The Grainger College of Engineering
Undergraduate Academic Advising

Credit & No-Credit

Classes taken as credit/no credit (CR/NC) are not counted toward GPA, but they are included as part of total credit hours. The course instructor is not aware of which students take a course as CR/NC. A grade of D- or higher will earn a CR grade, while a grade of a F will result in NC . Student Code 3-105

Parameters for CR/NC

  • Maximum of 18 hours can be used toward the degree;
  • Maximum of 2 courses per semester can be CR/NC;
  • Students on academic warning or who have a pending FAIR case may not take a course CR/NC;
  • Courses that are eligible include:
    • Free electives (unrestricted, but not technical electives);
    • Courses in the  18 credit hour Grainger College of Engineering General Education Requirement beyond the 6 hours of Social and Behavioral Science and 6 hours of Humanities & the Arts coursework;
    • First two levels of courses toward meeting Foreign Language/LOTE requirement.
  • Courses that aren't eligible include:
    • Courses counting for James Scholar requirements;
    • Courses in the University General Education requirements;
    • Courses designated by name or area by the major department for satisfying the major, minor, or field of concentration;
    • Courses specifically required by name by the college for graduation.

Procedure and Follow-up

  • Student wants to request a course to be CR/NC or reverse their CR/NC selection on a course before the half-way point of the course.
  • Student fills out the Office of the Registrar's Credit/No Credit Option form.
  • Student obtains approval and signature on the form from Home Department.
  • Student emails the signed form to engineering@illinois.edu before the half-way point of the course.
  • The Grainger College of Engineering Undergraduate Programs Office reviews the form and makes a decision.
  • Student should allow at least two business days to check Self-Service to confirm their Credit/No-Credit request has been approved and processed.
  • Following approval and grade submission, the letter grade will be converted to CR or NC on the permanent record and can't be changed back to letter grade.