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Record Verification Checklist: How to Check Your Record
It is your responsibility to ensure that the courses you select are appropriate and credited towards your B.A. degree. It is also your responsibility to be familiar with University and Faculty regulations as specified here: eCalendar and important dates. Refer to Key dates for the current term (except summer).
The purpose of verification is to ensure the accuracy of all student information on your record. This includes program and course information, as well as personal information such as mailing and home addresses. Students are responsible for ensuring that all information on their record is accurate. Inaccurate program or course registration may jeopardize graduation.
General Information:
- Confirm that your course registration is accurate.
- If you have grades from previous terms that are currently unresolved, it is your responsibility to follow up directly with the instructor of the course.
- If you are in your first year of study, be advised that courses above the 200 level require more advanced research, analytical, and writing skills and are usually not recommended for students in their first year of study.
- Freshman students should be aware of the approved list of Freshman Courses for completing their Freshman requirements.
- Courses are administered by the unit/department which offers them; therefore, inquiries about registration restrictions and registration permits must be directed to the undergraduate program coordinator in the unit/department which offers the course. If you have been granted a registration permit, you must use the quick add/drop option in Minerva to register.
- If you are in your graduating term, verify that the correct graduation term is displayed on your record (Fall, Winter, or Summer graduation term). Also check that you have met all general degree requirements and the points addressed in the graduation checklist.
Academic Standing:
It is your responsibility to review your academic standing on your unofficial Minerva transcript each term and report any issues to Arts OASIS. For more information please refer to the Academic Standing page.
Advanced Standing:
If your pre‐McGill record is not accurate, please follow up directly with Enrollment Services through Service Point. Please note that if you have been given a specific course equivalency or course exemption (for example, BIOL 111/112, MATH 140 or HIST 211) for your advanced standing, you cannot re‐take this course at McGill for credit. More information on advanced standing is available here.
Transfer Credits:
If you completed studies at another university while registered as a McGill student (exchange, study away, J’explore, IUT (Inter‐University Transfer) courses), it is your responsibility to ensure that your record is accurate and up‐to‐date as errors will impact your graduation. Please contact Arts OASIS to report any errors or omissions. Arts OASIS reserves the right to refuse to award McGill transfer credit for any studies completed at another university if these studies were not pre-approved.
Repeating courses:
You are permitted to re‐take a course in which you have received a grade of “W”, “F”, “J”, “U” or “D”. If you re‐take a course in which you have received a grade of “D”, no additional credit will be given however both grades will be included in your CGPA. (i.e. the second grade does not replace the initial grade). You cannot re‐take a course in which you have received a grade of C or better or received an exemption for. If you re‐take a course in which you have received a grade of C or better, or received an exemption for, the second course will be E-flagged. This means that you will not get credit for it and the grade will not be included in the CGPA.
Topics Courses:
You are permitted to take topics courses with the same course number, for credit, more than once if the course content is different each time the course was taken. If you are taking a topics course, you can request (to the department) to have the course title/topic specified on your student record. To request this, please contact the department that offers the course so that they may complete the following form (departmental login required): Once both grades appear on your transcript for topics courses, the system will automatically flag one of the two not for credit. If the content of these courses is indeed different, please contact Arts OASIS to get both courses flagged for credit.
Course pre‐requisites and co-requisites:
Before registering for a course, it is your responsibility to check if it has a pre‐requisite and to make sure that you have successfully completed the pre‐requisite(s). You are urged to make an informed and cautious decision before taking a course for which you do not have the required pre‐requisite. Please note that Minerva will not prevent you from registering for a course if you do not have the required prerequisites. Please check with your program adviser if a grade of C or better is required.
Course Restrictions & Course Overlap:
Some courses have restrictions. This could mean that the course content overlaps with other courses. This information is available in the course description (if you click on the CRN, Course Reference Number, the course description, including pre‐requisites and restrictions will be displayed). If you take a course that overlaps with a course you have already completed, you will not earn credit for the second course and the grade will not be included in your CGPA. To confirm possible course overlap between statistic courses, please review this page. If you have further questions about course overlap, please do not hesitate to contact the department which offers the course and/or the course instructor.
Out‐of‐faculty Credits:
The number of credits you can take in faculties other than the Faculties of Arts and Science is limited. If you exceed the number of credits you are permitted to take outside the Faculties of Arts and Science, the extra credits will be E‐flagged (excluded from the credit count and the CGPA).
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grading Option:
You are permitted to take a maximum of 10% of your credits completed at McGill under the S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) option with a maximum of one elective course per term. Please note that the S/U option can only be added before the add/drop deadline in which the course is taken (In the fall for full-year courses) However, it can be removed up until the withdrawal without refund deadline (In the fall for full-year courses). You must receive a grade of “C” or better to be granted an “S” and earn credits for the course; if you receive a grade of “D”, “F” or “J”, you will receive a “U” and will not earn credits. The “S” and “U” are not factored into your CGPA.
Graduate Courses:
If you are in U3 and have a CGPA of at least 3.30, you are permitted to take a maximum of 6 credits of graduate courses (600‐level) for your B.A. degree. For details on how to obtain permission, please review the enrollment of undergraduate students in 600-level courses information page.
Continuing Studies Courses:
Typically, courses offered through the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) do not count towards an Arts degree. However, there are some exceptions. Courses offered by the School of Continuing Studies which have a course code that starts with “C” (except for certain courses, i.e., CHEM, CESL/CEAP) cannot be taken for credit toward your B.A. degree. For more information, carefully read the page on School of Continuing Studies courses.
Transcript remarks:
For information about course flags please refer to the Transcript remarks section of our FAQs.
Holds:
Freshman Courses Incomplete: kindly note that the “Freshman Courses Incomplete” hold is automatically placed on the records of all newly admitted students entering the Bachelor of Arts degree with less than 24 credits. The “Freshman Courses Incomplete” hold is simply an indication located at the top of your student record that Freshman Program courses are in progress. This hold will not block you from course registration.
For more information on holds, please refer to this very useful page!