Credit/No Credit & Late Withdrawal

Credit/No Credit

Degree students in the Faculty of Arts & Science may select up to 2.0 credits* of their degree credits offered by the Faculty of Arts & Science (St. George), the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, UTM** or UTSC** to be assessed on a Credit/ No Credit (CR/NCR) basis. See below for list of exceptions. Courses with a final status of CR do not affect the GPA. They will count towards Distribution/Breadth Requirements and degree credits, but cannot be used to satisfy Program requirements.

The CR/NCR option was created to encourage you to expand your possible course choices to areas where you think you have interest, but may not be confident about how well you will do. With the CR/NCR option, course results don't impact your GPA. And if you find that you're doing better in it than expected, you may still choose to remove the CR/NCR option providing you do so by the last day of classes.

  • You need the course for a Program. You may not use a course taken on a CR/NCR basis to satisfy Program requirements, nor the 12.0 different credits requirement between Programs for your degree. Therefore, if there is any chance in the future that you may want to enrol in a Program which requires a particular course as an entry or a program requirement, you should NOT choose the CR/NCR option. Remember that you have until the last day of classes to make this decision, so you should consider your options carefully and contact your college registrar’s office if you need advice.
  • You may need certification of the grade in the future. The numerical/letter grade in courses taken on a CR/NCR basis will not appear on the transcript and will not be unofficially released or reported in any way. If you think you may need to provide your grades in any or all of your courses for professional/graduate school applications or other reasons in the future, you should NOT choose the CR/NCR option.
  • The deadlines for CR/NCR are listed on the Academic Dates & Deadlines page

  • To achieve a status of CR (Credit), a student must achieve a final mark of at least 50%*. Marks below that will be assessed as NCR (No Credit).  The final numerical or letter grade in the course will not appear on the transcript.

  • Courses with a final status of CR will count as degree credits but will have no effect on the student’s GPA. They will count towards Distribution/Breadth Requirements and degree credits. However, they CANNOT be used to satisfy Program requirements nor the 12.0 different credits requirement between Programs for your degree. PLEASE NOTE: in some programs, completion of a course in a specific Breadth Requirement category is listed as a program requirement. In these cases, courses with a final status of CR may count towards that BR category for your degree, but they cannot be used to fulfill the program requirement. 

  • Courses with a final status of NCR will not count as degree credits and cannot be used to fulfill Program requirements nor meet prerequisites.  They will not count as failures, and will also not be included in the GPA calculation.

  • Students may exercise this option to a total of 2.0 credits within the total number of credits required for a degree. The choice is not restricted as to year or level of course.

  • Students taking a course on a CR/NCR basis will not be identified individually to the instructor teaching that course; they will be assessed in the same way as all other students in the course, i.e. will have the same assignments and tests and will be evaluated with the same expectations.

  • There is no approval process for CR/NCR. It is up to you to determine whether you should take a particular course on a CR/NCR basis. (See advice above)

  • Students who transfer to the Faculty of Arts & Science from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) or University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC) will have all Daniels Faculty/UTM/UTSC CR/NCR options (if any) included in their Arts & Science academic record. These CR/NCR options are counted towards the 2.0 credits maximum.

  • The CR/NCR option cannot be used for a course in which the student has committed an academic offence. If a student has specified the CR/NCR option in a course in which he or she commits an academic offence, the CR/NCR option will be revoked and the percentage grade will stand as the course grade.

* Effective 2012 Summer session

  • Current undergraduate degree students in the Faculty of Arts & Science, St. George campus
  • Faculty of Arts & Science non-degree students (see below for note to graduating students)
  • students from other faculties or divisions who are taking an Arts & Science course (except current undergraduate degree students in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, UTM, and UTSC)
  • courses offered by other divisions taken by Arts & Science students (except eligible courses offered by the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, UTM and UTSC)
  • courses where an individual student works on independent study or individual research supervised by a professor; First Year Seminars (199s); Research Opportunities Program (299s/399s); Research Excursions (398s); Foundational Year Program courses (College Ones, Munk One); Rotman Commerce (RSM) courses; field courses; courses evaluated on Pass/Fail basis. Other approved exceptions will be noted in the course description in the Academic Calendar

Note to graduating students: The CR/NCR option is only open to degree students. Once students have graduated, they become non-degree students and may not complete courses on a CR/NCR basis, even if they enrolled in the course before their graduation. This means if a student is graduating in the spring and they select a summer course as CR/NCR or if a student is graduating in the fall and they enrol in a fall or winter course as CR/NCR, the CR/NCR option will be removed and a percentage grade will appear on the student’s record.

** Effective 2013-14 Fall/Winter session, St. George Arts & Science students may apply the CR/NCR option to courses taken at University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) or University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC). Not all courses at UTM/UTSC may be eligible -- check with the relevant campus.

Eligible students may add a CR/NCR option beginning on the first day of classes of the relevant session.

The deadline to add or remove a CR/NCR option is listed on the Academic Dates & Deadlines page. If you miss this deadline and have concerns about your progress in courses, you should seek advice at your College Registrar’s office without delay.

Students may add or remove a CR/NCR option directly on ACORN. You will be able to view your past and present CR/NCR selections on ACORN.

Before you add or remove a CR/NCR option, read the advice above on when you should or shouldn't consider this option. If you have questions or need further advice, contact your college registrar's office.


Late Withdrawal

The Faculty of Arts & Science has approved a mechanism to assist students, in conjunction with their college registrars, to remedy situations, particularly in their early years at university, where personal or other circumstances mean they are irretrievably behind in a course.

  • Degree students in the Faculty of Arts & Science may request to withdraw without petition from a total of no more than 3.0 credits, provided such a request is made by the last day of classes in the relevant term. Non-Degree students may also request LWD, provided they do not exceed the 3.0 credits maximum throughout their combined degree and non-degree studies.
  • Students will make such requests to their college registrar, who has the authority to approve such requests if the circumstances warrant approval of an exception to the normal drop deadlines.
  • Withdrawals approved under this procedure will be noted on the academic record by the course status LWD (Late Withdrawal). This course status will have no effect on the GPA or other elements of the academic record.

Students who have fallen behind with assignments or are not at all prepared to write exams in one or more of courses will be expected to make use of this remedy, and should contact their college registrar’s office immediately.

Students seeking to avail themselves of this remedy will be expected to work with their college registrarial advisor to analyze what led to their predicament, to discuss what steps they can take to prevent it from happening again, and to learn from their experiences.

Students who transfer to the Faculty of Arts & Science from University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) or University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC) will have all UTM/UTSC LWD requests (if any) included in their Arts & Science academic record. These LWD requests are counted towards the 3.0 credits maximum.

Future petitions for Withdrawal, Deferred Exams or Extensions for Term Work will be considered in light of the fact that the student has previously been granted such an opportunity.

Note that the option for Late Withdrawal is not available if an allegation of academic misconduct is under investigation.