Pass/Fail Policy

Pass/Fail Policy and Withdrawal Deadlines:

Note: Pass-Fail and Withdrawal deadlines are at the end of the 11th week of the semester. The Pass-Fail policy applies to undergraduate students only; the Withdrawal policy applies to undergraduate and graduate students.

University Senate By-Laws: II.E.3.b Pass-Fail Option

A student who is in good academic standing (i.e., not on academic notice, subject to dismissal, or dismissed) may elect a maximum of 12 credits (not including credits on P/F recorded in spring 2020) to be distributed over not more than one course per semester and three courses total, to be recorded as ‘P’ for Pass or ‘F’ for Fail on their permanent record. Courses taken Pass-Fail may only be used as electives; they may not be used to satisfy general education, school/college, major or minor requirements. Students who are selecting a course for the Pass-Fail option or want to convert a Pass-Fail back to a graded basis must do so by the eleventh of the semester. Students who convert to a Pass-Fail and then revert the course back to a graded basis cannot again convert the course back to a Pass-Fail. Students seeking to put a course on Pass-Fail after the eleventh week of the semester must get approval from the student’s advisor and from the Dean or designee of the school or college in which the student is enrolled. Approvals are given only for extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control; poor academic performance is not an extenuating circumstance. For courses taught outside of the fall and spring semesters, these deadlines will be adjusted in a pro-rated fashion by the Registrar.

During the semester the student completes the course and is graded in the usual way by the instructor; and the instructor submits a letter grade (per 3a, above). This letter grade is translated into a ‘P’ (‘D-‘ or above) or remains an ‘F.’ In neither event will a course taken under the Pass-Fail option be included in the computation of the semester or cumulative grade point average, but a grade below ‘C’ makes the student ineligible for Dean’s List. Individual schools and colleges have the privilege of adopting the Pass- Fail option with or without supplementary restrictions. Students are referred to the detailed statements of the various schools in the University Catalog for such restrictions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • More information on submitting a Pass/Fail request can be found on the Registrar’s forms page, and a request can be submitted using the Student Enrollment Request Form.
  • Major advisor and/or program director approval/consent is required for all Pass/Fail requests.

  • For a course designated as Pass/Fail, a letter grade of D-minus or above will be translated to a P@ for pass. A letter grade of F will be translated to an F@ for fail.

  • No. Courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis (appearing as a “P@” or “F@” on your transcript) do not count toward your GPA.
    • For example, an “F@” is not factored into your GPA, whereas an “F” (for a course taken on a graded basis) will be factored into your GPA with a value of 0.

  • Maybe. Students electing to place courses on pass/fail or taking incomplete grades for the semester should be aware that this may have an impact on their SAP status and should contact Financial Aid with any questions.

  • No. Courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis cannot count towards majors, minors, or common curriculum requirements. They can count only as electives.

  • If the grade is an F, you can put it on Pass/Fail to protect your GPA. You will need to take the course again on a graded basis in order to fulfill major, minor, and/or common curriculum requirements.
  • If your program requires a specific grade for this requirement and your grade is below that threshold, you can put it on Pass/Fail to protect your GPA and earned credits for this semester. You will need to take the course again. When you retake the course, you will lose the credits under repeat forgiveness.
  • If there is an alternative course that fills the same requirement, you may prefer to take the course on Pass/Fail and keep the credits as electives that do not affect your GPA. You can then take a different course next semester that fills the same requirement.
  • Some graduate schools and licensures require specific courses to be taken as graded (these are often courses that have a minimum grade requirement). If you take such a course on a Pass/Fail, you may need to retake it, even if your grade was above the minimum.

  • No. A student who is not in good academic standing may not put any courses on Pass/Fail. 

  • Yes. Undergraduate students in good academic standing may elect a maximum of 12 credits to be distributed over not more than one course per semester and three courses total as Pass or Fail across their entire undergraduate academic career.
    • This total does not include courses designated as Pass/Fail in the Spring 2020 semester.

  • Students are allowed to take courses up to three times; Pass/Fail counts as an attempt. If you place the second attempt at a course on pass/fail, you will need Advising Dean approval to take for a third time. The University does not allow a course to be taken a 4th time under any circumstances.
  • For more information on policies regarding retaking/repeating a course, please visit the Registrar’s webpage.

  • No. If you have received a grading sanction (e.g., an automatic “F”) resulting from an academic integrity case, you cannot change to Pass/Fail or drop the course. The sanction you received will stand.