One non-FYS course offered for a letter grade may be changed to Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading. Courses changed to S/U will not affect a student's cumulative or term GPA. To receive a grade of S in a course the student must earn the equivalent of a grade of D or higher. Courses in which a student earns a grade of S will be allowed to meet a major, minor, or Core requirement.
Where a minimum grade is required to satisfy a degree requirement, such as with the First- and Second-Stage Writing Requirements, confirmation from the instructor or department/program chair that the student would have earned the minimum grade required to satisfy the requirement will be needed.
In order to change a course from a letter grade to S/U students will log-in to MyOxy and follow this path: Academics > Registrar Online Forms > Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grade Change. All courses being taken for a letter grade for the current semester will be displayed. Students will then select the course that they would like to convert to S/U and click the "Submit" button.
- How does S/U affect my overall, semester, major, and minor GPAs?
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A course for which you receive S will earn you units toward your degree, and if listed as satisfying a major, minor, or Core requirement in the catalog, will meet that requirement. The grade in a course for which you receive S will not factor into your major, minor, cumulative, or semester GPA.
A course for which you receive U will not earn any units toward your degree and will not meet a major, minor, or Core requirement, but the grade in a course for which you receive U will not factor into your major, minor, cumulative, or semester GPA.
To calculate how your GPA might be impacted, please review the GPA calculation instructions, here.
- How does this affect my academic standing?
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At the end of each semester the Student Progress Committee (SPC) reviews the grades of each student and determines whether a student should be placed on a Semester of Academic Concern or a Required Academic Leave. Since both GPA and units earned toward the degree play a role in the Committee’s deliberation, students who are on a semester of academic concern should be aiming for a semester GPA of 2.0, and should try to earn credit for as many units as they can. Students who are concerned about how these decisions will affect their academic standing should reach out to Caro Brighouse, Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs (brighous@oxy.edu), Ed Johnson, Director of Academic Advising (Edmondjohnson@oxy.edu), or Jim Herr, Registrar (herr@oxy.edu).
- How does this affect my progress toward my degree?
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You must earn 128 units and attain a GPA of at least a 2.0 overall and in your major in order to graduate.
- If you believe you will receive a non-passing grade this semester, you must think carefully about how this will affect your cumulative, semester, and major GPAs. If you receive financial aid please check the financial aid FAQs to determine if receiving a grade of U will impact your financial aid.
- If you elect to take a S grade, your GPA will not be affected. If you are concerned that your grades will prevent you from achieving a major or cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above, you may want to take the U option and retake courses at a later date or take them elsewhere and transfer them in to meet degree requirements.
- Where a minimum grade is required to satisfy a degree requirement, such as with the First- and Second-Stage Writing Requirements, confirmation from the instructor or department/program chair that the student would have earned the minimum grade required to satisfy the requirement will be needed. If the minimum grade is not earnedd you may be required to retake the course or satisfy the requirement through alternative means.
Please reach out to your academic adviser or the chair of your major program or department if you have any questions about your situation. You may also reach out to Caro Brighouse, Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs (brighous@oxy.edu), Ed Johnson, Director of Advising (edmondjohnson@oxy.edu), Jim Herr, Registrar (herr@oxy.edu), Vannessa Alvarado, Associate Registrar (valvarado@oxy.edu) if you have questions or concerns about your situation.
- How will graduate schools interpret a S or U on my transcript?
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Some version of a grading policy change of this kind is common among many undergraduate schools at this time, and all graduate school admissions are well aware of the trend. As such, we encourage you to stay motivated, persevere with hard work, and strive for letter grades. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your adaptability and resilience. If you are concerned about the grades you may receive in a course and you have intentions to apply to graduate school you should contact your academic adviser or the chair of your major department or program for advice.
- What should I do if I want to go to medical school?
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S/U for prerequisite courses: Some version of a grading policy change of this kind is universal among many undergraduate schools at this time, and medical and dental school admissions are well aware of the trend. As such, we encourage you to stay motivated, persevere with hard work, and strive for letter grades. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your adaptability and resiliency as aspiring healthcare providers, clinicians, and scientists. You should reach out to Kat Wang, Director of the Office of Pre-Health Advising, if you have concerns about the grade you are expecting to receive, and would like advice on whether to change the grade mode of a course to S/U.
- What should I do if I want to go to Law School?
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Law schools are fully aware of and understand that virtually all students enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced significant disruption in their living and learning arrangements. Law schools are also aware that many undergraduate and graduate schools changed their grading systems to allow or require Pass/Fail (S/U) grades in lieu of their traditional grading systems and will not penalize any applicant for presenting Pass/Fail (S/U) grades. LSAC will place a letter in the CAS report of every applicant enrolled during spring 2020, reminding law schools of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the population and on higher education.
Students can also review the information on the LSAC webpage for more information.
- How does electing to take a course S/U affect my Oxy Aid, Oxy scholarships, or my Federal Financial Aid?
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Occidental College has been given flexibility by the US Department of Education in how it assesses satisfactory academic progress. Due to the Covid-19 crisis students have been given the option to receive letter grades or grades of Satisfactory (S) / Unsatisfactory (U) for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Typically, there are three components that students must achieve in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress.
- Students must successfully complete a minimum of 67% of the cumulative credits they attempt. For instance, if you have attempted 21 credits you must have completed at least 14 credits to maintain progress.
- Students must complete their degree program within 150% of the length of the program. Occidental College undergraduate programs are typically 128 credits. For institutional purposes we only provide financial aid to students for eight semesters in which they must complete their degree program. This assumes 16 credits per semester. Under federal guidelines students can receive federal financial aid up to 192 credits, or 12 semesters.
- Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00.
Students that have a cumulative GPA below 2.00 and/or are on financial aid warning or financial aid probation for the fall 2022 semester that have chosen to take Satisfactory (S) / Unsatisfactory (U) grades for all of their courses will be reviewed individually since their GPA will not change. Notices will be sent to students if they need to appeal again to maintain their financial aid for either the fall 2022 or spring 2023 semesters.
Students will need to be in touch with the Financial Aid Office (finaid@oxy.edu) in order to discuss their individual circumstances.
Due to students having the option of choosing to receive letter grades (A, B, C, D, etc.) or Satisfactory (S) / Unsatisfactory (U) grades, this decision may have an impact on some student’s eligibility.
Students who have a cumulative GPA above 2.00 that choose to receive all grades as Satisfactory (S) / Unsatisfactory (U) will not see a change to their cumulative GPA at the end of the semester, however any credits that receive a grade of Unsatsifactory (U) will count against their completion rate as discussed above.
- How will receiving S/U rather than a letter grade affect my off-campus scholarship?
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If you receive a scholarship from an off-campus entity, check with the organization you receive a scholarship from to see if there are particular requirements around letter grades for the support you are receiving.
