Grade Replacement Policy (Archived)
Division of Academic Affairs Policy
Topic: Grade Replacement (Last Revised: Feb. 22, 2021)
Approved by: Russell L. Moore, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Effective Date: Aug. 26, 2019
Last Revised: Feb. 22, 2021
I. Purpose
The University of Colorado Boulder allows degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students to repeat most courses for credit, subject to limits imposed by individual schools and colleges. When a student repeats a course, grades from all attempts appear on the student's transcript and all grades are used in computing cumulative and major grade point averages, total credits and academic standing. This policy adds the option of grade replacement to the option of repeating a course.
II. Policy
In order to invoke the grade replacement policy for a course, a student must have received an eligible grade in a prior attempt of the course. Grades of C-, D+, D, D- or F are eligible for undergraduate students, and grades of C+, C, C-, D+, D, D- or F are eligible for graduate students. Once a student invokes the grade replacement policy for a course, that decision is irrevocable.
When grade replacement is invoked, the grade from the latest attempt of a course replaces the grade from the most recent prior attempt of the same course. The replaced grade is excluded from cumulative grade point average and credit totals in the official academic record; instead, the grade from the latest attempt is included, even if the grade earned in the latest attempt is lower than the replaced grade. Only the grade earned in the latest attempt of a repeated course is used to confirm completion of graduation requirements or to determine a student's academic standing beginning with the term in which the course was repeated. Grades from all attempts of a course remain on a student’s transcript, with those attempts that have been replaced appropriately indicated.
Division of Academic Affairs
Grade Replacement Procedures
A. Eligibility
This policy may be invoked only by currently enrolled, degree-seeking CU Boulder undergraduate or graduate students. Colorado Law students may not invoke this policy and are subject to the academic and grading policies of the Law School.
Students who have graduated are not eligible for grade replacement for courses taken prior to earning their degree.
This policy applies only to undergraduate or graduate courses taken and repeated at CU Boulder. Classes ineligible for grade replacement are special topics courses and courses designated in the catalog as repeatable for credit (e.g., independent studies, field experience and thesis hours).
Undergraduate students may invoke grade replacement for up to 10 credit hours of coursework. Graduate students may invoke grade replacement for up to six credit hours of coursework.*
A class grade earned because of a student's academic dishonesty is not eligible for grade replacement via this policy.
Courses repeated for grade replacement must be taken for a letter grade (not audit, pass/fail or no credit). Courses graded pass/fail only are not eligible for grade replacement.
No retroactive adjustments or transactions for prior terms will be performed as a result of repeating a course, including changes to academic standing or eligibility for honors, athletics or financial aid.*
- Some academic units may limit the number of times a student can enroll in a given course. Such limits must be observed when invoking this policy.
*Effective Feb. 22, 2021: In recognition of the challenges to effective learning that many students have had to cope with during the pandemic, eligible students who earned a low grade in a class taken between Spring 2020 and Summer 2021 may retake the class for grade replacement without having that attempt count against their total grade replacement credit limit. All other grade replacement eligibility requirements still apply.
B. Process
The Office of the Registrar will provide a process for students to invoke the grade replacement policy.
Requests to invoke the grade replacement policy must be completed no later than the posted grade replacement deadline for that term or session.
A request to invoke the policy will be approved as long as the exact same course (same course prefix, same course number) is selected and the student has enough grade repetition credits left to cover the course.
If a student invokes the grade replacement policy but drops or withdraws from the course before the end of the term, this attempt does not count against the number of credits a student is allowed to repeat, and the grade from the most recent prior attempt stands.
- Students who invoke the policy will have an indicator associated with their records such that units may identify such students each term.