It’s a situation no one wants to be in, but it happens — you just got your midterm marks back, and you know it’s very likely you will not pass a course.
While students should always strive to pass, and access tools and supports to boost their marks, sometimes it just isn’t possible. But the damage can be minimized by understanding and reviewing your options.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself and make decisions that are right for you,” says Lisa Nagapen, student communications coordinator in the Office of the Registrar.
“Ultimately, it’s about evaluating your priorities and needs, your health, your goals and figuring out what’s right for you in that moment.”
Use Quercus to find out whether you can still pass
Quercus has several planning tools to help you know where you stand, including the “What-If” feature. This option lets you test hypothetical marks to see how your overall grade would be impacted by upcoming assignments.
You can also check the Calendar tab to look through the due dates and layout of the rest of your semester. See what you have left to finish and determine whether you can budget enough time to finish all assignments, raise your grade and pass.
Nagapen recommends making an appointment with your TA or professor if you are having challenges, and to “be realistic about what steps you need to take to be successful in a course.”
Use Degree Explorer to see how a course will impact you
Degree Explorer lays out the requirements you need to graduate. Understanding what each course counts toward can help you determine what action to take. The requirements for your degree overlap but differ from the specific requirements of your program(s) or minor(s).
Find the course you are concerned about and see where it falls. Remember, not all courses are offered in summer semesters and dropping a course may mean taking another one in the fall or winter. You may also be dropping a course that is a pre-requisite for another course.
“My best advice is to take a holistic approach and look at everything that could be impacted in dropping a course,” Nagapen says. “Enter a situation calmly and get all the information you need to figure out not only what to do now, but what to do later.”
To see how a mark could impact your overall GPA, look up your academic history on ACORN, then input your past and potential grades into the GPA Calculator for Planning and Estimation.
Keep your finances in mind as you evaluate your options. OSAP requires students to pass at least three credits over two semesters (with some exceptions). Dropping a course may mean you are now a part-time student. This can cause OSAP to put you on probation or lower your funding for next semester. If you are concerned about this or other financial problems, Financial Aid Advisors offer private financial counseling at the Office of the Registrar.
Use on-campus services to understand your options
“I think it’s really important to reach out to resources to figure out what’s causing you to want to drop that course,” Nagapen says. “From there, you can figure out what the next best option is to bounce back.”
The Academic Advising and Career Centre can help you navigate your situation, with services including degree planning and career counselling. The Office of the Registrar can also answer questions on finances, exams, degree status, graduation and petitions. Through the Centre for Teaching and Learning, you can access support centres to help you get your grades back on track and hone your study skills.
If you are an international student, lowering your course load can impact study permits and eligibility for scholarships or sponsorship from your home country. The International Student Centre can answer questions about how dropping a course could influence your education and status.
The Health and Wellness Centre can help with medical or wellbeing issues. As of this year, the Health and Wellness Centre offers same-day counselling appointments between Monday and Friday. Doctors and nurses are also available for check-ups and can provide prescriptions and medical notes. Resources for students with documented conditions are also available at AccessAbility Services.
Once you have all the information you need, weigh your options — Nagapen personally finds that writing a pros and cons lists to be helpful. Nagapen also recommends reaching out to senior students, including ones in work-study programs, for guidance.
“They can offer some really good advice from their personal experience,” Nagapen says. “You can learn from their experiences about what works and what doesn’t and what factors they might know about that you might not be considering.”
Drop the course
After careful consideration, you may determine that you cannot pass a course, or that the mark will severely impact your GPA. You still have options to lessen the damage.
Within a certain deadline, you can drop courses without academic penalty through ACORN. The course will be wiped from your transcript, preventing it from bringing your GPA down.
Check the Registrar's Office website for current deadline information.
Designate the course Credit/No-Credit
If the course you are concerned about is an elective or a breadth requirement, you can choose to declare Credit/No Credit. If you choose this option, whether you pass or not, the grade will not impact your GPA.
If you pass the class with a grade of 50 per cent or higher, “CR” (Credit) will appear on your transcript. If you fail the class, “NCR” (No Credit) will appear and you will not get a credit, but the mark will not count toward your GPA.
Up to two full credits can be designated as Credit/No Credit. The designation cannot be used for any courses that are required for your program. Find your course using Degree Explorer and see if a course is listed under your program, for your major(s) or minor(s). If it is listed, you cannot use Credit/No-Credit. The designation also cannot be used for supervised or independent study courses.
Check the Registrar's Office website for deadline information.
Nagapen recommends remaining calm, informing yourself as much as possible and reaching out to all the resources you can to understand what steps you can take now to ensure your success in the future. It will be OK.
(Please note these academic deadlines are specific to U of T Scarborough and are different than deadlines at U of T Mississauga and U of T St. George.)