Academic Programs Catalog

Effective Fall 2023, the Credit-No Credit system deadline has been extended to December 8, 2023. 

The credit-no credit system is intended to allow students to study in areas outside the major field of study without jeopardizing their grade-point averages. In the credit-no credit system the following symbols are used.

CR-Credit—means that credit is granted and represents a level of performance equivalent to or above the grade-point average required for graduation. Thus, undergraduate students must perform at or above the 2.0 level before credit is granted; graduate students must perform at or above the 3.0 level.

NC-No Credit—means that no credit is granted and represents a level of performance below the grade-point average required for graduation, i.e., below 2.0 for undergraduate students, below 3.0 for graduate students.

Grading Procedure of the CR-NC System

1. Grades on the CR-NC system are not included in computing the semester or cumulative grade-point average.
2. Enrollment on a CR-NC basis is recorded with the academic advisor and with the Office of the Registrar. The instructor's class list does not indicate which students are enrolled on CR-NC basis.
3. When the course is completed, all students are graded on the numerical system.
4. The Office of the Registrar then converts the numerical grades to credit or no credit in accord with the definitions of CR-NC stated above, but retains the numerical grades in the student's academic records.
5. When a student changes a major preference or a major, the Office of the Registrar will convert those letter grades to numerical grades in courses that are necessarily graded on the numerical system in the new major upon request by the student's college.

Enrollment in the CR-NC System
Enrollment on a CR-NC basis is open to students, at their option, subject to the following conditions:

1. Course prerequisites and other criteria for enrolling in any course shall be determined by the department or college offering the course and apply equally to both the numerical and the CR-NC systems.
2. The choice of numerical or CR-NC system does not affect admission to the course.
3. All courses in every department and college are available on a CR-NC basis unless these courses are:
   1. Used to satisfy the Tier I writing requirement, the Tier II writing requirement, the university mathematics requirement, and Integrative Studies Program requirements, or
   2. Designated as Type 1, Type 2, or Type 3 courses under the remedial-developmental-preparatory course policy.
   3. Specifically excluded from CR-NC enrollment by the department, school, or college of the student's major preference or major, or the unit recommending the student for certification.
4. Limitations:
   1. No undergraduate student may enroll in more than a total of 20 credits on the CR-NC system.
   2. The limitations on the number of credits a graduate student may take in a given semester on the CR-NC basis, and the total number of credits that may be taken in a given degree program on a CR-NC basis, shall be established by the college, department, or school, or the unit recommending the student for certification in which the student is a major.
5. Each department, school, or college, or the unit recommending the student for certification shall designate those courses that its majors or candidates for certification may not take on the CR-NC system.
6. Choice of the CR-NC system must be communicated by the student to the Office of the Registrar by the middle of the semester date in the fall and spring semesters and may not be changed after that date.
7. Any course taken more than once must be repeated on the same grading system under which the course was completed the first time, except where standard requirements to the contrary must be satisfied in order to meet graduation requirements.

A one term adjustment to course eligibility, credit limits, and repeats existed for Spring 2023 only. More information can be found at https://advising.msu.edu/about/credit-no-credit. The full revised policy is available at https://policies.msu.edu/_assets/pdfs/policies/registrar/MSU-University-Policy-Credit-No-Credit-Policy.pdf.

College of Law CR-NC Policy

1. Credit Hour Limitation
   Students may elect to register for one (1) elective offering, with a maximum of four (4) total credit hours (or six (6) total credit hours for approved graduate level courses that are taken pursuant to the rule under "Visiting Other Colleges, MSU Colleges, and ABA Law Schools") to be graded on a Credit/No Credit rather than a letter grade basis.
2. Requirements and Rules
   The election must be made directly with the Registrar through the Student Services portal. Students must complete the Credit/No Credit Grading Option Request within five (5) days of grades for that semester being released via this link the Student Services Portal. It is not available for:
   1. Required courses
   2. Experiential learning courses
   3. Courses taken to satisfy the Upper Level Writing Requirement (ULWR)
   4. Courses taken to satisfy a concentration or certificate programs
   5. Courses offered only on a Pass/Fail basis, such as Moot Court and externships, and make-up examination grades.
3. Electing a course CR/NC from the menu of required Core Courses would result in that course not counting toward Core Courses graduation requirement.
4. A student must receive a minimum passing grade of "C" or better in order to receive the grade of "CR" (credit). If a student receives a grade of "C –" or below then a grade of "NC" (no credit) will be granted for the course.