Policy

Undergraduate and Graduate students may retake courses and/or replace previous grades under certain circumstances.

Reason for Policy

To set forth policy and procedures by which students may retake courses and be eligible for grade replacement.

To Whom Does The Policy Apply

All matriculated students.

Related Documents

Procedure; Office of the Registrar website

Contacts

Office of the Provost: 201-684-7532

Undergraduate and Graduate Students may retake courses and replace previous grades under certain circumstances.

PROCEDURE

RETAKING COURSES

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students may, without any additional requirements, retake once a course they already took regardless of whether they passed or failed it. If the course was previously passed, the student must submit a Retake Course Form to the Office of the Registrar so that they may be registered for the course.

Any student who would like to retake a course more than once (regardless of prior grade) may do so only with the permission of the Academic Dean of the School that offers the course. (Note: If a student retakes a course previously passed, the credits will only be counted once toward fulfilling degree requirements.)

The decision to retake a course is left to student discretion except when a student has earned a grade lower than what is established by the program for a prerequisite course, if applicable, or an ‘F’ in a program-required course. When this occurs, the failed course must be retaken in order to successfully complete all degree requirements.

Retaking a course will affect the student’s transcript and grade point average (GPA) in the following ways:

1. When a student retakes a course, all courses and all grades earned appear on the transcript.
2. When a student retakes a course, all grades earned are included in the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA, but only the highest grade earned is included in the calculation of the student’s major GPA.

Graduate Students

Graduate students may, without any additional requirements, retake once a course they already took regardless of whether they passed or failed it. If the course was previously passed, the student must submit a Retake Course Form to the Office of the Registrar so that they may be registered for the course.

Any student who would like to retake a course more than once (regardless of prior grade) may do so only with the permission of the Graduate Program Director (for the program the student is enrolled in) and the Academic Dean of the School that offers the course. (Note:  If a student retakes a course previously passed, the credits will only be counted once toward fulfilling degree requirements.)

The decision to retake a course is left to student discretion except when a student has earned a grade lower than what is established by the program for a prerequisite course, if applicable, or an “F” in a program-required course. When this occurs, the failed course must be retaken in order to successfully complete all degree requirements.

Retaking a course will affect the student’s transcript and grade point average (GPA) in the following ways:

1. When a student retakes a course, all courses and all grades earned appear on the transcript.
2. When a student retakes a course, all grades earned are included in the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA, which is used for determination of academic standing. Only the highest grade earned is included in the calculation of the student’s graduate program GPA, used to determine graduation eligibility.

GRADE REPLACEMENT

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students are also allowed to replace previous grades under certain circumstances.

Undergraduate students may choose to apply for grade replacement which allows a grade previously earned in the course to be excluded from the cumulative grade point average (GPA) calculation. (Note: Replacing a grade does not remove the previously earned grade from the undergraduate student’s academic transcript.)

An undergraduate student who wishes to replace a grade must complete the following steps and be aware of the following information:

1. An undergraduate student may replace a grade regardless of whether they previously passed or failed the course in order to try to earn a better grade.
2. The student should consult with their academic advisor before applying for grade replacement. Any undergraduate student who receives financial aid and who wishes to replace a grade should consult with the Office of Financial Aid to determine if retaking a course will have any impact on their financial aid award.
3. Undergraduate students who have been suspended or dismissed and wish to appeal must apply for all applicable grade replacements prior to submitting written appeals for immediate reinstatement. Students who accept their suspensions or dismissals or who are later notified that their appeal was not approved may not apply for any grade replacements until such time they are approved for return.
4. The following guidelines and limitations apply to grade replacements:

• • If an undergraduate student wishes to replace grades, the student must submit a Grade Replacement Form to the Office of the Registrar. If the course was previously passed, the student must also submit a Retake Course Form to the Office of the Registrar so that they may be registered for the course.
  • The grade replacement option is only available four times total during a student’s undergraduate academic career at the College.
  • As zero-credit courses have no impact on a student’s GPA, using a grade replacement for these courses will not have impact on the student’s academic transcript. If requested, it will be processed accordingly and will count as one of the four times total as described.
  • Only one grade replacement can be issued per course, regardless of how many grades were previously earned in the course. The lowest grade earned (or one of the lowest grades earned if the course was previously taken multiple times) will be excluded from the student’s cumulative GPA if a grade replacement is issued.
  • The course must bear the same subject, course number, and title as the course that is being replaced. In cases where the course being replaced has been discontinued and is no longer active, the student may request the grade replacement be issued for the equivalent renumbered course should one exist (e.g., if SOSC 101 has been discontinued and its equivalent renumbered course is SOSC 110). (Note: A student cannot use a grade replacement for a discontinued course that is no longer offered and has not been given an equivalent course.)
  • The course may carry the same number or a different number of credits. The grade replacement may be used for lecture/lab courses that have been discontinued and renumbered, which bear a different number of credits than the course being repeated (e.g., if the 4-credit BIOL 110 has been discontinued and its two equivalent renumbered courses are the 4-credit BIOL 111 plus the 1-credit BIOL 111L).
  • Grade replacement is not available for a course in which an academic integrity violation occurred and the sanction was an F. A student may not substitute an Independent Study for the course being replaced and use a grade replacement.
  • A student may not use a grade replacement for an Independent Study.
  • A student may not use a grade replacement for a Topics course unless the student retakes the course with an identical topic.
    
  • A grade replacement is not reversible once processed to the student’s academic transcript.
  • All grade replacements must be processed before graduation. Once a student graduates, a grade replacement cannot be applied as no changes of any kind can be made to the academic record.

Replacing a grade will affect the student’s transcript and grade point average (GPA) in the following ways:

1. When an undergraduate student is approved for the grade replacement after successfully retaking a course, an R will appear immediately next to the original grade earned in the course on the student’s transcript (e.g., RC-, RD+, RF).
2. Once the grade replacement is applied, one lower grade previously earned in the course will be excluded from the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA calculation. Only the highest grade earned is included in the calculation of the student’s major GPA (Note: Some graduate/professional school admission processes will re-calculate a student’s GPA to include all grades earned.)
3. Once the grade replacement has been posted to the student’s academic transcript, past and current cumulative and semester GPAs will be updated automatically, but the history of academic standing will not change on the unofficial transcript.
4. Once a student has graduated, no changes of any kind may be made to the record.

Graduate Students

Graduate students are also allowed to replace previous grades under certain circumstances.

Graduate students may choose to apply for a grade replacement which allows a grade previously earned in the course to be excluded from the cumulative grade point average (GPA) calculation. (Note: Replacing a grade does not remove the previously earned grade from the graduate student’s academic transcript.)

A graduate student who wishes to replace a grade must complete the following steps and be aware of the following information:

1. A graduate student may replace a grade regardless of whether they previously passed or failed the course in order to try to earn a better grade.
2. The student should consult with their Program Director before applying for the grade replacement. Any graduate students who receive financial aid and who wish to replace a grade can only retake a course once without having any impact on their financial aid award.
3. Graduate students who have been dismissed and wish to appeal must apply for all applicable grade replacements prior to submitting written appeals for immediate reinstatement. Students who accept their dismissals or who are notified that their appeal was not approved may not apply for any grade replacements until such time as they are approved for return.
4. The following guidelines and limitations apply to grade replacements:

• • If a graduate student wishes to use a grade replacement, the student must apply to and obtain approval from the Graduate Program Director (for the program in which the student is enrolled in). If the course was previously passed, the student must also submit a Retake Course Form to the Office of the Registrar so that they may be registered for the course.
  • Grade replacement is only available two times total during a student’s graduate academic career at the College.
  • For courses that do not impact a student’s cumulative and/or program GPA, a replacement grade will likewise have no impact. It is the student’s responsibility to consult with their Program Director and determine if a replacement grade request is advised. If requested, it will be processed accordingly and will count as one of the two times total as described.
  • Only one grade replacement can be issued per course, regardless of how many grades were previously earned in the course. The lowest grade earned (or one of the lowest grades earned if the course was previously taken multiple times) will be excluded from the student’s cumulative GPA if a grade replacement is issued.
  • The course must bear the same subject, course number, and title as the course that is being replaced. In cases where the course being replaced has been discontinued and is no longer active, the student may request the grade replacement be issued for the equivalent renumbered course should one exist (e.g., if SOSC 101 has been discontinued and its equivalent renumbered course is SOSC 110). (Note: A student cannot use a grade replacement for a discontinued course that is no longer offered and has not been given an equivalent course.
  • The course may carry the same number or a different number of credits. The grade replacement may be used for lecture/lab courses that have been discontinued and renumbered, which bear a different number of credits than the course be replaced (e.g., if the 4-credit BIOL 110 has been discontinued and its two equivalent renumbered courses are the 4-credit BIOL 111 plus the 1-credit BIOL 111L).
  • A grade replacement is not available for a course in which an academic integrity violation occurred and the sanction was an F.
  • A student may not substitute an Independent Study for the course being replaced and use the grade replacement.
  • A student may not use a grade replacement for an Independent Study.
  • A student may not use a grade replacement for a Topics course unless the student retakes the course with an identical topic.
  • A grade replacement is not reversible once processed to the student’s academic transcript.
  • All grade replacements must be processed before graduation. Once a student graduates, a grade replacement cannot be applied as no changes of any kind can be made to the academic record.

Replacing a grade will affect the student’s transcript and grade point average (GPA) in the following ways:

1. When a graduate student is approved for a grade replacement after successfully retaking a course, an R will appear immediately next to the original grade earned in the course on the student’s transcript (e.g., RC-, RD+, RF).
2. Once the grade replacement is applied, one lower grade previously earned in the course will be excluded from the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA calculation. Only the highest grade earned is included in the calculation of the student’s graduate program GPA, used to determine graduation eligibility (Note: Some graduate/professional school admission processes will re-calculate a student’s GPA to included all grades earned.)
3. Once the grade replacement has been posted on the student’s academic transcript, past and current cumulative and semester GPAs will be updated automatically, but the history of academic standing will not change on the unofficial transcript.