After initial confusion about the updated credit/no credit rules (CR/NCR) and late withdrawal following U of T’s announcement that it will cancel in-person exams and classes until January 31, the Faculty of Arts & Science (FAS) has outlined guidelines for how the CR/NCR policy will apply to different scenarios in which students might find themselves. 

The FAS has extended the CR/NCR and late withdrawal deadlines to January 18 to allow students to see their final marks before making a decision regarding their course’s status. Courses with CR/NCR status don’t affect GPA but can still be used to fulfill breadth requirements. 

Online finals or finals before December 16

Students with a class that had an online final assessment or an in-person exam before December 16 will be allowed to CR/NCR the course if they haven’t reached the 2.0 CR/NCR credit limit and if the course is eligible. These credits cannot count towards program requirements, as is the case under normal circumstances. Students can also request a late withdrawal from their college registrar if they haven’t reached the 3.0 late withdrawal course limit. 

Cancelled exams 

If a student has an exam that was cancelled because of COVID-19 developments, they will be able to CR/NCR the course or request a late withdrawal through a form that will be sent to eligible students in early January. These students should not request CR/NCR or late withdrawal through their college registrar.

If a course with a cancelled exam is granted CR/NCR status, it will not contribute to the 2.0 credit limit. It will also automatically count towards program requirements where applicable as long as it achieves a final designation of CR. 

The university noted that students should also be wary when deciding whether to CR/NCR courses responsible for professional designations, since the bodies responsible for such designations might not accept courses with CR/NCR status. It added that CR/NCR status and late withdrawal might affect considerations for graduate and professional programs, and it advised students to reach out to their college registrar if they had any questions.