Repeating Courses

Undergraduate students cannot repeat courses in which they have earned a grade of C or better. If a course that was originally taken for a letter grade is retaken with Credit/No Credit grading, the original grade is not excluded from the GPA. With the exception of the reasons listed below, the repeat adjustment is made automatically at the end of the term in which the course is repeated. A repeat petition is required in select cases as explained in the Cal Poly Academic Catalog "Grading" page.

Course Repeats with Grade Forgiveness

Undergraduate students may repeat a maximum of 24 quarter units (16 semester units) at Cal Poly for purposes of improving their GPA. If the second grade is equal to or higher than the first, then it replaces the first grade. The original grade is "forgiven" from the GPA computation, but both grades appear on the student's transcript. Courses are eligible for grade forgiveness one time only. Consecutive attempts beyond the second attempt are averaged into the GPA along with the second attempt while the grade from the first attempt remains forgiven.

Course Repeats with Grades Averaged

Students may repeat an additional 18 quarter units (12 semester units) for grade averaging in addition to the 24 quarter units (16 semester units) for which grade forgiveness is permitted. Once the forgiveness limit is reached, the grade from the repeat attempt shall not replace the original grade; instead both grades shall be calculated into the overall GPA.

Students who have reached the above unit maxima will no longer be allowed to repeat any future courses.

Sources:

CSU Executive Order: EO 1037 "CSU Grading, Repetition of Courses, Academic Renewal, and Appeals Policy".  Revised 27 July 2021.

Academic Senate Resolution: AS-645-06 "Resolution on Grade Forgiveness" (PDF).  Adopted 16 May 2006.

Cal Poly Academic Catalog: "Grading: Repeating a Course".

Last updated: 9/14/2023