Policies & procedures: Grades

Cheating, plagiarism, copying all or part of another person’s work, using reference materials not specifically allowed and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. If you are guilty of academic dishonesty:

• You may be assigned an F grade or a zero grade to the subject work
• You may be assigned an F grade in the course
• You may be referred to the Center for Student Conduct

You are encouraged to carefully review the campus guide to understanding plagiarism and the Code of Conduct. Any uncertainty about what is and isn’t permissible should be directed to the faculty or GSI for the course.

Note: Courses for which academic dishonesty has been verified by established campus procedures cannot be dropped from the record, nor can the grading option be changed. If a student drops a course in which academic dishonesty has been verified, the course will be reinstated and the grade will be posted to the student’s record. If a student changes the grading option in a course in which academic dishonesty has been verified, the grading option will be reverted to the grading option on record at the time of the incident of misconduct and the grade will be posted to the student’s record.

“M” is not a grade; it indicates that no grade was reported. If you receive a grade of “M,” you should check with the course instructor immediately.

All grades except “I” and “IP” are considered final when assigned by an instructor at the end of a term. An instructor may request a grade change only when a computational or procedural error occurred in the original assignment of a grade; no final grade may be changed as a result of re-evaluation of the quality of your work. Only an “I” grade may be revised as a result of examination or the submission of additional work after the close of the term.

If you believe your instructor submitted an incorrect grade because of a clerical (for example, computational) or procedural error, please speak directly with your instructor.

If you believe that your instructor has used nonacademic criteria (for example, race, religion, gender or politics) in assigning your grade, you can appeal the grade. Begin the process by speaking with your instructor and/or the office of the ombudsperson.

Your next step is to try to resolve the issue by speaking with the department chair. If you cannot resolve your dispute informally, there is a formal procedure you can follow that is outlined in the Berkeley Academic Guide under “Academic Policies.”

For each unit of credit, the following grade points apply:

To compute your grade point average, multiply each unit by the grade points assigned to the grade, as shown above. Then divide the total grade points by the total units undertaken for a letter grade (exclude P/NP, S, U, IP, or I grades). The resulting figure is your grade point average. If you are repeating courses in which you received a grade below C-, please refer to the repetition of courses section for more information.

Only grades earned in courses completed on one of the UC campuses are included in the UC Berkeley grade point computation, with the exception of UC EAP and UC DC, which are also included in your UC Berkeley grade point average. Grades earned in XB courses completed through UC Berkeley Extension and UC Extension Concurrent Enrollment are also included in the UC Berkeley grade point computation. If you have been dismissed, however, XB course and UC Extension Concurrent Enrollment grades will only be calculated into your UC Berkeley grade point average with approval from your Engineering Student Services (ESS) Adviser prior to taking the courses.

Technical grade point average

A 2.0 UC upper-division technical grade point average is required for graduation. Courses used for the upper-division technical grade point average consist of all upper-division technical courses that count toward your UC GPA that are taken in satisfaction of major requirements (whether passed or not). Use the formula listed above to compute your upper-division technical grade point average.

Assigning of an incomplete grade

If you are unable to complete a course for reasons beyond your control, a grade of Incomplete (“I”) may be assigned by your instructor if your work in the course has been of passing quality. You should contact your instructor to determine whether an Incomplete grade is appropriate.

Deadlines

A course in which you have received a grade of Incomplete must be completed by the following deadlines:

• If the Incomplete was received in the fall semester, the course must be completed at least 30 days before the first day of instruction of the following fall semester.
• If the Incomplete was received in the spring semester or summer session, the course must be completed at least 30 days before the first day of instruction of the following spring semester.

Please be aware that the faculty member who assigned the Incomplete may impose an earlier deadline for completion.

In some cases, the faculty member who assigned the Incomplete may be willing to extend the deadline for you to complete the course. If you need additional time to complete the course, please submit the petition to extend an incomplete well before the above deadlines.

Procedures for removing an incomplete

You should contact your instructor to determine how to complete the course. DO NOT re-enroll in the course to complete the course. If you re-enroll in the course, your Incomplete will be changed to an F (or NP if the course was taken P/NP). Procedures for removing an Incomplete can be found on the Office the Registrar page about grades.

Limit on incomplete units

If you accumulate 12 or more units of outstanding Incompletes, you will not be permitted to enroll in subsequent semesters until you have fewer than 12 units of outstanding Incompletes.

Permanently retain or “freeze” incompletes

You may freeze up to two Incompletes so that they remain permanently on your record as “I” grades (they never lapse to an F or NP). Please make an appointment with your Engineering Student Services (ESS) Adviser if you wish to freeze an Incomplete. Once an Incomplete has been frozen, the course or its equivalent can never be completed or repeated. Thus, a student may not freeze an Incomplete in a required course. Note: Deadlines to freeze Incompletes are the same as the deadlines stated above to remove Incompletes. Incompletes for which the completion date has been extended cannot be frozen. 

Degree candidates

If you are a degree candidate who has received Incompletes in courses needed to satisfy requirements for your degree, you must complete the Incompletes by the last day of your graduating semester in order to remain on the degree list. If you receive an Incomplete in a required course during your final semester, you will not be eligible to graduate. Please contact your ESS Adviser to place your name on a future degree list. If you are a degree candidate who has received Incompletes in courses not needed to satisfy requirements for your degree, you may graduate with the Incompletes on your record if you graduate before the Incompletes lapse.

If you have any questions about these policies, please contact your ESS Adviser.

Technical courses

Any technical course that can be used to fulfill a requirement for your major must be taken for a letter grade.

Humanities/social sciences

You may take most of your humanities and social sciences courses, including American Cultures, on a P/NP basis as long as you are in good academic standing. Students on subject to dismissal status may not take courses on a P/NP basis. Note: Courses taken to fulfill the college’s Reading and Composition requirement must be taken for a letter grade.

Free electives

You may take any free elective course on a P/NP basis (as long as you are not on subject to dismissal status).

Deadlines

• Deadline to change grading option for a technical course that cannot be used to fulfill any requirements for your major: 11:59 p.m. (PST) on Friday of the fifth week of instruction.
• Deadline to change grading option for an H/SS course: 11:59 p.m. (PST) on Friday of the tenth week.

1/3 Passed (P) Grade Limit

Passed grades may account for no more than one third of the total units completed at UC Berkeley, Fall Program for First Semester (FPF), UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP), or UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) toward the 120 overall minimum unit requirement.

Transfer credit is not factored into the limit. This includes transfer units from outside of the UC system, other UC campuses, credit-bearing exams, as well as UC Berkeley Extension XB units.

There is a 1/3 Passed (P) Grade Limit Estimator in CalCentral in the Degree Progress card under My Academics to help you calculate your percentage.

The following policies apply to repetition of courses:

• You may only repeat courses in which you received a grade of D+, D, D-, F or NP.
• If you received an NP in a course and you want to repeat the course, you may repeat it on either a Passed/Not Passed (P/NP) basis or a letter graded basis.
• For the first 12 letter-graded (D+ or lower) units of repeated courses, the grade you receive in the course the second time will replace the original grade in the calculation of your grade point average (GPA), even if the second grade is lower. Your original grade will remain printed on your transcript. Note: Some professional schools, including law schools, use both grades in calculating your GPA for admission.
• After the first 12 units of repeated courses, both the new and original grades are averaged into your GPA.
• You may not take a course for a third time and receive grade points. A course repeated more than once will not be included in the GPA, but a passing grade in the repeated course will be accepted in satisfaction of requirements for the degree.
• If you receive a grade of Incomplete (“I”) upon repetition of a course, the grade of D+, D, D- or F will continue to be computed in the grade-point average until the “I” grade is replaced.
• If you enroll in a course in which you received an “I” grade, the “I” will lapse to an F and appropriate repeat rules will apply.

Current students may order transcripts online through CalCentral, or they may order paper copies on-the-spot at Cal Student Central in 120 Sproul Hall. For all other transcript needs, visit the Office of the Registrar website.

Unofficial transcripts are printable from your My Academics page by clicking on “View Academic Summary.” Grades are displayed within a day of being posted by your instructor at the end of each semester.