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Course Repeat Policy

View Undergraduate Repeat Balance

Effective August 1, 2009

In accordance with CSU Executive Order No. 1037, it is the policy of Sonoma State University that:

A. Undergraduate Repeat Policy

Undergraduate students may repeat a maximum of 28 units of courses taken at SSU. This maximum does not apply to courses that can be taken repeatedly for credit, such as certain P.E. and music courses. Courses repeatable for credit are so indicated in the course catalog.

1. Eligibility to Repeat a Course:
   • A student may repeat a course ONLY if the first attempt resulted in a grade of C-, D+, D, D-, F, WU, NC, or IC.
   • A student may not re-enroll in a course for which he or she has received an "I" until that "I" has been converted to a grade other than "I", such as A-F, IC, or NC.
   • No course in which a student has earned a grade of C or above may be repeated.
2. Procedures for Repeating a Course:
   • Students who have earned a grade lower than a C (C- or below) may, with permission of the department offering the course, repeat an SSU course for grade replacement or grade averaging (as defined in subsections 3 and 4 below).
   • Courses originally taken at SSU may also be repeated at another college campus for grade replacement or grade averaging (as defined in subsections 3 and 4 below), as long as the department offering the course at SSU agrees, in advance and in writing, that the course is an exact replacement for the relevant SSU course or a substantially equivalent course.
   • Students must file a "Course Repeat" form each time a course is repeated, no later than the Add/Drop deadline for the semester in which the course is repeated (or earlier if required by the relevant department). Failure to file the course repeat form on time may affect the student's academic standing at the end of the semester. Note that some departments limit the number of times a specific course may be repeated. See the course catalog for details.
   • For students who need a grade of C or above in order to enter or progress in a particular academic program, several options are available:
     • Such a student may repeat the course, with permission of the relevant department, through SSU's Extended Education intersession offerings.
     • Or the student may be able, with permission of the relevant department, to take an equivalent course at another college campus.
     • Or the student may petition for a waiver of the policy (defined in Section IA above) requiring a grade of C- or below in order to repeat a course. The petition, which must be submitted to the Office of Admissions & Records before the student can register for the course in question, would require the review and support of both the Department Chair of the program for which the grade is required and the Department Chair of the course in question.
     • In all of the above cases, the units of the repeated course will not count toward SSU graduation requirements and will be listed as "excess units" on the student's transcript.
3. Grade Replacement: Subject to the restrictions above, students may repeat up to 16 units of coursework for "grade replacement." In this case, only the grade (even if it is lower) and units earned in the second attempt will be used in the SSU calculation of grade point average. The grade earned in the first attempt will be replaced on the student's transcript by the symbol "RPT." A student may repeat a given course to replace the grade only once, even if the second attempt results in a grade of C- or below.
4. Grade Averaging: Subject to the restrictions above, students may repeat an additional 12 semester units of coursework without replacing the grade. In this case, all grades for the course will be calculated in the SSU grade point average. However units from a repeated course will only count once toward graduation. (Thus a 3 unit course repeated once will only contribute 3 units, not 6 units, toward graduation.)
5. In any course or program where enrollment demand exceeds the resources to offer sufficient openings or sections to meet that demand, the academic unit may give enrollment priority to students taking the course for the first time.

B. Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate Repeat Policy

1. A student may not re-enroll in a course for which he or she has received an "I" until that "I" has been converted to a grade other than "I", such as A-F, IC, or NC.
2. Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate students may petition the appropriate academic program to repeat courses in which they have earned a grade of B- or lower, or WU, or IC for grade replacement and may repeat only with the departmental approval and in accordance with departmental policy.
3. A course may be repeated only once, and no more than two courses may be repeated within a program of study or while in Post-Baccalaureate study.