Overview

  • Students may choose to take a letter-graded course on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading basis by selecting the S/U grading option for the course using Online Services.
  • For deadlines to submit your Change of Grading Basis, please see the academic calendar. 
  • S/U grades carry no grade points and are not included in the grade point average (GPA) calculation.
  • S/U grades will not result in an increase or decrease in a student’s GPA.
  • Note: Not all courses will have an option to change the grade mode (i.e. non-gradable courses, such as lab and recitations, etc.).
Required Approvals

Changing the grading basis of a course requires academic advisor approval.

Request S/U Grading Option

Step 1 Access the online Change of Grading Basis form.

Step 2 Select Term to view your class schedule. Note: Only the classes with the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option will display.

Step 3 Select the class and desired grading option from drop-down menu.

 

Step 4 Submit the form. This starts the signature routing process to your academic advisor for review and approval.

  • Please check your OSU email regularly, as you may receive an email from your academic advisor inviting you to discuss your request.

 

  • Change of grading basis requests cannot be processed without academic advisor approval.
  • Students will receive an email notification once their change of grading basis request has been reviewed and completed by their academic advisor. The email notification will come from DocuSign Registrar Forms Mgr.

Deadline

All grading basis changes must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar by the deadline published in the academic calendar. For Summer and other non-traditional parts of term, the deadline dates for each session are noted in the academic calendar.

Related Academic Regulations

See Academic Regulation 18 and Academic Regulation 20 to understand the rules related to S/U grading.

Graduate Students

Graduate students must fill out the paper form to request a change of grading basis. The completed form with required signature of the major professor or graduate program director should be submitted by the deadline to the Office of the Registrar at [email protected].

Additional Questions

Contact your academic advisor or the Office of the Registrar with any additional questions about the Change of Grading Basis option.

Change of Grading Basis FAQs

Academic Regulation 20 outlines that a course cannot be repeated on an S/U basis if you previously took the course on the normal (A-F) grade basis. This applies to recognizable repeatable courses as defined in the Academic Catalog, such as activity courses (like PAC 123), research, seminars, and special topics classes.

Yes, you can change your grading basis at any point before the change of grading basis deadline. Once the deadline has passed, you are unable to change your grading basis.

With the online process, the form will be sent automatically to your advisor after you submit it. Your advisor will then approve or deny the change of grading basis request for the class(es) you selected.

Once the signing process is complete by your advisor, your change of grading basis request(s) are updated for your selected class(es) every hour.

If your advisor declines your request, you can view their decision or reason why the request was declined by clicking on View Completed Document in the email.

As a response to COVID-19 the Oregon State University relaxed the regulations around changing a grading basis to S/U during Spring 2020 term only. Our goal was to increase student flexibility as we adjusted to remote learning. All regulations and restrictions are now back in place.