S/U Grading Option

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grade Option form 

The Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade option is designed to encourage students to explore new areas outside their majors in the spirit of a liberal education. The following conditions apply to this option:

1. Students with junior and senior standing may elect to take one 1.00-credit course (plus any required fractional credit add-on components) or two .5-credit courses per semester, which are evaluated “satisfactory” (S) or “unsatisfactory” (U) instead of by the conventional letter grades.
2. It is expected that students will take a course and any required fractional add-on component with the same grade option (conventional grade or S/U). In these cases, the total credit value of S/U courses may exceed the usual 1.00 credit limit per semester.
3. In certain instances, faculty members may require that a stand-alone course or add-on fractional credit course be offered only on a graded or S/U basis. These courses will not count against the 1.00-credit-per-semester limit.
4. Except in item #3 above, the decision to choose the S/U option rests solely with the student.
5. A student on academic warning may not take a course S/U.
6. Courses taken to fulfill the Common Core, Global Engagements, areas of inquiry, language, writing and major or minor requirements may not be taken S/U.
7. The choice to take a particular course with the S/U option must be made prior to the end of the withdrawal period as published on the academic calendar.
8. No course will be officially recorded as using the S/U grading option unless the student has submitted the completed Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Option form to the registrar's office by the deadline.
9. After the end of the withdrawal period, no changes in the grading mode (conventional grade to S/U, or S/U to conventional grade) may be made.
10. In the event of a course’s limited enrollment, a student’s desire to take the course on the S/U basis shall not be a criterion in determining his or her eligibility for the course or course section.
11. To achieve the grade of S, the student must perform at a level that would warrant a grade of C– or better.
12. Satisfactory completion of a course is entered on the student’s permanent transcript as S, but does not enter into the computation of the GPA. The unsatisfactory completion of a course is entered on the student’s transcript as U, but does not enter into the computation of the GPA. No course credit is awarded for a grade of U.
13. Seniors, during their final semester, are discouraged from taking a course using the S/U option unless they will have a total of 32 course credits without the S/U course.