This can be a nice option if you want to take a course that's not in an area of particular strength for you. Perhaps there's a distribution course or an elective that's really interesting, but you don't have much background in that area. Choosing to record your grade as pass/fail for such a class will allow you to explore the breadth of the LSA curriculum without being as concerned about the impact on your GPA.

You are not required to tell instructors you're choosing to elect their class as pass/fail. At the end of the semester, the instructor will a traditional letter grade (i.e., A+ through E). The Registrar's Office then converts that grade to a "P" or an "F." Grades of C- or higher are recorded as a P. Grades below C- are recorded as an F and no credit is earned for the course. Either way, it does not factor into your GPA.

Students must have a minimum of 90 graded credits on their transcript in line with the following policies. Graded courses that have been transferred in from another schoool or college count toward the 90 graded credits. "P" courses from COVID grading terms Winter 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, and Summer 2021 also count toward the 90 graded credits. 

• Courses used to fulfill a major or minor requirement must be taken for a grade and cannot be elected pass/fail. Courses from the department of major or minor can be elected pass/fail only if they are not being used to fulfill a major or minor requirement. 
• The final course used to fulfill the language requirement must be taken for a letter grade and cannot be elected PassFail.
• Students have until the official last day of class as determined by the Registrar to decide if they want to modify a class pass/fail. Students may change back to the regular grading pattern, but only up until the third week deadline. After the third week, students cannot switch from a Pass/Fail election back to a graded pattern.
• Minicourses have different start and end dates. The deadline to record a minicourse as Pass/Fail is the last day of class for that particular course, which may differ from the last day of classes for a full term course. 
• You must earn at least a C- to receive a Pass for a class.

• Instructor approval is not required for a choice in the elected grading pattern nor should the instructor be informed of such a choice.
• Remember that you have until the last day of class to decide to switch from recording a class with a letter grade to Pass/Fail. However, after the third week of a full term you cannot go in the other direction (i.e., decide to switch from P/F to a letter grade). Therefore, if there's any doubt, we strongly recommend that you keep your grading modality as "graded" and reevaluate whether it makes sense to switch to Pass/Fail closer to the end of the semester.
• It's not a good idea to record a class Pass/Fail if there's any chance it could be related to graduate school, professional school, or career plans. Pre-med students, for example, are strongly advised not to record any of their science classes Pass/Fail.
• If you're sending out a transcript and you want someone to see the grade "under" the Pass, you can pay a fee to have the Registrar prepare a special attachment that will show that grade. You are unable to request to reveal Pass/Fail grades with COVID grading options including: Winter 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Spring/Summer 2021, and Summer 2021.
• If a student has questions about taking a class Pass/Fail, they should talk to their Advisor. 

For additional information, please see the complete College policies on ungraded coursework.

Weeks 1 to 3 (Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer full terms):

Weeks 1 and 2 (Spring and Summer half terms):

During this time period, you can switch back and forth between P/F and "graded" (i.e., recording a class for a traditional letter grade) on your own and as many times as you need. However, please confirm that your selection is correct before the third-week deadline.

1. From your Backpack/Registration page in Wolverine Access select the EDIT tab. 
2. Select the course you wish to edit in the dropdown menu and click "Next."
3. Select "Optional Pass/Fail" in the dropdown menu next to "Grading" and then click "Next."
4. Click "Finish Editing" to complete the process.

Need more help? Watch the How to Take a Class Pass/Fail video.

Week 4 through Last Day of Class (Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer full terms):

Week 3 through Last Day of Class (Spring and Summer half terms):

During this time, you can switch from "graded" to P/F via a Late Edit request. You can submit this request one time, and you can't move from P/F back to "graded." Please be sure this is the right decision for you, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to consult an advisor for help. 

1. From the Student Center, click Backpack/Registration. 
2. On the Edit tab, select the class from your schedule to be edited and click the "Proceed to Step 2 of 3" button. 
3. Change the grading and/or units as needed, then click the "Next" button. 
4. Confirm the edits to your enrollment options and click the "Finish Editing" button. 
5. If you are ineligible to submit a Late Edit request form electronically, a "Request for Late Edit" button displays. Click the button to access the form. If you are not eligible to submit a request, an error message is displayed.