Grades and Grade Forgiveness | Academic Advising, The Ohio State University (2024)

You can earn course credit with qualifying scores on tests, such as AP, IB, and CLEP.

You can also earn credit through exams offered through the Testing Center (585 SAS Building) or the department offering a particular course. Students may also arrange with departments and faculty members to test for credit in courses that are not listed, if the department thinks it appropriate. The department that offers the credit determines the score you will need to to earn credit for a course (e.g. - the Psychology department makes score decisions for PSYCH classes). Make sure you know the minimum score you will need before the test.

If an emergency prevents you from finishing a course, you may request an "Incomplete" from the instructor.

If the instructor agrees, you should arrange to complete the course requirements no later than the sixth week of the following term - sooner, if the instructor will need it sooner. If the work is not made up by the due date, the "I" mark will be changed to a the grade that you would have earned before the "I" was assigned.

If you plan to take the next course in a sequence and you have arranged an incomplete in the previous course, you will not be allowed to enroll until the "I" is changed to a grade that meets the minimum requirement for the next sequenced class.

Some students are eligible to take up to 20 credit hours of electives using the pass/non-pass (PA/NP) grading option. In courses graded PA/NP, you will either earn credit hours for a mark of PA or no credit for a mark of NP. Neither mark is included in your GPA.

Instructors decide what score you must obtain to earn a PA mark; make sure you know what score you need to pass.

See your advisor early in the semester to discuss whether this is an appropriate option for you, since this decision should be made by the date to withdraw without a W.

• In response to the COVID pandemic, the university expanded the use of Pass/Non-Pass as a response to the global health crisis for some semesters. Students may not request to retroactively apply or remove the PA/NP grade scheme during these terms.

This emergency grade option recognizes when exceptional circ*mstances may impact students' academic performance (such as a global health crisis or natural disaster). When the PE grade scheme is activated by the university, D+ or D grades will automatically change to PE for undergraduate students, and E will be automatically changed to NP. PE and NP marks do not impact your GPA, but you will still earn credit hours for PE marks (no credit hours are earned for NP).

Students may choose to have the PE grade returned to the standard A-E grade scheme must request it before the end of the 2nd semester (or summer) after the grade was earned, but prior to graduation and the reversion is permanent.

• Students may not request emergency grading, it is activated by university action and applies to all students.

You can audit a course to refresh your memory of the material (in a course you have already taken) or to learn more about a subject without earning a letter grade. Fees are applied for auditing a course, but no credit hours are earned.

To audit a course you must obtain permission from the instructor and your college (through your academic advisor). See your advisor early in the semester to discuss whether this is an appropriate option for you, since this decision should be made by the date to withdraw without a W.

In most cases, you may not audit a course and later repeat it for credit.

• Since you will not earn credit for an audit, the hours do not count toward eligibility for financial aid.

This is a grading basis chosen by the department teaching the course, not a grading option chosen by the student.

In courses with an S/U grading basis, you will earn credit hours for a mark of S, no credit for a mark of U. Neither mark will be counted in your GPA. Instructors decide what score you must obtain to earn the S mark; make sure you know what score you need to satisfactorily meet the objectives of the class.

Courses dropped after the deadline for "Dropping without a W" (typically the 4th Friday of a full semester) will receive a mark of W. If you are planning on dropping a course, be aware the date for dropping without a W.

• A W is not calculated into your GPA; it simply notes that you remained in the course beyond the deadline before you decided to drop it.
• Too many W marks on your record will affect your satisfactory academic progress (SAP) for financial aid.
• Graduate programs might consider a pattern of repeated Ws in their admissions decision, but one or two W marks (or one semester with several W marks) are usually not considered a problem.

1. The second grade, once assigned, becomes permanent; if a student repeats the same course again, all other repeats will be included under the general course repeatability rule (above). This means that students who earn a lower grade in their second attempt may see their GPA fall, may lose eligibility to advance in course sequences or apply to competitive majors, or may lose credit for the course.
2. The original grade will remain on the student's transcript and some graduate/professional school admission processes will re-calculate the student's GPA to include the original grade.
3. Grade Forgiveness can be used once per course on up to three courses. If you want to use Grade Forgiveness for a class you took the first time during a semester when the university used the Exceptional Circ*mstances grade scheme, please contact your advisor for more information.

To use Grade Forgiveness students should re-enroll in the course they intend to repeat and submit the Grade Forgiveness petition form before the last day to drop that course without petitioning (usually the 10th Friday of the term for full semester classes). The campus, semester, or session does not matter, but both the first and second attempts must be taken at Ohio State.

If a student needs to adjust or withdraw a Grade Forgiveness petition form, they should contact their academic advisor (since the advisor will work with the college secretary or advising administrator, there may be a delay in receiving a response).

If you decide to drop the class after your Grade Forgiveness petition has been approved, the university will cancel that request and return that Grade Forgiveness instance to you.

Note: If a course is dropped after the new grade has been posted, the Grade Forgiveness instance will not be returned.

1. Grade Forgiveness can only be applied to Ohio State courses: the first attempt of a course is defined as the first attempt taken at Ohio State, and the second attempt of the course is defined as the second attempt taken at Ohio State. This rule is intended for a second attempt's grade to forgive a first attempt's grade; third attempts are not eligible for grade forgiveness.
2. Grade Forgiveness petitions will not be approved for W, PA, PE, S, U, UEN, NP, or NEN mark since those do not impact the GPA.
3. Requests for classes in which the student has previously earned a passing grade may not be approved, based on class-seat availability.
4. Some departments have special rules about repeating courses that are taken as a sequence, such as Math or Chemistry. Please check with an advisor or review the department website for special Grade Forgiveness rules.

Academic standing is not retroactively reviewed if a first attempt's grade is removed from the GPA calculation due to forgiveness.

The original grade will not be removed from the student's GPA and earned hours until after the final drop deadline for the term has passed (after the 10th Friday for full-term courses). Generally, transcripts will be sent after the new grade has posted.

The original grade will still be present on the transcript, it will only be removed from the reported Ohio State GPA and earned hours calculations. Some graduate or professional schools may recalculate your GPA to include the original grade.