In undergraduate courses for which a midterm examination is required, each student has the right to take the midterm (or submit the take-home examination as opted by the instructor) during one of the regularly scheduled meetings of the class as published in the Class Schedule and Room Directory. The scheduling of a midterm examination at a time other than a regularly scheduled class meeting requires mutual consent of the instructor and each student registered in the course. A student who does not consent in writing to the different time must be permitted to take the examination (or submit the take-home examination) at the officially scheduled time. A student who consents in writing to the change of examination time waives the right to take the midterm at the officially scheduled time.
Scheduling. The Class Schedule and Room Directory lists the times that final examinations are to be held. These are set up according to the day-and-hour periods in which the classes are given during the quarter. This information is available in the Class Schedule and Room Directory each term so that you can avoid final examination conflicts.
The scheduling of an examination at a time other than the specified time requires the mutual consent of the instructor and each student involved in the change. Any student who does not consent in writing to a different time must be permitted to take an examination (or submit the instructor-opted take-home examination) at the officially scheduled time. A student who consents in writing to a change in the final examination time waives the right to take the examination as originally scheduled. Departures from the published examination schedule should be carried out so as not to disadvantage students who are unable to accept the alternate schedule. An in-class final examination may not be rescheduled for a date earlier than the first day of finals week. The due date for a take-home final examination may not rescheduled for a date earlier than the first day of finals week. A student who is improperly denied the right to take a required final examination on the published date (or submit the take-home examination as opted by the instructor) may file a petition with the Executive Council of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate by the end of the next regular term for appropriate action.
Requirements. Except under certain specified circumstances, Academic Senate Regulations require that final examinations be given in all undergraduate courses. Final examinations may be given in graduate courses. Exceptions to the regulation would be independent study courses, courses that consist of laboratory work only, and courses in which the examination has been waived (course descriptions will include the statement, "no final examination'').
At the instructor's option, the final examination may be completely or in part a take-home examination. The writing time (in undergraduate courses) of a take-home and an in-class final examination together should not exceed three hours. In each course in which a final examination is required, the students have the right to take the final examination (and/or submit the take-home examination) at the time published in the Class Schedule and Room Directory.
An instructor may release each student's original examination, or a copy, at any time. Otherwise, the instructor will keep the exams, or copies thereof, until the end of the next quarter and students may pick up their exams during this period.
Disabilities. Students with learning disabilities may have additional time for examinations (or alternate examination formats). An adjustment request must be submitted in writing to the instructor of the course involved by the tenth day of the quarter, and must include proof of the existence of a learning disability. The instructor determines, in consultation with the student and the campus learning disability specialist, whether an adjustment is necessary and specifies the terms of the adjustment.
Religious observances. UC Davis seeks to accommodate any student who, in observance of a religious creed, encounters an unavoidable conflict with a test or examination schedule. It is the responsibility of the student to provide, in writing and at the beginning of the quarter, notification of a potential conflict to the individual responsible for administering the test or examination and to request accommodation. Instructors will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis and determine whether such conflicts can be resolved without imposing on the instructor or the other students in the class an undue hardship which cannot be reasonably avoided. If so, the instructor will determine, in consultation with the student, a time during which the student can take the test or examination without incurring a penalty or violation to the student's religious creed.
Every instructor is required to assign a grade for each student registered in a course. The following grades are used to report the quality of a student's work at UC Davis:
A excellent
B good
C fair
D barely passing
F not passing (work so poor that it must be repeated to receive recognition)
P passed (grade C or better)
NP not passed
S satisfactory
U unsatisfactory
I incomplete (work is satisfactory but
incomplete for a good cause)
IP in progress
E-NWS enrolledno work submitted
The grades A, B, C and D may be modified by a plus (+) or minus ().
| 4.0=A+ | 2.3=C+ | 0.0=F | |
| 4.0=A | 2.0=C | 0.0=I | |
| 3.7=A- | 1.7=C- | 0.0=P/NP | |
| 3.3=B+ | 1.3=D+ | 0.0=S/U | |
| 3.0=B | 1.0=D | ||
| 2.7=B- | 0.7=D- | ||
The grade point average is computed on courses taken at the University of California, with the exception of courses taken in University Extension. The value of grade points over units attempted determines your grade point average. The grade point balance represents the number of grade points above or below a C average. The grades IP, P, S, NP and U carry no grade points and are not included in grade point computations. Incomplete (I) grades are not included in the GPA at the end of the quarter, but are counted as F in determining if a bachelor's degree candidate has earned the minimum 2.0 GPA required for graduation.
A student at Davis is expected to maintain a C (2.0 GPA) or better in all work undertaken in the university. If you fall below a C average, you are considered "scholastically deficient'' (see Probation and Dismissal).
The grade P is assigned for a grade of C or better. Units thus earned are counted in satisfaction of degree requirements but are not counted in determining your grade point average.
The intent of this option is to encourage exploration in areas in which you have little or no previous experience by alleviating grading pressures. The maximum number of units graded P that will be accepted for degree credit is one third of the units completed in residence on the Davis campus. Consequently, at least two thirds of the units completed in residence at Davis and presented in satisfaction of degree requirements must be in courses taken for a letter grade.
In specific approved courses instructors will assign only Passed or Not Passed grades. Such courses count toward the maximum number of units graded P allowable toward the degree. If you are planning to take courses on a P/NP basis, you should also familiarize yourself with the requirements of your particular school or college, which may have introduced conditions or restrictions in addition to the university requirements. If you plan to attend graduate or professional school, you should consult with Advising Services regarding Passed/Not Passed grading.
If you elect the P/NP grading option for courses graded upon completion of a two- or three-quarter sequence (In-Progress grading), a petition must be submitted before half of the time covered by the IP grading has elapsed. The P/NP grading will then be in effect for the entire course sequence.
If you receive a D or an F in a course you may not repeat it using the P/NP option. If you receive an Incomplete in a course you took for a letter grade, you may not complete the course on a Passed/Not Passed basis.
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: The Passed/Not Passed option should be used only for elective courses, not for courses taken to fulfill major requirements. An NP grade in a course required by the major could prevent graduation. When in doubt, check with your faculty adviser before electing to take a course Passed/Not Passed.
College of Engineering: Students enrolled in any undergraduate major within the College of Engineering may not exercise the Pass/Not Passed option for any coursework used toward satisfaction of course or unit requirements for the degree. Courses offered only on a P/NP basis are acceptable for specific program area degree requirements.
College of Letters and Science: Students enrolled in the College of Letters and Science are subject to an additional limitation on the number of units that may be completed employing the Passed/Not Passed option (see the College of Letters and Science entry in the "Undergraduate Studies" chapter). Graduating seniors, and other students planning to undertake graduate or professional studies, should consult an adviser before petitioning for Passed/Not Passed in courses required for the major program.
Graduate students, under certain circumstances, may be assigned grades of S or U, but units earned in this way will not be counted in calculating the grade point average. Petitions are available from the Graduate Studies Office and must be signed by your graduate adviser. (See also Individual Study courses.) A graduate course in which a C, D or F grade is received may not be repeated with the S/U option.
In specific approved courses instructors will assign only Satisfactory or Not Satisfactory grades. Such courses count toward the maximum number of units graded S allowable toward the degree.
For a course extending over more than one quarter (designated "deferred grading only, pending completion of sequence'' in course descriptions), evaluation of student performance is deferred until the end of the final quarter. Provisional grades of IP are assigned in the intervening quarters and are replaced with the final grade at the completion of the sequence. In order to gain credit toward graduation, a student must successfully complete the entire sequence. (See above for electing P/NP grading for a course graded in-progress.)
The grade of I may be assigned when a student's work is of passing quality and represents a significant portion of the requirements for a final grade, but is incomplete for a good cause as determined by the instructor. (Good cause may include illness, serious personal problems, an accident, a death in the immediate family, a large and necessary increase in working hours or other situation of equal gravity.)
You may replace an I grade with a passing grade and receive unit credit (and grade points if the instructor assigns a letter grade) provided you satisfactorily complete the coursework as specified by the instructor. In order to change your records, you must obtain a petition from the Office of the Registrar and present it to your instructor for completion and mailing.
An I grade must be replaced with a letter grade (or P or S grade) before the end of the third succeeding quarter (excluding summer sessions) of the student's academic residence, or the grade will revert to an F (or NP or U). If a student's degree is conferred before the expiration of the time limit for an I-grade conversion, the graduated student shall have until the end of the third quarter succeeding the quarter in which the I grade was assigned to replace the I grade. If the grade is not replaced by then, the I grade will remain on the student's record.
You may not re-register for credit in a course for which an I grade has been assigned. An undergraduate student whose record shows more than 16 units of I grades will be subject to disqualification. A graduate student who accumulates more than eight units of I grades will be subject to probation.
Incomplete grades will not be included in your grade point average at the end of a quarter. At the time of graduation, however, any remaining I grades are included when your grade point average is computed, in order to determine whether you have achieved the 2.0 average required for the bachelor's degree. An Incomplete grade, in these computations, has the same effect as a grade F, NP or U, depending on which option you have exercised. Therefore, it is recommended that students not delay the clearance of incomplete grades so as not to jeopardize graduation.
If, however, a clerical or procedural error in the reporting of a grade by the instructor can be documented, you may request a change of grade with a petition available from department offices.
Degree credit for a repeated course will be given only once, but the grades assigned for both the first and second time a course is taken will appear on the student's transcript. In computing the GPA of undergraduates who have received a grade of D, F or NP, only the grade and corresponding grade points earned the second time a course is taken will be used, up to a maximum of 16 units for all courses repeated. After the 16-unit maximum is reached, the GPA shall be based on all grades assigned and total units attempted.
Repeating a course more than once requires approval by the appropriate college dean. Departments may restrict the repetition of a course if it is a prerequisite to a course the student has already completed with a grade of C or better.
Graduate students, with the consent of the appropriate graduate adviser and the dean of Graduate Studies, may repeat any course in which they received a C, D, F or U, up to a maximum of 9 units for all courses repeated. Courses in which a grade of C, D or F has been earned may not be repeated on a S/U basis. (Courses in which a grade of U was received may be repeated on a S/U basis.)
Degree credit for a repeated course will be given only once, but the grades assigned for both the first and second time a course is taken will appear on the student's transcript. In computing the GPA of graduate students who have received a grade of C, D or F, only the most recently earned grade for each course and corresponding grade points will be used.
Application for a transcript of record should be made at least two weeks in advance of the time needed.
We welcome your comments.
UC Davis 1996-97 Online General Catalog