The Shidler College of Business

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Spring 2020 Emergency Grading Policy During COVID-19 Public Health Crisis

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa has implemented a one-time Spring 2020 CR/NC option.  This webpage is meant to provide supplemental information on how selecting CR/NC for spring 2020 may impact your academic progress as a Shidler College of Business student. 

This webpage may be edited to reflect updated information; please check back periodically for updates.

If you have not already done so, you should read the following documents sent from the University of Hawaii (uhnews@hawaii.edu):

Helpful direct reference links:

For Spring 2020 courses, UHM students can opt to change their letter grades to Credit/No Credit (CR/NC):

  • Letter grades of C and higher = CR (fulfills your Major requirements)
  • Letter grades of C- and lower = NC (fulfills no requirements)

 ==> Note: if you receive a grade of C-, D, D+, D- or F in a business course and opt for the CR/NC grading option, you will receive No Credit and must repeat the course to fulfill the missing requirement.

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s deadline for changing your grading option to CR/NC is Friday, May 22, 2020 at 4:00 pm HST (Hawaii Standard Time).  There are no exceptions to the university's policy.

Important note: Before you opt for the CR/NC option, read the FAQs.

How to select the CR/NC option on STAR:

The Spring 2020 COVID-19 grade options are live in Star GPS.  

Students will be able to click the "Request CR/NC Grade Option" button as soon as a grade is entered by their instructor for each class.

The button will be disabled for a class if there is no grade entered, if there is a W grade, if there is an incomplete grade, or if there the class does not allow CR/NC grades.

Students can change their decision up until the May 22, 2020 deadline at 4:00 pm.  After the deadline, your selection becomes a permanent grade on your academic record.

A change to CR/NC may affect your financial aid, VA benefits, and other statuses. Read the FAQs

You will have the opportunity to change your grading option until 4:00 p.m. HST on Friday, May 22, 2020. After that point, the grade mode will be locked in and no further changes can be made.

It is your responsibility to read the UHM Emergency Grading Policy and refer to the UHM FAQs webpage for the latest updates.  The following have been areas of primary concern to business students:

Academic Probation:

Current Shidler Policy:

Students who do not earn a letter grade of C- or higher in BUS 310 or BUS 311, and/or earn a BUS Core/Major GPA below a 2.0, are placed on academic probation.

Shidler Policy (for Spring 2020 only)

UH Executive Policy 5.211 for Spring 2020 supersedes the Shidler College of Business policy governing the minimum grade requirements for BUS 310, BUS 311, and the BUS core/major GPA.

  • Removal from probation/return to good academic standing: Students will be restored to good academic standing provided they have earned the required letter grade (C- or higher in BUS 310 or BUS 311) and achieved the 2.0 minimum GPA in their BUS core/major.
  • Continue on probation: Academic probation will extend to the following semester for any student who does not move off academic probation based on their GPA. Shidler College of Business will defer placement of academic actions (e.g., dismissal, suspension) for spring 2020.

Refer to the Spring 2020 CR/NC FAQs website, which addresses the question, “what if I was on academic probation this semester? Should I take Credit/No Credit? The response is:

If your grades improve so that you may be removed from academic probation you may wish to take letter grades for the semester. However, if your grades have not improved, you should opt for CR/NC and while you will remain on academic probation, no additional action will be taken this semester.

ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION from UHM Records Office (updated: 5-19-2020)

·   Students currently on probation, who do not meet the 2.0 CGPA requirement, will not be penalized (suspended or dismissed).  They will CONTINUE ON PROBATION into the Fall 2020 semester.

·  Students who do not meet the 2.0 CGPA requirement will be placed on first-time PROBATION (continuing students) or WARNING (first-time students).

·  Students who improve their CGPA will be removed from probation. 

Commonly Asked Questions for Academic Probation:

Question:  This semester I was on academic probation because my business core/major GPA was below 2.0. If my GPA does not improve, will I continue on academic probation? 

Answer:  The University’s policy supersedes the college policy, so if you have not moved off of academic probation based on your spring 2020 GPA, your academic probation will be extended and no academic action will be taken against you for spring 2020.

Question:  I am on academic probation because my business core/major GPA was below 2.0. After grades are posted, can I switch some of my classes to CR/NC to help restore my GPA and get off of academic probation?

Answer:  The answer is two-fold.

  • The spring 2020 courses for which you receive a “Credit,” will be recognized as meeting the requirement to fulfill major, minor, concentration, general education courses, electives as well as meet the prerequisite for moving to the next course sequence. If you decide to retain the C- (or better) grade, it will be recognized as fulfilling the requirements mention but the letter grade will be factored into your GPA.
  • If you switch your letter grade of C- to the CR/NC option, you will receive the “NC” and therefore, must repeat the course.

Credit or No Credit is awarded for courses with the following letter grades:

  • Grades of "A+" through "C" = "CR" 
  • Grades of "C-" through "F" = "NC"

Question:  This is my first semester at Shidler. What if I am not doing well in BUS 310 (or BUS 311) and may fail the course?

Answer:  After your spring 2020 grades are posted you have two options depending on your final letter grade:

  • You can retain the letter grade of C- (or better) because you have “passed” the course and it meets the prerequisite for business courses requiring knowledge acquisition in BUS 310 (or BUS 311).
  • You can decide to switch your BUS 310 and/or BUS 311 to the CR/NC option by the UH deadline. If your letter grade is a C- (or lower) and you switch to CR/NC option, you will receive a “NC” and must repeat the course the following semester. However, based on the UH CR/NC policy for spring 2020, you will not be subject to any academic action.

Declaring Multiple Majors:

This section refers to current business students who are planning to pursue more than one (e.g., double, triple, quadruple) business major.

Current Shidler Policy:

Students must earn a 3.0 GPA in a required course within each major and a 3.0 UHM cumulative GPA simultaneously in the same semester in order to successfully declare the multiple (double, triple, quadruple) majors.

Spring 2020 Policy:

No policy change. To declare multiple majors, students must retain the letter grade option in the required course(s) for each major in order to achieve the 3.0 major GPA requirement, and a 3.0 UHM cumulative GPA in the same semester to declare multiple majors.

Commonly Asked Questions about Multiple Majors:

Question:  This semester I was preparing to earn the required 3.0 GPA in each of my major course requirements and a 3.0 cumulative GPA.  If I don’t have a 3.0 GPA in one of my majors, can I still declare the double major?  Should I take my required class as CR/NC?

Answer: 

  • If a student has not earned the required 3.0 GPA in any one of the required areas, the student may progress to the next semester and again attempt to earn the required GPA.
  • If a student elects to switch a letter grade to the CR/NC option, which prevents a 3.0 GPA from being established, then the student will not be able to declare the multiple major. However, the “CR” would have fulfilled the major requirement so the student can continue to the next semester to establish the required GPA to declare a multiple major.

Declaring Concurrent Majors:

This section refers to current business students who are planning to pursue a business major and a major from another college.  Examples: Shidler College of Business major and the College of Social Science economics major.

Current Shidler Policy:

Shidler College of Business students are required to have a 3.25 cumulative GPA or better and must have successfully completed all of the prerequisites (i.e., pre-business admission requirements, college-specific foundation courses) to be eligible to apply for concurrent majors

Policy (Spring 2020)

No policy change. To declare concurrent majors, students must retain the letter grade option in order to achieve the required 3.25 cumulative GPA and successfully complete all of the prerequisites (i.e., pre-business admission requirements, college-specific foundation courses) as stipulated.

Commonly Asked Questions about Concurrent Majors:

Question:  I’m concerned that I’m not doing well in a non-business course and if I don’t take it for CR/NC my letter grade will impact my efforts to achieve the required 3.25 CGPA. If that happens, I won’t be able to declare my concurrent majors this spring. Is it possible for me to take my non-business course as CR/NC?

Answer:  Yes. Students applying for concurrent majors can elect to switch their letter grades in their non-business courses to the CR/NC option to avoid a negative impact on the CGPA. If the non-business course is required for their other major, and the student receives the NC then the student may need to repeat the course. Students should check with their academic advisors from each of their respective colleges to ensure switching to CR/NC option is in their best interest.

Grade Replacement Policy:                                                                                                                                                      A letter grade of C- or better in a non-repeatable business course is considered passing and should not be repeated for a grade replacement (nor taken for CR/NC).

This section applies to Shidler College of Business students who were in the process of repeating a failed (e.g., D+, D, D-, F) business course during spring 2020. 

The following applies to the UHM Grade Replacement Policy for spring 2020:

  • Letter grades of C and higher = CR (fulfills your Major requirements)
  • Letter grades of C- and lower = NC (fulfills no requirements)

 ==> Note: if you receive a letter grade of C-, D, D+, D- or F in a business course and opt for the CR/NC grading option, you will receive No Credit and must take another course or repeat the course to fulfill the requirement.

Please refer to the UH Manoa Office of the Registrar website for more information.

  • If a student selects the CR/NC option for a non-repeatable course where they had earned a C or above in Spring 2020 (repeating a previous attempt where they earned a C-, D+, D, or D), the letter grade for the latest attempt be converted to a CR. The CR grade will count toward their credits earned and replace the previous attempt. The previous attempt's grade will remain on the transcript, but be excluded from their GPA calculation.
  • However, if a student earned a C or above in the previous attempt (instead of a C- or below), the previous grade will stand to be used to calculate the cumulative GPA, but both grades will appear on their permanent transcript. 

Example Scenarios:

Scenario 1:  If a student earns a C+ in Spring 2020 after receiving an F in their previous attempt, and they decide to select the CR/NC option, the C+ will be converted to CR. The CR will count toward their earned credit totals and the previous attempt grade (F) will no longer count toward their cumulative GPA, but it will remain on their permanent transcript. Although CR does not affect the cumulative GPA, the student, in this case, may see an improvement, since the F grade is no longer being factored in.                                                                           

Scenario 2: If a student earned an F in Spring 2020 after receiving an F in their previous attempt, and they decide to select the CR/NC option, the F grade from the latest attempt will be converted to NC. The NC will not count toward their earned credit totals and the previous attempt grade will be excluded from their cumulative GPA.  Both grades will remain on their permanent transcript. Students, in this case, may see an improvement, since the F grade is no longer being factored in.

Commonly Asked Grade Replacement Policy Questions: 

Question: 
What happens if I am currently repeating a course in Spring 2020 and select CR/NC as my final grading option?  How will that impact Grade Replacement Policy?
Answer: Please see above for Grade Replacement Policy updates and scenarios.

Question:
Can I take one or more of my business courses during summer 2020 and/or fall 2020 as CR/NC?                                                                                                              
Answer: No. The CR/NC exception is only allowed during the spring 2020 semester due to the disruption of instruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. During summer 2020 or later, all business courses require letter grades.

UH website updates

Since this is a continuously evolving situation, students should refer to the UHM website (which appears as a headline red banner quick link titled “COVID-19 UH Manoa updates) for the latest news as well as the Student CR/NC FAQs webpage for the latest updates.

The University deadline for changing your grading option to CR/NC is May 22 at 4:00 pm HST (Hawaii Standard Time).  There are no exceptions to this!