The Art of S/NC

What is S/NC?

Blatantly stolen borrowed with citations from Brown’s website on grade options,

When registering for courses, Brown students must indicate whether they are taking a course for a grade (G) or satisfactory/no credit (S/NC).

The S/NC grade option at Brown allows you to take any course without receiving a formal grade for it. This system is very similar to “pass/fail” systems at other universities, and is an invaluable tool for allieviating stress around courses and for exploration (more on that later).

Some courses are considered to be mandatory S/NC and cannot be taken for a grade (both your internal and external transcripts will indicate this with the symbol S*) If you had achieved a grade equivalent to an A in a course taken S/NC, your instructor can give you a Satisfactory with Distinction, which counts towards College honors.

Course Performance Reports

Sometimes, you may feel that the grade you get only tells part of the story. You can request evaluations (see them as mini recommendation letters) from your course instructors, and receive feedback from them on your progress and achievements. You can request a Course Performance Report (CPR) for any of your courses on ASK. The deadline to do so is before the end of the semester. I recommend requesting it before finals period begins to provide ample time for your instructors to complete them. Your instructor (unless it is a mandatory S/NC course) may decline to complete a CPR; that is alright and in no way a reflection of you. Finally, you do not have to take a course S/NC to request a CPR. CPRs can be requested regardless of the grade option you chose.

When is S/NC?

The deadline for choosing to take a course S/NC (or choosing to take it for a standard letter grade) tends to be approximately four (4) weeks from the start of the semester (or two (2) weeks after shopping period ends). For Fall 2021, the grade option deadline is Thursday, October 5th, 2021 @ 5pm ET.

Where is S/NC?

When initially registering for your courses via Courses@Brown, you can select your grade option via the dropdown.

Afterwards, however, the process gets a little wonkier.

  1. Sign into Banner with your Brown credentials.
  2. Select the Student tab, then select the Registration link (second from the top).
  3. Select the Change Class Options link (second from the top).
  4. You will be presented a list of all the courses you are taking, with dropdowns to change your grade option. Make sure to submit your changes and check that it went through!

If you found this written tutorial incomprehensible, here is a video tutorial.

How is S/NC?

S/NC is doing quite well. Thank you for asking!

Why is S/NC?

This section is quite subjective. Students often take a myriad of approaches to S/NC, and you are under no obligation to follow any methodology.

As mentioned previously, S/NC can be an amazing tool for reducing stress and for facilitating exploration of the Open Curriculum.

Consider taking a course S/NC if it’s:

  • in an area you are unfamiliar with
  • the fourth or fifth course in an perceiveably heavy schedule
  • in a field of study you want to explore
    • this includes concentration requirements taken early on
  • particularly time-consuming (which can save you quite a bit of stress down the line)

Ultimately, if you believe that taking a course S/NC will be beneficial for your mental health, time management, and exploration efforts, strongly consider doing so. Don’t forget to request a CPR!

Consider not taking a course S/NC if it’s:

  • a pre-professional requirement. Many graduate schools, particularly medical schools, prefer it if the student takes the course for a grade.
  • a concentration requirement. Yes, it is perfectly OK to S/NC some of your concentration requirements early on in your journey, but S/NC’ing higher level requirements later down the line could result in issues with employers and others who will look at your undergrad transcript.

Generally speaking, be wary of taking requirements S/NC. If you believe taking a course for your grade will help with your motivation to learn and succeed in the course, then not taking a course S/NC may be the move for you.