One of the most interesting aspects of Brown's open curriculum is that you can take courses S/NC. This means that you take a course, and if you perform in the course above a certain threshold, you get a semester grade of S (Satisfactory), and if you don't, you get a semester grade of NC (No Credit). NC's don't appear on your transcript - so it's like it never happened. Students can take as many classes for the grade of S/NC as they want. And some classes at Brown are "Mandatory S/NC", which means that it's the only grading option.
The official policy of Brown is here, if you're interested. What's funny about the link I posted is that if you read through it, it talks a lot about the "Faculty Rules", but there's no link to those rules. And that's because it's hidden and meant only for faculty (actually, I don't know this for certain - I do know that if I want to read the faculty rules, I'm asked for my credentials, so I assume that the rules are only for faculty)
But here's my interpretation of these rules: Faculty can choose the relation between performance in a class and a student receiving a grade of A/B/C and NC. Faculty can also make a determination about what constitutes an S, S+ (if they choose to use that) and NC. They just have to tell students ahead of time (usually, it's on the syllabus - so read the syllabus). There's also a nod to consistency in grading in these rules (so, if two people earn exactly 89% for the semester, they both have to be given the same letter grade). But this is my interpretation - none of this is stated explicitly.
That (hopefully) makes sense.
OK. Back to S/NC. One question that I get asked often from first-year advisees and from concentrators is: How many courses should I take S/NC? and Should I take courses in my concentration S/NC?
Let's cover these. But an aside. I didn't go to Brown as an undergraduate (I applied. I was admitted; I went to Swarthmore instead). Swarthmore, like Brown had an unlimited S/NC system. But there were four differences: (1) At Swarthmore, no matter what, all courses you took first semester were S/NC; (2) If you got an NC, it did appear on your transcript, so if you failed a class, it was on your transcript. (3) There was no such thing as S+. (4) A grade of S (by policy) was 80% or better. So, the systems were not identical, but there were a lot of similarities. And frankly, the advice that I'm giving here can be viewed through the lens of my experience with Swarthmore's system.
OK. Here goes:
How many courses should I take S/NC?
A few possible answers:
1) Some people suggest taking one class S/NC every semester for all eight semesters. I'm not a fan of this strategy. What's the point of having a system where you are free to choose all your classes, and then constraining those choices such that you require yourself to take one class S/NC every semester? I just don't see it.
2) Some people suggest taking all classes in the first semester S/NC, and then using the S/NC system sparingly. This was the system that Swarthmore used and basically the system that I experienced. The advantage of this is that it allows you to transition to college without worry about grades. The disadvantage is that if you feel that you are ready to make the transition, you might not need to do this. Also, taking ALL your classes S/NC minimizes some of the work that you do the first semester, which makes the adjustment in the second semester more challenging.
I will also mention that that I had no idea how to judge classwork when I was a first semester student. Swarthmore requires Course Performance Reports for all the first-semester students, which have a "shadow" grade - the grade you would have gotten. I got an A, two A- and a B in the four classes I took - Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to Linguistics, and a first-year English class, respectfully. (and no, I didn't remember this 25+ years later - I had to look it up).
I also became a double major in Psychology and Computer Science - and at that point I had already taken one course in each of those concentrations S/NC, and they were the introductory courses and I had done well in them (I'll discuss this more below). So, this hurt me twice - I wasn't able to count the high grades I received in both classes towards my GPA, and I felt I couldn't take as many other classes S/NC in the majors later on.
(So I don't like those answers - here's the answer I like):
3) Take them depending on your comfort level with the material. That's actually a pretty good way of thinking about S/NC. Usually classes labeled "Introduction to..." are designed for a student who has never seen the material or the topic before. It's usually not a good idea to take such classes S/NC (although exceptions will follow below). But sometimes students don't have the introductory class available to them, but they have some background, which makes them want to challenge themselves. A good example is with sequences of classes, which are taken out of order. For example, the Chemistry department recommends that students take CHEM100, CHEM330, CHEM350, and then CHEM360. This is a sequence of classes. It's also a sequence for the premed requirements. Students can place out of CHEM0100 with AP credit (there's also an exam), but some students just jump into CHEM0330 with no background in Chemistry. This *might* be a good time to take a class S/NC.
Frankly, in the CLPS department, there are a lot of students who want to jump into the 1000-level courses without taking anything at the level below 1000 (like students wanting to take 1700 without taking 10 or another introductory-level course). This is a good time for S/NC, particularly if you suspect the course won't be taught again (most 1000-level classes are taught once every other year, or even once every 3 years).
BIG NOTE HERE: If you are a pre-med student, there are some guidelines about taking courses S/NC: "All required courses should be completed for a grade with the exception of mandatory S/NC courses." So, keep in mind that all your pre-med requirements should not be S/NC unless it's a mandatory S/NC course. General guidelines for premed requirements are here. Keep that in mind for what I just wrote about the CHEM sequence. If you're pre-med, medical schools really want to see your grades, particularly in the classes they require.
Some other random thoughts:
1) I think it's slightly better to take courses S/NC at the start of your Brown career than at the end. This is yet another way of exploring the Brown curriculum.
2) But if you are going to take them when you're a junior or senior, then it's a good idea to take a course S/NC if you want to take a course in a topic you have never experienced, particularly if you know that you're not going to concentrate in that department.
3) Lots of students are nervous about taking 5 classes in a semester. This is a good time to break out the S/NC. Taking one of those classes (or even 2 of them) S/NC is a good way to balance the extra workload. If you have done well in your first year (i.e., A's and B's across the classes you've taken), I recommend this in semester 3, particularly for a class that would not be applied to your concentration.
Should I take courses in my concentration S/NC?
You can. It's often not a bad idea, especially if there is a particular class that concerns you. But here is my recommendation - Take at most 1/6th of your concentration S/NC. So, if there are 12 credits for the concentration, do two at most. You could do zero or one. That's fine too. But two should be the maximum. You want to make sure that when a perspective employer or graduate school looks at your transcript, you are demonstrating knowledge of your chosen field. The 1/6th rule seems like a good rule of thumb. So, if you are a AB in Psychology, Cognitive Science, or Cognitive Neuroscience, two classes at most (because these concentrations require 12 credits). If you are an Sc.B. in those fields or a BDS concentrator, then three at most (BDS requires 13 credits; Sc.B.'s in all our department's concentrations require 17). Again, this is a guideline and a heuristic, not a rule. Again, it's OK to take 0-2, but usually that's a good stopping point.
I'm now going to offer two personal thoughts. The first is that within the department, there is one class that you should not take S/NC. It's CLPS0900 (or whatever class you use to satisfy your Stats requirement or any other Data requirement). Here's why: Ultimately the CLPS department supports concentrations that involve thinking about data. Employers (including prospective graduate mentors, but also, ALL EMPLOYERS) want to see what your background is with data. An S/NC in that course is not helpful in assessing you as a candidate. If you are really worried about getting a C in that class, then take is S/NC, but a B in statistics is not the end of the world.
(An aside here. I took the statistics requirement for my Psychology major S/NC. And I did not do well for most of the semester. I needed to score 97% or better on the final exam to earn a grade of S. I did earn the S grade in the end, but it was close.)
Second, about 15 years ago, I was on an awards committee and we were evaluating a student for an award in the department. His faculty advisor was also on the committee, and advocated that this student should win the award because he got straight As. And he did. He got an A in every course that he took for a A/B/C grade. But it was only 10 classes (out of 32. He took 22 classes S/NC). Only 5 of the seventeen courses for his concentration were graded. I remember looking at his transcript and thinking that I would never hire this student or admit him into graduate school, because I could not assess his actual knowledge base.
Again, Brown allows students to do this, but I will admit, I don't think this should be the practice.
Conclusion
The S/NC system is a really nice feature of the open curriculum. But it's also an extra decision step. That's one of the reasons you get extra time to make the decision beyond the shopping period. I have certainly advised students who have never used it, but I think that there are clear benefits of the system when used judiciously. As long as you have a good reason for why you're taking a course S/NC, it's usually right. And like everything, I would encourage you to speak with your advisor (first-year, sophomore, or concentration advisor) if you have questions or concerns.