For continued enrollment at the University, undergraduate students must maintain a cumulative retention/graduation grade point average (GPA) as indicated below:
0-29 attempted hours - 1.70 Cumulative GPA
Greater than 30 attempted hours - 2.00 Cumulative GPA
Retention grade point average is based on all attempted hours (transfer and OU), minus those courses repeated or reprieved in accordance with the Academic Forgiveness Policy. Remedial courses and PE activity courses are included in the calculation of attempted hours. These standards are minimal. Each degree-recommending college may establish higher standards for retention.
Credit hours completed after the end of a term, or credit earned at another institution, is included in student retention/graduation grade point average at the time the work is recorded in Academic Records. Academic status is reviewed and/or updated at that time, but previous postings of academic standing will remain unchanged.
Academic retention is reviewed at the conclusion of each academic term (Fall, Spring, and Summer).
Academic Notice
Students with 0-29 attempted credit hours and a 1.70-1.99 cumulative GPA are placed on Academic Notice.
Academic Probation
Students with greater than 30 attempted hours and less than a 2.00 cumulative GPA are placed on Academic Probation. Students on academic probation must earn at least a 2.00 semester GPA in the term of their probation to continue enrollment at OU. Students who fail to raise their semester or cumulative GPA to 2.00 or better will be suspended from OU for poor scholarship.
*Students should check with their Academic Advisor or Academic Records for specific enrollment requirements while on academic probation*
Academic Suspension
Students enrolled on academic probation who fail to raise their semester or cumulative GPA to 2.00 or better are suspended from OU for poor scholarship.
Students suspended for poor scholarship are not eligible for readmission until one full semester has elapsed following the date of suspension.
To be readmitted, suspended students must complete a new admission application and letter of appeal to the Office of Admissions & Recruitment.
Students who wish to appeal their academic suspension should complete the Academic Suspension Appeal Form.
Complete Withdrawal from the University
Undergraduate students withdrawing from all courses receive the grade of W in each course of enrollment. Graduate students withdrawing from all courses in the first six weeks of classes in Fall or Spring receive the grade of W in each course of enrollment. Beginning with the seventh week through the last day of classes of the semester or summer term, students must receive a grade of W or F from the instructor in each course upon withdrawal.
Dropping Courses While Still Enrolled
For students who drop one or more courses after classes begin, but who remain enrolled in at least one course, the following grading regulations for dropped courses apply:
For summer session, please refer to the Academic Calendar for specific dates for all summer blocks. Courses that do not meet the full term will have different deadlines.
I is a neutral mark and means incomplete. It is not an alternative to a grade of F, and no student may be failing a course at the time an I grade is awarded. To receive an I grade, the student should have satisfactorily completed a substantial portion of the required coursework for the semester. The instructor will indicate to the student and to Academic Records what must be done to complete the course and set a time limit appropriate to the circumstances. However, the time limit allowed may not exceed one calendar year. If by the end of the year no change in grade has been submitted, the grade of I will be changed to the predetermined permanent grade. After a grade of I has been changed, a student may re-enroll in the course if appropriate or required. The foregoing time limitations concerning removal of an incomplete do not apply to graduate research and graduate problem courses.
All instructional faculty are required to use the university-wide Incomplete Contract Form (PDF) when assigning a grade of Incomplete. This document protects both faculty and students by documenting circumstances that led to the assignment of an Incomplete grade.
Effective Fall 2014: If an incomplete is received, the "I" grade remains on the student's record and the final grade is next to the "I" (example I/B).
*Prior to Fall 2014, all "I" grades were considered final grades.
The Academic Forgiveness Policy, instituted by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, allows undergraduate students, under certain circumstances, to have courses removed from the calculation of the retention grade point average. It consists of three components: the repeat policy, the reprieve policy, and the renewal policy.
University policy prohibits students from repeating a course in which they have earned a grade of A or B unless the course is one in which there is a change of subject matter and the course has been designated “repeatable for credit.” Courses that are repeatable for credit are identified as such in the course description.
Undergraduate students may repeat up to four courses or 18 hours (whichever comes first) in which the original grade was a D or F. Only the second grade will be included in the calculation of the retention/graduation grade point average. The original grade will still appear on the student’s permanent record, but will not be calculated into the student’s retention/graduation grade point average or total hours earned.
Students who repeat courses/hours beyond those under the Repeat Policy may do so with both the original grades and repeat grades included in the calculation of the retention/graduation grade point average. Academic credit from any division of the University of Oklahoma—Norman campus, OU Health Sciences Center, OU-Tulsa, or the College of Continuing Education—are included in the OU retention/graduation and cumulative grade point averages for purposes of retention and graduation.
A student may repeat courses and have only the second grade earned, even if it is lower than the first grade, count in the calculation of the GPA, up to a maximum of four courses, but not to exceed 18 hours, in the courses in which the original grade earned was a C, D, or F.
Both attempts will be recorded on the transcript automatically with the earned grade for each listed in the semester earned. The Explanation of Grades section of the transcript will note that only the second grade earned is used in the calculation of the GPA.
If a student repeats an individual course more than once, all grades earned, with the exception of the first, are automatically used in the calculation of the GPA.
Students repeating courses above the first four courses or 18 credit hours of C, D, or F may do so; however, the initial grades and repeat grades will be used in the calculation of the GPA.
A student must be currently enrolled as a degree-seeking graduate student at OU in order to receive grade forgiveness for a repeated course under this policy.
Students enrolled under a non-degree classification such as unclassified status, teaching certification status, graduate visitor status, and students who are admitted solely to a graduate certificate program are not eligible for grade forgiveness under this policy.
Courses with variable credit and/or content, even if letter-graded, are not eligible for grade forgiveness under this policy. This includes, but is not limited to, seminars, special topics, independent studies, directed readings, and thesis or dissertation research.
Maximum allowable tuition waiver will not be increased to cover repeated courses.
The repeat policy grade forgiveness does not negate the limit of C, D, and/or F grades permitted for doctoral students. Doctoral students who accumulate nine credit hours of C, D, and/or F grades in any combination will be disenrolled from the doctoral program (see Disenrollment for Low Grades).
The repeat policy grade forgiveness does not apply to course substitutions approved for courses in which the student previously earned a grade of C, D, and/or F. The substitute course may take the place of the original course on the program of study but the substitute course grade will not replace the grade earned in the original course. Both courses will be used in the calculation of the GPA.
Coursework previously assigned a temporary course number might be eligible to be repeated under this policy; however, if there is any deviation in the course number and/or course title, the student and academic unit will need to consult with the Graduate College before the course in question is repeated to verify eligibility under this policy.
A student may request only one reprieve or renewal from the University of Oklahoma.
The Reprieve Policy allows undergraduate students to request that one or two semesters’ grades be excluded from the calculation of the combined retention/graduation grade point average. Grades from courses taken during the reprieved term(s) will remain on the student’s permanent record, but will only be calculated into the student’s cumulative grade point average. A student may request an academic reprieve if the following criteria are met:
The student must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate on the Norman campus;
At least three years must have elapsed between the period in which the grades being requested to be reprieved were earned and the reprieve request; and
Prior to requesting the reprieve, the student must have earned at least a 2.00 grade point average with no grade lower than C in all regularly graded coursework (minimum of 12 semester credit hours), excluding activity and performance courses. This coursework may be completed at any accredited higher education institution.
The request may be for one semester/term or two consecutive semesters/terms. If the reprieve is awarded, all grades and hours during the enrollment period are excluded from the retention/graduation grade point average. Coursework with a passing grade included in a reprieved semester may be used to demonstrate competency in the subject matter. However, the coursework may not be used to fulfill credit hour requirements. If the student’s request is for two consecutive semesters/terms, the institution may choose to reprieve only one semester.
The student may not receive more than one academic reprieve during their academic career. The student will not be eligible to receive a reprieve if a previous reprieve request was denied at the University of Oklahoma.
Students should contact their college concerning the process for requesting a reprieve.
The Academic Renewal Policy allows undergraduate students who have had academic trouble in the past and who have been out of higher education for a number of years to recover without penalty and have a fresh start. Under Academic Renewal, all course work taken prior to a date specified by the University of Oklahoma will be excluded from retention/graduation grade point average. All courses and grades will remain on the student's transcript and be calculated in the student's cumulative grade point average. Neither the content nor credit hours of renewed course work may be used to fulfill any degree or graduation requirements. If a student has received a renewal at another institution in Oklahoma, the student may request a renewal at the University of Oklahoma. Whether accepted or denied, this review will constitute the student's request for renewal at the University of Oklahoma.
If the student has not received a renewal at another institution in Oklahoma, they may request an Academic Renewal if the following is met:
The student must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student on the Norman campus.
At least five years must have elapsed between the period of time in which the grades being requested to be renewed were earned and the renewal request.
Prior to requesting the renewal, the student must have earned at least a 2.00 grade point average with no grade lower than a C in all regularly graded course work (minimum 12 semester credit hours), excluding activity and performance courses. This coursework may be completed at any accredited higher education institution.
Students should contact their college concerning the process for requesting an Academic Renewal.
Students’ grades in all courses are filed in the Office of Registrar - Academic Records and become a part of the official records of the University. Current students can view grades (usually one week after finals are over) on the web by logging on to one.ou.edu.
A, the highest grade, is given for work of exceptional quality. D is the lowest grade for which credit is given in any undergraduate college and means that, although in the judgment of the instructor credit should be allowed for the course, a degree will not be conferred upon a student whose work is all of that level. In the Graduate College, however, the grade of D is failing, insofar as credit toward a graduate degree is concerned, and cannot be used to satisfy prerequisite requirements and/or requirements for certificates. F means failure. No credit hours or grade points are awarded for an F, but the credit hours are calculated into the cumulative grade point average.
S and U, meaning Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory, may be used in grading certain courses identified at the discretion of the degree-recommending college. Courses selected for S-U grading must be of a noncompetitive nature and the entire class must be graded on this basis. The S-U grades are considered neutral in the computation of a student’s grade point average. At the undergraduate level, a grade of S signifies work of D quality or better (except in the case of credit earned by advanced standing examination, when the grade of S represents work of C quality or better). In the Graduate College, the grade of S represents work of B quality or better. S must be used to indicate that a thesis or dissertation is satisfactorily completed, and is the only passing grade accepted for special problems, individual research and directed readings courses. The S grade may not be used for lecture/recitation courses except with the expressed approval of the graduate dean. The U grade is used to indicate that no credit is to be given for the work undertaken.
P and NP, meaning Pass and No Pass, are used as grades in a course in which a student has enrolled under the pass/no pass option. P meaning Pass is used as a passing grade and indicates quality of C work or better. NP, meaning No Pass, is a nonpassing mark used to indicate no credit for a pass/no-pass option enrollment. The grades of P and NP are considered neutral in the computation of the student’s grade point average.
W, meaning withdrawal, is a neutral grade assigned when the student is passing at the time of withdrawal. A student who withdraws from a course with failing grades will receive the grade of F.
I is a neutral mark and means incomplete. It is not an alternative to a grade of F, and no student may be failing a course at the time an I grade is awarded. To receive an I grade, the student should have satisfactorily completed a substantial portion of the required course work for the semester. The instructor will indicate to the student and to Academic Records what must be done to complete the course and set a time limit appropriate to the circumstances. However, the time limit allowed may not exceed one calendar year. If by the end of the year no change in grade has been submitted, the grade of I will be changed to the pre-determined permanent grade. After a grade of I has been changed, a student may re-enroll in the course if appropriate or required. The foregoing time limitations concerning removal of an incomplete do not apply to graduate research and graduate problem courses.
Graduate College "I." With the approval of the instructor and Graduate College Dean, a graduate student may be granted up to a one-year extension for making up incomplete work. No petitions for extensions beyond one year will be considered. After the incomplete work is made up, the instructor shall promptly report the new grade to Academic Records so that it can be posted to the student's transcript. In any case, the new grade must be posted to the student's transcript within one year of the deadline for making up the incomplete work (including any extension, if granted). If the new grade has not been posted within this one-year time period, the student shall have one additional year in which to file an appeal with the Graduate Dean requesting that the proper grade be posted. If no such appeal is received by the Graduate Dean within this second year time period, the grade of "I" shall be changed to the pre-determined permanent grade.
All instructional faculty are required to use the university-wide Incomplete Contract Form (PDF) when assigning a grade of Incomplete. This document protects both faculty and students by documenting circumstances that led to the assignment of an Incomplete grade.
X indicates that satisfactory progress is being made and is a neutral grade to be used only for thesis and dissertation research courses numbered 5980 and 6980 and for thesis and dissertation equivalent courses numbered 5880 and 6880.
AU (Audit), Auditing is attending a class without participating in classwork or receiving credit. Enrollment as an auditor is indicated on the student’s permanent academic record and is subject to the same posting regulations governing credit enrollment.
AW, meaning Administrative Withdrawal, is a neutral grade used to indicate that a student has been involuntarily withdrawn after the add/drop period by the institution. Students may receive an AW for disciplinary reasons, financial reasons or inadequate attendance.
N is a temporary grade used only to indicate that no final grade has been reported at the time of grade processing and is removed from the student’s record when the final grade is received. It is neutral in the computation of the student’s grade point average.
Each hour of A, B, C, D and F carries a grade point value as follows: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 and F=0. Grades of P and S, as well as grades of I, X, U, N, NP, AW, and W, carry no grade point value and are not included in the computation of a student’s semester or cumulative grade point average.
The cumulative retention/graduation grade point average is based on all work attempted, both transfer and OU, minus those courses repeated in accordance with the policy on repeated courses. The minimum cumulative retention/graduation grade point average required for graduation is 2.0. Each degree-recommending college may establish higher standards for retention and graduation.
# = Repeat Policy Applied
@ = Academic Renewal
^ = Academic Reprieve
~ = PE/Activity Course
* = Remedial/Developmental Course
SA = Transfer Advanced Standing Credit
