The pass/fail option was created to allow students to explore new disciplines or take a genuinely challenging course.
The student who plans to apply to graduate or professional school should use the pass/fail option sparingly.
Pass/Fail Grade
In registering for courses, students may choose between normal grading status (receiving a letter grade) and pass/fail.
In courses taken on a pass/fail basis, a passing letter grade (any grade above an F, including D) assigned by the instructor is converted to P by the Registrar's Office and entered on the student's transcript. P is not calculated into the cumulative average, but an F is entered as a 0.0 and does affect the grade point average. Instructors are not informed by the Registrar as to who is enrolled on a pass/fail basis.
Courses taken to fulfill any College requirement, major requirementor or minor requirement cannot be taken pass/fail.
College students may take no more than 8 c.u. of coursework pass/fail, though advisors generally recommend against this many.
Students may change the grading status of a course from normal to pass/fail (or vice versa) through the end of the fifth full week of classes.
Freshmen are strongly advised not to take courses on a pass/fail basis.
