a spell until I decided attending back-to-back-to back meetings was not for me. I've written a couple of modest books, published several articles, and know a lot about learning, education, and the internet.
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