Spring 2020 flexibility on S and P grades
Request a grade change
The Registrar needs approval from both your advisor and academic unit by May 29!
- Contact your advisor to discuss grade options. If best to use the S or P option, your advisor will submit request to Registrar.
- Your advisor will contact your academic unit and relay your appropriate information…. academic unit submission of your request is needed for final approval.
Following are related questions and interpretations/answers. We will continue to add to the list as we receive more questions.
S (Satisfactory) and P (Passing) grade distinctions for the purpose of this exception
In order for a student to be approved for an S grade, their faculty-submitted grade in the class should have been a C or above. S grades will count toward degree requirements and pre-requisites. Credit hours are earned for the class but are not factored into GPA. See more details below about the potential advantages of the S grade.
Grades of C- through D- may be appealed for a P grade. P grades are not guaranteed to count toward specified degree requirements or pre-requisites but will count toward elective credit requirements. The credit hours are earned but are not factored into GPA. See more details below about the potential advantages of the P grade.
No; P grades are not guaranteed to count toward specified degree requirements or pre-requisites.
However, if existing degree requirements or prerequisites already accept grades of D- or higher or grade of P, the P option will still meet those grade requirements.
While general education requirements can be satisfied with a passing grade (D-), many schools or majors specify a grade of C for at least some of their gen ed requirements. For this reason, faculty governance decided to only guarantee that S grades would count for gen ed requirements. If a student earns a D- in a gen ed requirement that only requires a passing grade, they might still benefit from the P grade option because it protects their GPA from the D- grade and the course will count toward any elective requirements in the student’s major (assuming there is a different course the student can take in the future to satisfy that gen ed requirement*).
*Students in any of the scenarios described should consult their academic advisor.Some programs use cumulative GPA for admission which will not be accurate with S or P grades and some programs use a group of courses such as Math and Science to make decisions. There may be concern about selecting a class where the student may not be academically ready to be successful in the programs.
S grades in courses taken during the spring 2020 term must count toward program admission requirements. The original letter grades will not be available. Advisors should plan to have conversations with students about their level of preparedness for more advanced level courses, particularly if the student earned a P.
Academic standing
Academic Dismissal: No student will be dismissed from IUPUI, IUPUC or IU Fort Wayne programs as a result of their academic or course-based performance in Spring 2020. Normal regulations will be applied based on Fall 2020 grades.
Academic Probation: No student will be placed on academic probation as a result of their academic or course-based performance in Spring 2020, though students will continue to have access to academic support resources. Normal regulations will be applied based on Fall 2020 grades.
Financial aid and merit scholarships
IU Fort Wayne SAP rules require students to 1) maintain a 2.0 program GPA; 2) successfully complete at least two-thirds of attempted coursework, and 3) complete planned degree program within 150% of program length.
- S or P grades are not factored into GPA so will have no effect on the requirement to maintain a 2.0 program GPA
- S or P grades are considered successful completion, so they will increase credit completion rate
- S or P grades result in earned credit hours and apply toward maximum timeframe program length
The IUPUI/IU Fort Wayne Office of Student Financial Assistance (SFS) also approves SAP appeals on “contract” with students, expecting them to successfully complete all courses and/or graduate as planned. In their review of Spring 2020 SAP contracts, SFS will provide latitude and/or appeal options to students that have had academic progress negatively impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
Degree program requirements
Grade replacement
For Spring 2020 grade replacement, the originally assigned Spring 2020 faculty grade will be used as the basis for whether grade replacement may be applied. The grade replacement policy specifies that on the second attempt, the student grade must be the same or higher before proceeding with grade replacement. Registrar would verify the faculty-assigned grade on spring 2020 grade roster was equal to or greater than original grade and process accordingly. If applicable, the earlier grade will be “X’d” are removed from GPA calculation while the new S or P will remain on the record, also with no GPA value.
Original grade | Repeated course 4202 (faculty-assigned grade) | Eligible for grade replacement? |
B | S (A-) | Yes. |
B | S (B-) | No. B- is not higher than B. |
D+ | S (C) | Yes. |
C- | P (D) | No. D is not higher than C- |
D | P (C-) | Yes. |
D | P (D-) | No. D- is not higher than D. |
F | P (D+) | Yes. |
This approach is compliant with the current grade replacement policy.
Unique student populations
If a student is receiving the GI Bill™ or Federal Tuition Assistance, receiving an S-Satisfactory grade does not negatively affect their benefits because it will apply toward that particular course in their degree program. However, receiving a P (Passing) grade could translate to that student being required to return money to the Veterans Administration or Dept of Defense. In short, there could be serious financial implications. Because of this, if a student receiving these benefits (based on the military student groups below) is discussing P grades with an advisor, the advisor should refer that student to the Office for Veterans and Military Personnel (OVMP) for guidance. The OVMP will verify with the advisor if the grade change is best for the student in question. The advisor is then asked to add a note to the advising system (AdRx) certifying that there was discussion with OVMP about this decision.
Student Groups affected by this include:
RVGO | National Guard/Reserve Members using Tuition Assistance |
RV30 | Veterans using Montgomery GI Bill |
RV31 | Disabled veterans using benefits |
RV35 | Children of 100% Disabled Veterans using GI Bill |
RV36 | National Guard/Reserves Members using GI Bill |
RV3C | Children using transferred Post 9/11 |
RV3S | Spouses using transferred Post 9/11 |
RV3V | Veterans using Post 9/11 |
Process and approvals required
After faculty have submitted Spring final grades, the student should contact their academic advisor to discuss course grade options. A student has until Friday, May 29, 2020 to have both their advisor and the academic unit complete a request to petition for an S or P grade. Each party (unit and advisor) are included in the approval process to assure this grade change will be in the student‘s best interest based on their individual situation and program.