Chapter 9. Grades, Evaluations, and Transmission of Records

9.1 General. 

9.1.1 Grades A-F, shall be awarded for undergraduate students in the manner and with the meanings prescribed in SR 780, except that the grades A, B, C, and D may be modified by plus (+) or minus (-) suffixes. The grade of I shall be awarded as specified in SCR 9.1.6. The grade of IP shall be awarded as an interim mark in multi-term courses described in SCR 9.1.7. The grade of W denotes that the student has enrolled but formally withdrawn from the course. (Am 26 May 71 EW, 29 May 96, effective 1 Sept 97; 25 May 77, 23 Feb 00; 9 Nov 00, 21 May 04, 19 Oct 12, 22 Apr 15; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Aug 76)  

9.1.2 A Pass/Not passed option is available to a student in good standing in the manner provided for by SR 782. A grade of Passed shall be awarded only for work which would otherwise receive a grade of C (2.0) or better. A program may require, subject to CEP approval, that any course or courses applied toward credit in a major be taken on a letter grade basis. Selection of grading option must be exercised no later than the end of the ninth week of instruction and may not be changed after this deadline except by petition to the Committee on Courses of Instruction. (En 23 Feb 00; Am 9 Nov 00, 20 Feb 19)  

9.1.3 All grades, except I and IP, are final when filed by an instructor in the end of term course report. However, the Registrar is authorized to change a final grade upon written request of an instructor, provided that a clerical or procedural error is the reason for the change. Grade changes (except for I and IP, which are governed by 9.1.6) must be submitted to the Registrar within one year from the close of the quarter for which the original grade was submitted.    Late requests for grade changes based on clerical or procedural error are subject to the approval of the Committee on Courses of Instruction. No change of grade may be made on the basis of reexamination, or with the exception of the I and IP grades, the completion of additional work. (En 25 May 77; Am 29 May 91, 23 Feb 00, 27 May 11; CC 31 Aug 18)

9.1.4 Grade points per credit shall be assigned by the Registrar as follows: A = 4; B = 3; C = 2; D = 1; F=0. I, W, or IP = none. "Minus" grades shall be assigned three-tenths grade point less per credit than unsuffixed grades, and "plus" grades (except A+) shall be assigned three-tenths grade point more per credit. The grade of A+ shall be assigned 4.0 grade points per credit, the same as for an unsuffixed A, but when A+ is reported it represents extraordinary achievement. (En 23 Feb 00; EC 31 Aug 09)

9.1.5 With the approval of the Committee on Courses of Instruction, course sponsoring agencies may offer courses as "P/NP only." The designation of courses as "P/NP only" shall be made by the Committee on Courses of Instruction to have effect for all of the following academic year, beginning with the requested term, and shall remain in effect until changed by request of the course sponsoring agency, with the approval of the Committee on Courses of Instruction. During the academic year, agencies may request the "P/NP only" designation for new courses to be offered for winter, spring, or summer terms. (Am 26 May 71 EW, 29 May 96, effective 1 Sept 97, 23 Feb 00, 19 May 17; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Aug 76, 1 Aug 85)  

9.1.6 The grade of I may be assigned only when a student's work is of passing quality but is incomplete (I). The student must make arrangements in advance with the instructor in charge of the course in order to receive an I. In order to replace the I with a passing grade and to receive credit, a student must petition by the deadline imposed by the Registrar and complete the work of the course by the end of the finals week of the next term, unless the instructor specifies an earlier date. If the instructor fails to submit a passing grade for any reason by the deadline for submitting grades in the next succeeding term after the I was awarded, the student receives an NP or F depending on the grading option selected. The Committee on Educational Policy CEP has the option to extend this deadline for all undergraduates by up to one term if such an extension will better protect the interests or rights of students. (However, see SCR 6.7.) (Am 22 Oct 69, 1 Sept 97; EI 26 May 71, 10 March 23; EW 25 May 77, 28 May 80, 29 May 96, 23 Feb 00; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 31 Aug 09, 31 Aug 17)

9.1.7 (Repealed 20 Feb 19)  

9.1.8 Students who receive a grade of C-, D, D+, D-, F, NP, or W, may retake the course, subject to the following conditions: Courses in which the student has received a grade of C-, D, D+, D-, or F can only be taken again on a letter grade basis.   Credits shall not be awarded more than once for the same course, but the grade assigned each time must be permanently recorded on the student's transcript. Taking a course more than twice requires approval of the student's college. (For computation of GPAs involving repeated courses, see SCR A9.4.1.) (En 29 May 96, effective 1 Sept 97; Am 23 Feb 00, 9 Nov 00, 19 Oct 12, 22 Apr 15)

9.1.9 With the exception of this sub-section, the regulations of this chapter do not apply to University Extension courses. University Extension courses shall be graded in accordance with SR 780 (including provisions with regard to grade points and credits) and SR 810(A). (Am 23 Feb 00; CC 29 May 96, 31 Aug 98, 31 Aug 99, 31 Aug 09)

9.2 Instructor-optional Written Evaluations. (Am 23 Apr 10)

9.2.1 At the end of the term, each instructor teaching a credit-granting course has the option to prepare a written evaluation for any student in the instructor's class. The narrative evaluation must evaluate the quality and characteristics of the student's performance in the class. (Refer to CEP Advisory Guidelines on Writing Narrative Evaluations.) (Am 29 May 68, 4 June 69, 28 Jan 72, 23 May 73, 8 June 77, 29 May 96, effective 1 Sept 97, 23 Apr 10; EC 31 Aug 16)

9.2.2 Evaluations are to be filed with the Registrar and the student's college at the time of filing the end-of-term course reports or no later than 15 working days after the close of the term. The college makes available one of its copies to the student and one to the student's adviser. (Am 8 June 77)

9.3 Grading of Comprehensive Examinations. 9.3.1 All comprehensive examinations and senior theses shall be graded honors (H), pass (P), or fail (F). Papers of students receiving H or F must be read by at least two readers. (Am 27 Jan 71)

9.4 Transmission of Records. (En 22 May 68)

A9.4.1 Transcripts and other records will be issued by the Registrar only as requested by the student concerned. The documents to be sent out automatically on such a request shall include items 'A' through 'F' unless the student specifically requests that 'B, C, D' not be sent out. (Am 29 May 68, 29 May 96, effective 1 Sept 97, 23 Feb 00)

a. A record of all courses and grades, including a brief explanation of the grading and evaluation system and as full a subtitle as can be shown for each course taken at University of California, Santa Cruz. The explanation must state that for courses graded P/NP prior to fall 2001, only work satisfactorily completed (graded Pass) is recorded on the transcript. (Am 28 Jan 72, 29 May 96, effective 1 Sept 97, 23 Feb 00; EC 31 Aug 06)

b. In chronological order, all available course evaluations, excepting only evaluations judged by the designated Academic Senate member in each college in consultation with the instructor or, in the absence of the instructor, with the provost of the instructor's college, to be irresponsible or to be observations unrelated to course performance, such judgment to be communicated to the Registrar. [DLI 1998.2A] (Am 4 June 69 EI, 17 Nov 75; CC 31 Aug 98, 1 Aug 31)

c. An overall assessment of the student's academic career at the University of California, Santa Cruz, prepared by the student's college; at the discretion of the college this assessment may be waived. (Am 4 June 69 EI; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Aug 76)

d. An evaluation of the student's comprehensive examination and/or senior thesis, written by the department or program of studies sponsoring the student's major program. (EC 1 Aug 76, 12 May 97, 31 Aug 06)

e. For undergraduates entering the University of California, Santa Cruz, between fall 1997 and spring 2001 who have received a letter grade for 2/3 or more of the credits attempted at the University of California, Santa Cruz, prior to the issue date of the transcript, a Grade Point Average computed only from the courses taken for a letter grade. Grade points per credit shall be assigned as specified in SCR A9.1.4. The grades W and I shall be disregarded in the GPA computation--credits are not counted and grade points are not assigned. If a student has taken courses more than once due to receipt of a C-, D, D+, D-, or F, for the first 15 credits of repeated work, only the last grade recorded shall be computed in the student's GPA. If the 15 credit limit is exceeded, the GPA shall be based on all additional letter grades assigned and credits attempted.  (En 29 May 96, effective 1 Sept 97; Am 23 Feb 00, 9 Nov 00, 31 Aug 15; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 31 Aug 06)

f. For undergraduates entering the University of California, Santa Cruz, fall 2001 or later, a Grade Point Average computed only from the courses taken for a letter grade. A term and cumulative GPA will be computed and displayed for UCSC courses. Grade points per credit shall be assigned as specified in SCR A9.1.4. The grades W and I shall be disregarded in the GPA computation--credits are not counted and grade points are not assigned. If a student has taken courses more than once due to receipt of a C-, D, D+, D-, or F, for the first 15 credits of repeated work, only the last grade recorded shall be computed in the student's GPA. If the 15 credit limit is exceeded, the GPA shall be based on all additional letter grades assigned and credits attempted.  (En 23 Feb 00; Am 9 Nov 00, 22 Apr 15; EC 31 Aug 06)