January 2022 - Proposed Changes to Academic Grading Policies FAQ

The BFA General Assembly will be considering and voting on two proposed changes to current academic policies on grading at the February 3, 2022 meeting. On January 18 BFA Chair Tiffany Beechy sent an email to BFA Representatives asking them to share information regarding these changes with their constituents. Faculty are asked to send questions and suggestions to: bfa@colorado.edu by January 30, 2022 in time for full consideration by Assembly for the meeting that week. The policies include the Grade Replacement Policy and the addition of Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory to the current Pass/Pass+/Fail grading designation. 

FAQ's On Proposed Changes to Academic Grading Policies

Answer: Since the adoption of the new policy students have complained about the replacement form and the deadline.  Students from marginalized communities and disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to have more difficulty navigating yet another layer of bureaucracy, and are more likely to miss the deadline.  Doing away with the need to opt in does away with the deadline, and makes it more likely that grade replacement benefits the students who need it. 

Answer: The grades are averaged only if a student opts out of grade replacement. Otherwise, they get credit for their most successful completion of the course, regardless of the order in which it was taken.
The last round of consideration of these matters, prior to 2019, revealed that a campus credit limit is largely redundant, since most schools and colleges have their own limits on course repetition. In addition, the credit limit is a potential constraint on student success because students run through their credits for replacement early on in programs with very difficult introductory sequences; this disproportionately affects students from disadvantaged backgrounds, as they may have a steep learning curve. If they run out of replacement credits early, they have none to use for a more advanced course later, making them more likely to stall out just shy of graduation.
2. The grade replacement policy is designed to enable students to complete their degrees, and it’s the grades below C- that delay or discourage students from degree completion.
There is no limit on the number of times a particular course may be retaken under Grade Replacement, generally speaking. However, some programs will limit the number of attempts a student may have for degree audit/requirements. The last grade earned will only replace the most recent prior attempt. Also, financial aid has some stipulations on repeated courses and when they can count or not count toward aid (there are limits). This is true for both GRAD and UGRD.