Grade Forgiveness

Policy Overview

Under the grade forgiveness policy, degree-seeking undergraduate students may retake a course in which they earned a grade below C- to improve their cumulative GPAs. Non-degree seeking students, including certificate-only students, are not eligible for grade forgiveness.

Courses repeated for grade forgiveness must be taken for a letter grade, not audit, pass/fail, or no credit. Forgiveness is limited to one attempt per course, up to a maximum of 18 credit hours.

About Grade Forgiveness

Course Eligibility

Courses offered by and taken through CU Denver that meet several criteria are eligible for grade forgiveness.

  • Be taken for a letter grade the first time—not taken as pass/fail or for no credit
  • Be lower division—1000 or 2000 level
  • Not exceed the total grade forgiveness credit limit of 18 credit hours

Course Ineligibility

Some courses aren't eligible for grade forgiveness.

  • Special topics
  • Repeatable courses
  • Academic dishonesty courses
  • Mismatched credit h​ours
  • Equivalent cross-listed courses

How it Works

The grade forgiveness course must be a CU Denver class for which you've already earned a grade. Students may retake a course for grade forgiveness only one time. Both grades for courses will still appear on your transcript but only the higher grade will be calculated into your cumulative GPA.

Student Eligibility for Grade Forgiveness

Your Next Steps

  • Contact your advisor to learn more about grade forgiveness and discuss your options
  • View upcoming grade forgiveness request deadlines
  • Review the grade forgiveness policy in full
  • Request grade forgiveness, or cancel a submitted request, using the online form

Repeating a Course Without Grade Forgiveness

You may repeat CU Denver courses at any point without invoking grade forgiveness. The grade and credits you earn in each attempt of a repeated course are included in your credit and GPA totals and calculations on your official academic record.