Grades and Grading

On this page:

• The letter system 
• The pass / fail system
• The credit / no credit system
• Miscellaneous grades
• Alphabetical list of all grades
• Who to contact

The letter system

The letter system includes grades A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, and E.

• Grades of A+ through D- earn both credit (Michigan Semester Hours) and honor points.
• A grade of E earns no credit and counts as a 0.0 honor points toward a student's GPA (which will bring down their GPA).
• All grades count toward GPA. 
• Courses that count toward a major or minor must be taken for a grade (not pass/fail).
• Students must have a minimum of 90 graded credits toward the 120 credits required for a degree. 
• Letter grades are assigned the following honor point values:

The pass/fail system

Students can take courses using the pass/fail grading system. 

• Students can choose the pass/fail grading for a course in Wolverine Access. 
• The deadline for choosing to take a course pass/fail is the late drop/add/pass/fail deadline (about ⅔ through the semester). 
• Students must have a minimum of 90 graded credits (not pass/fail) toward the 120 credits required for a degree. 
• Mandatory Pass/Fail courses (such as some internships) may be used to fulfill major/minor or BGS upper-level requirements. 

How grades are recorded

Instructors don't know which students take the course pass/fail. They report students' grades as usual (A+ through E), and the registrar will then enter:

• a P (pass) if the instructor recorded a grade of "C-" through "A+" 
• or an F (fail) if the instructor recorded a grade "D+" or below.

How pass/fail grades affect GPA

Pass/fail courses earn credit (Michigan Semester Hours) (if passed) but not honor points. Neither “Pass” nor “Fail” grades count toward GPA. 

Courses that CANNOT be taken pass/fail 

• Prerequisite courses for a major or minor, unless the department allows it or got approval from the LSA Curriculum Committee
• Required, elective, and cognate options for a major or minor, even if they're not being used to fulfill a requirement
• Upper-level courses for students pursuing a BGS degree
• The final course used to fulfill the language requirement 
• Courses that use the Credit/No Credit grading system

If any of these courses are elected pass/fail they will be uncovered by the LSA Office of Student Academic Affairs. (Uncovered means the letter grade the instructor recorded will appear in the transcript.)

If a student has completed their major requirements and wants to take an additional course on a pass/fail basis, they can petition to do so by emailing LSA.Student.Records@umich.edu before the regular drop/add deadline. 

To learn how to request a pass/fail course, watch this video.

The credit / no credit system

The credit/no credit system is used only in courses approved by the LSA Curriculum Committee. Some examples include experiential courses and field experiences. 

Courses are designated as credit / no credit in the LSA Undergraduate Course Catalog and the LSA Course Guide.

How grades are recorded

The instructor records Credit (CR) or No Credit (NC) based on their evaluation of the amount and quality of work the student did in the course. 

How credit / no credit affect GPA

• A student earns credit for a grade of Credit (CR), but not honor points.
• For a grade of No Credit (NC) a student does not earn credit (Michigan Semester Hours) or honor points.

Other notes 

• Courses using the credit/no credit system may be used to fulfill a major or minor requirement.
• Courses using the credit/no credit system may not be used as a letter or pass/fail grade.

Miscellaneous Grades

Y Grade (Continuing course)

• The Y grade is used for the first term of a course that spans two terms.
• Examples include senior Honors thesis courses, Global Course Connections, or certain Biological Sciences research courses that are approved as two-term sequences.
• The instructor reports a Y grade at the end of the first term to indicate the course is in progress. 
• At the end of the second term, the instructor will enter a final grade that appears for both terms' grades. 
• Note: If the course has not been approved to be two terms, the first term will earn a I grade (Incomplete) on the transcript, and is subject to the regular deadline for incompletes and could lapse to a failing grade.

NR (No Report) 

NR (No Report) grades should only be used:

• For a student has a pending academic misconduct case. The NR is a placeholder grade until the case is resolved.  
• For a student hospitalization or serious issue that was reported through Student Academic Affairs or the Dean of Students Office. The NR placeholder gives the student time to make a decision about how to proceed with the course.

NR grades should not be used to indicate a student has stopped attending/not completed the course for other reasons. 

If a NR grade is not resolved by the end of the 4th week of the next full-term of enrollment, it will lapse to a grade of ED, which impacts GPA in the same way as a grade of E. 

NG (No Grade)

NG (No Grade) is used when a student registers after grade rosters are produced (usually the day after the last day of class). The instructor has to resolve the NG grade by submitting a grade change request.

Alphabetical list of all grades

• A+, A, A-: These grades are used in the letter system and earn both honor points and credit.
• B+, B, B-: These grades are used in the letter system and earn both honor points and credit.
• C+, C, C-: These grades are used in the letter system and earn both honor points and credit.
• CR: This is used in the credit / no credit system. A student earns credit for a grade of Credit (CR), but not honor points.
• D+, D, D-: These grades are used in the letter system and earn both honor points and credit.
• E: This grade is used in the letter system. An E grade  is recorded as 0 honor points and 0 credit.
• ED: If "NR" grades aren't resolved by the 4th week of the next term, they lapse to ED, which impacts GPA the same as an E grade would.
• F: This is used in the pass / fail system. It represents a letter grade of C- or lower and earns neither credit nor honor points.
• I: "Incomplete" is a temporary grade for exceptional circumstances. Work needs to be completed by certain deadlines or grades will lapse to failing grades (depending on the course's grading system).
• IA+, IA, IA-, IB+, IB, IB-, IC+, IC, IC-, ID+, ID, ID-: These are for incomplete grades in a course that uses the letter system, but the student completes the work within the deadline. These will no longer be used, as of Fall 2026.
• ILE: "Incomplete lapsed to E" is used in courses that use the letter system. When a student has an incomplete and does not complete the coursework by the deadline, their I grade changes to ILE, which affects their GPA as an E would.
• ILF: "Incomplete lapsed to F" is used in courses that use the pass / fail system. When a student has an incomplete and does not complete the coursework by the deadline. It's not calculated in the GPA but will appear on the transcript. 
• NC: "No credit" is used in the credit / no credit system. A grade of NC does not earn credit or honor points.
• NG: "No grade" is used when a student registers after grade rosters are produced (usually the day after the last day of class). If the instructor doesn't resolve the grade by the 4th week of the next term, it will be recorded as an ED, which affects their GPA as an E would.
• NR: "No Report" is a placeholder for students who have been hospitalized, are facing a personal issue, or have a pending misconduct case.
• P: This is used in the pass / fail system. It represents a letter grade of C- or higher and earns credit but not honor points.
• S: "Satisfactory" is used in the satisfactory / unsatisfactory system. A student earns credit for a grade of Satisfactory, but not honor points. 
• U: "Unsatisfactory"  is used in the satisfactory / unsatisfactory system. A student earns neither credit for a grade of Unsatisfactory (U), nor honor points. 
• VI: "Visitor" is used when someone audits a course. It earns no credit and no honor points. 
• Y: A Y grade is used for an approved two-term course to indicate that the course is continuing. If the course is not approved, the student will earn an I (Incomplete) at the end of the first term. If it is approved and the student successfully completes the second term, the final grade will be recorded for both terms.

Who to contact

• LSA Student Records: lsa.student.records@umich.edu

Related policies

• Class Standing
• Course Credits and Contact Hours
• Grade Point Average