North Dakota State University

Pass/Fail Alternative Grading Options

Undergraduate Students

NDSU has extended the deadline for Pass/Fail (P/F) grading for undergraduate students during spring semester to May 1, 2020. The 16 credit P/F limit will also be waived should a student meet or exceed this total.

Students will have the option to receive a letter grade or elect to receive a P/F grade. Grades of ‘P’ are not calculated into a student’s term or cumulative grade point average, however, grades of ‘F’ are considered failed attempts and will be calculated for both the term and cumulative GPA. Students will have until May 1 to submit a P/F grade form for one or more of their classes. 

Students should consult with their academic advisors or program faculty to determine if a “P” grade will count toward academic progress and graduation requirements in their majors, or if a letter grade is required to progress. Although general education courses typically may not be taken for a P/F grade, for spring 2020, grades of P will satisfy general education requirements. Students must complete the course for the duration of the semester as prescribed by the instructor (i.e submitting assignments; completing tests, quizzes and/or papers) in order to earn a passing grade.

Repeated Courses:  Students repeating a class this semester from a previous term will need to take the class for a letter grade. The repeated courses policy will continue to apply.

Academic Standing: A summary of spring semester academic standing and Dean's List is available.

Graduate Students

Spring Semester 2020: Option for S/U Grading for Didactic Graduate Credits Policy and Procedure

In the spring semester 2020 only, graduate students will be given the option to elect S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) grading instead of the regular letter grading (A-F) for credit-bearing didactic graduate courses. Students will have until May 8, 2020 to submit an S/U grading election form to the Registrar for one or more of their classes.

Departments will generate program-level guidance for their graduate students regarding situations in which the choice of S/U grading may have negative effects, including whether a grade of “satisfactory” (S) will count toward graduation requirements in their programs, or if a letter grade is required to satisfy program or licensure requirements.

This information will be shared with the academic support coordinators in the Graduate School. Advisers and program coordinators will provide advising for students upon request. Students opting for a switch to S/U grading will affirm the following as part of making the request: “I hereby confirm that I have read the guidance from my department regarding possible consequences of S/U grading and/or sought advising about them.”

As per current university policy for Spring 2020, students may withdraw from one or more courses through May 8. Additionally, students may request a grade of Incomplete from their instructor by the end of the semester; Incomplete requests always require instructor approval.

S/U grading in the spring of 2020 shall have no impact on a student’s academic standing. The Graduate College will extend the status of any student not in good standing (i.e., on warning or probation) in the Spring 2020 semester by an additional semester if the student elected S/U-grades for didactic courses and therefore was not able to lift their cumulative GPA above 3.0 as a consequence. This forbearance shall be valid for the first semester the students re-enrolls. Students affected by this policy and their advisers will receive an email from the Graduate Dean indicating their current and future academic standing, and this information will be added to their files.