- Contact your academic advisor or the Office of Student Services at any time for additional information and advice.
- Students may elect to request P/NP beginning April 15; however, we strongly recommend you wait to select P/NP until you have reviewed your letter grade in the course. Most grades post between May 8 and 12. The deadline to select the option of P/NP is 12:00PM EDT on May 14. If you have any questions about how this works, be sure to check with your advisor or the Office of Student Services.
- For students in student teaching internships: Know that a letter grade of B or above in student teaching internship is required by the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) for teacher licensure. Selecting P/NP will remove the option of receiving a recommendation for teacher licensure to the AOE by the University of Vermont Department of Education. Other states may have similar grade requirements for reciprocity.
- For international exchange and Global Gateway Program students: You will not have the option to request P/NP; instead, you may select the Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory (S/U) option using the same process.
- For students considering application to graduate school: Be aware that some graduate programs prefer letter grades over grades of P/NP or S/U. If you earn a B or higher in a course, it is strongly recommended that you keep the letter grade.
- All course and program progression policies will be adhered to regardless of your choice. For undergraduates to remain in good academic standing, both your semester and cumulative grades must be 2.00 or higher. A student earning a semester or cumulative GPA below 2.00 may be placed on probation or continue on probation. CESS will not dismiss students based on their academic performance for the spring 2020 semester.
- Read below for guidelines specific to your major:
Education Majors
- Know that a letter grade of B or above in student teaching internship is required by the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) for teacher licensure. Selecting a P/NP (or S/U, as applicable per the FAQ) will remove the option of receiving a recommendation for teacher licensure to the AOE by the University of Vermont Department of Education. Other states may have similar grade requirements for reciprocity.
- An overall GPA of 3.0 is required for all teacher education candidates to receive a recommendation for licensure from the college. It is important to consider the impact of selecting a P/NP when considering the overall GPA.
- Other than student teaching courses, all other courses may be taken for P/NP, as appropriate. Grade requirements specified in the catalogue (e.g., required course grades for certain classes) will be waived for the Spring 2020 semester.
- Selection of P/NP may have other implications for awards, graduate school, etc. Please read all materials carefully and weigh them in your decision-making.
Human Development and Family Studies Majors
| Benchmark | Introductory Level Professional Courses |
Intermediate and Advanced Level Professional Courses |
| HDFS 001 has a minimum grade requirement of C. No other courses have a minimum GPA or specific grade benchmarks beyond maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA |
HDFS 001: Intro to Human Services for Majors HDFS 005: Human Development HDFS 060: Family Context of Development HDFS 065: Human Relationships and Sexuality |
HDFS 141: Interrogating White Identity HDFS 161: Social Context of Development HDFS 101: The Helping Relationship HDFS 189: Theories of Human Development HDFS 2XX: Various HDFS 290: Internship (NR) |
HDFS PROGRAM GUIDANCE: P/NP as a grade option is recommended for any course that is an elective, and also for any general education course that is not a pre-requisite for future courses in one’s program of study. With regard to HDFS professional requirements, none of the courses currently being offered in HDFS have specific grade benchmarks. Therefore, students may consider and select a P/NP grade in these courses enrolled in spring 2020 as well. We specifically recommend students not choose P/NP for HDFS 290.
Social Work Majors
| Benchmark | Pre-Professional | Professional Courses |
| Complete all general education requirements with a grade of C- or higher. (P/NP, yes, see guidance) No more than 2 social work courses can be below a B. Neither of these courses can be below a C. (Request of Social Work as an exception, see guidance) Must maintain a 3.0 professional GPA |
SWSS 002: Foundations of Social Work SWSS 004: SL: Working with Refugees SWSS 060: Race and Racism |
SWSS 147: Theories in Social Work I SWSS 148: Theories in Social Work II SWSS 163: Theories and Integration Seminar SWSS 164: Intro to Social Work Research SWSS 165: Issues and Policies in Social Welfare I SWSS 166: Issues and Policies in Social Welfare II SWSS 168: Social Work Practice I SWSS 169: Social Work Practice II SWSS 171: Field Experience Seminar I SWSS 172: Field Experience Seminar II SWSS 173: Field Experience I SWSS 174: Field Experience Seminar II |
SOCIAL WORK GUIDANCE: For spring 2020 Social Work majors will be allowed all Gen Eds (that Social Work requires a C- or better) to be taken as P/NP or for a grade. Additionally, Social Work will support students, on a case by case basis, in spring 2020, if they want to request an exception for their Social Work courses to be taken P/NP. Students may ask to have the lower grade deemed sufficient or they can ask that we waive the requirement of no more than two grades below a B and none below a C-.
We wish you all the best throughout the semester.