Replacement of a Grade through Repetition of Course - Students may replace grades of “C-” or below by repeating the course at CSUB and filing a petition for Repetition of a Course and Replacement of Grade with Admissions and Records.  Although the grades for each repetition will remain on the transcript, only the grade for the most recent course registration will be used in computing the GPA.  Students may replace the grades for a maximum of 20 units.  Courses must be at the same level, have similar titles, and cover essentially the same subject matter content.  The coursework for which students petition to replace grades may have been taken at CSUB or some other institution.  CSUB does not accept courses from another institution for this policy. 

Qualified students may get the petition for Repetition of Course and Replacement of Grade from the Records Office (SA 103, 654-3036).  The petition does not require any approvals and may be filed at any time, although students are encouraged to file at the time they are enrolled in the repeated course.

Students needing to raise their CSUB GPA in order to graduate on a timely basis may petition the Academic Petitions Committee (APC) to replace the grades beyond the 20 units allowed by the University.  Students should contact the Undergraduate Studies Office (EDUC 242, 654-3420) to get information regarding the content and format for their petition to repeat courses and replace grades beyond the 20-unit limit.

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Retroactive Withdrawal - Students may petition for retroactive withdrawal from a course after the completion of the quarter in which they were registered for the course if they meet the following criteria:

1.   The request to drop the course would have been approved by the course instructor if it had been filed during the quarter;

2.   There is verification that the student was unable to file the request to drop the course in a timely manner because of extenuating circumstances, e.g., serious illness or injury to self or family or sudden unexpected change in work assignments, that were beyond the student’s control; and

3.   No more than 12 months have elapsed since the end of the term in which the course was taken.

All petitions for retroactive withdrawal shall be submitted as a Petition for Exception to the appropriate Dean’s office and require the approval of the course instructor(s), the department chair(s), and the school dean(s).  Because retroactive withdrawal from a course is an exceptional occurrence, the student’s documentation of eligibility shall be carefully scrutinized before approval is granted.  All petitions for retroactive withdrawal that have been approved will result in the assigned grade for the course being changed to “W.”

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Removal of Coursework for Previous Terms - In exceptional circumstances, an undergraduate student whose CSUB and/or cumulative GPA is lower than 2.0 may be granted permission to have up to one year of undergraduate coursework, taken at least five years earlier, disregarded from all considerations associated with requirements for the baccalaureate degree.  Removal of coursework for previous terms shall be used only to assist a student to graduate with his/her baccalaureate degree, i.e., to achieve a CSUB and/or cumulative GPA of 2.0.  Under no circumstances will students be authorized to remove coursework for previous terms solely to raise their GPA for scholarships or honors, for admission to graduate or credential programs, or for any situation that has GPA criteria.  This policy does not apply to graduate students.

To qualify for academic renewal through removal of coursework for previous terms, an undergraduate student must demonstrate by his/her academic performance after returning to CSUB that the coursework to be removed is not reflective of his/her ability.  Students must file a petition for the removal of coursework for previous terms with the Academic Petitions Committee (APC).  Students should contact the Undergraduate Studies Office (EDUC 242, 654-3420) to get information regarding the content and format for their petitions.