Satisfactory/No Credit Option

Students in good academic standing (2.00 GPA or above) may take courses not required in their majors on an S/NC grading basis. "S" grades indicate C (not C-) or better work—students receive unit credit but the grade point average is not affected. Consult with your advisor on whether S/NC is a wise choice—some strategy is involved. For example, if you have put off taking World History until the final quarter of your senior year and you take the course S/NC and earn a C- (NC), you will not earn credit and will not be able to graduate. Had you taken the course for a letter grade, the C- would be passing and your worries about graduation minimized. You have until noon at the end of the eighth week of instruction to decide about grading status.

Students may receive credit for courses undertaken and graded "S" to a limit of one-third of the total units undertaken and passed at the time the degree is awarded.

Incomplete

Incomplete ("I") grades: most commonly, professors will grant an Incomplete if students were unable to take the final examination or finish a paper at the required time due to illness or other unavoidable problems that can be verified, providing the student’s work in the course was of passing quality.

In order to remove the "I", students must complete the work required during the next academic quarter (whether in attendance or not)—professors will then report the grade to the Registrar on a Grade Change Form. Avoid "Incompletes" if possible. Incompletes cannot be removed by enrolling in the course during the following quarter. Make arrangements with your instructor on how to replace the "I" for a grade. The "I" will automatically revert to an "F" (or NC) after one quarter. An "I" received in the quarter of expected graduation must be completed within one week; otherwise, graduation will be postponed. In such cases, students are required to notify the Student Academic Affairs Office.

Repeating Courses

You may repeat courses for credit if you receive a D+ or lower, or NC grade. For the first 16 units of repeat, only the most recently earned grade and grade points will be used in calculating your GPA. For example, if you take a course and receive an "F" and then repeat the course and earn an "A", only the "A" will be included in your grade point average. The record of the "F" is not removed from your transcript but a note appears on the transcript indicating the "F" grade does not count because it was repeated for full credit. A comment under the new "A" grade indicates that full credit is allowed. If you repeat a D and get an F the second time, you will lose the four units from the D grade. After 16 units of repeat, both grades will be averaged in the GPA. When repeating a class, be careful with the grading basis: if you took the course originally for a letter grade, you must repeat it for a letter grade; if you signed up originally as S/NC, you may repeat S/NC or for a letter grade.

If you take the same course more than two times, you are required to file a petition to obtain approval from the Associate Dean before enrolling in the course the third time. Repeating a course more than once may be necessary to meet such requirements as the English composition requirement (a "C" average for all three quarters and no grade below a "C-,") or the foreign language requirement (a grade of C at the appropriate level for your degree program).

Changing Grades

Grades are final at the end of each quarter. If you discover a clerical or procedural error was made in the posting of your grade, contact the instructor immediately and request a revision. This type of revision can be made only if 1) the basis for the change is found in work that you submitted as part of the regular assignments during the quarter; 2) the change is not the result of re-examination (unless your initial grade was Incomplete); 3) the change does not involve a change in the grading basis (from S/NC to letter grade or the reverse). Only the instructor can change a grade.

In May 1977, the Academic Senate approved a procedure for the appeal of grades that may have been given for other than academic reasons. This procedure is outlined in Senate Regulations 5 - 5.1.10 (i.e., "reasons of race, religion, sex or ethnic origin or for other arbitrary or personal reasons"). The Associate Dean is available to discuss this procedure with you and advise you about possible courses of action.

Undergraduate Credit for Graduate Courses

Students interested in obtaining undergraduate credit for graduate courses should contact the Student Academic Affairs Office for further information.