Understanding graduate research course grade modes (9970, 9980, 9990)
Grade Mode K, Research For Credit, (P/F Grade)
Used for credit-bearing Graduate Research numbered as follows: 9970, 9980 and 9990.
Students registered in research courses with credits must be assessed.
The K Grade Mode grades with a P/F (Pass / Fail) grade only.
Registration in 9970/9980/9990 courses gives the student full time status (a job runs overnight – Time Status of RS=Full Time - (REG_STATUS_UPDATE_C))
Use of the K Grade Mode allows the courses to count in the student’s earned hours.
Courses that carry credit must be assessed per The Department of Education Compliance Policies.
Grade Mode 7, Research Zero Credit, (R grade)
Historically, this grade mode was used for 0-credit research courses (pre-summer 2026).
Was only used with 9970/9980/9990 Master’s Thesis or PhD Dissertation Research
Only used when all other GR coursework is complete
Registration in9970/9980/9990 courses gave the student full time status (a job runs overnight – Time Status of RS=Full Time - (REG_STATUS_UPDATE_C))
R graded courses were not assessed by a professor; the Registrar’s Office ran a job to auto apply the R grade
R graded courses did count in the student’s earned hours
Were only used for courses that carried zero credits
Usage
Historically (pre-summer 2026), most schools used the 0-credit 9970/9980/9990 courses with the 7 grade mode and waived tuition, only charging $300 (or so) for the GR student to continue their research and maintain full time status. The current policy requires these courses to carry a minimum of 1-credit-hour. See related article for more details: Understanding graduate research coursework (9970, 9980, 9990 courses) .