Northern Michigan University has announced two changes potentially impacting students: suspending the $50 per credit online fee for all distance learning classes for summer 2020 sessions I and II; and revising the grading scale alternative for the winter 2020 semester to a Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) option.
The online fee suspension applies regardless of whether the summer courses were originally slated for in-person, on-campus instruction or remote delivery.
“While the online fee is critical to supporting the university's ability to offer high-quality remote instruction, removing the fee for the summer is one way Northern can quickly assist students in navigating unexpected financial challenges related to the COVID-19 crisis,” said NMU President Fritz Erickson in an email.
Based on campus feedback, NMU has implemented the CR/NC grading option as a replacement for the previously announced Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option.
“We have heard a significant number of concerned and compelling voices from both students and faculty regarding limitations and fairness of the S/U grading scale option,” said NMU Registrar Kim Rotundo in an email. “This has caused us to reconsider the use of that grading scale … and, after a lengthy discussion with Academic Senate, to use the CR/NC scale as the alternative choice given to students.”
This is a temporary accommodation for winter 2020 only, based on impacts resulting from the COVID-19 crisis. Students will have the opportunity to request, through mynmu, that their grade be converted to the CR/NC grading scale on a course-by-course basis.
A grade of CR can be issued when a course has been completed with the equivalent of a passing grade of D- or higher, and generally speaking, meets any prerequisite grade requirement of a C or higher. Courses graded CR are counted in earned hours, but not included in the computation of the grade-point average.
A grade of NC can be issued when a course has been completed at a level below that required to earn academic credit. Courses graded NC are included in attempted hours, but not earned hours. NC grades also are not included in the GPA computation.