Undergraduate Students
The privilege of repeating coursework allows students to retake courses in which they initially encountered difficulties. A course can only be repeated once. Students may not take the same course for credit and grade replacement more than once unless the course is identified in the Undergraduate Catalog as "Repeatable." If a course is identified in the Catalog as repeatable, the limitations on the number of times or the maximum number of credits may be applied to the major/minor, degree or graduation credits will be indicated. UW-Whitewater does not guarantee the right to repeat any course. Courses may be deactivated, discontinued, or offered on a different schedule.
Repeating Courses for Grade and Credit Replacement
A course in which a grade of C- or below (C-, D+, D, D-, F or NC) was originally earned may be repeated once for grade and earned credit replacement. The grade and credits earned for the repeated course will replace those earned in the initial attempt when calculating grade point average and credits toward the degree. For example, if a student repeats a course in which a grade of D was earned and receives a B in the repeat, only the B and the credits earned in the repeat will be included in the GPA and credits to the degree; if the student receives an F, only the F will be included in the GPA and the student loses the credits for the course. Students may not repeat for credit or grade replacement any course in which they earned a grade of C or higher, or S (see REPEAT FOR NO CREDIT explanation below). The following conditions apply to repeats for grade and earned credit replacement:
- Unless the repeat courses are offered S/NC only, all repeats must be taken on a conventional grade basis.
- Courses taken initially at UW-Whitewater may be repeated only at UW-Whitewater. They may not be taken at another institution to replace the UW-Whitewater grade and credit.
- Students may repeat a C- grade or below that was earned at a transfer institution if the course has a direct UW-Whitewater equivalent and the course was attempted only once prior to transfer to UW-Whitewater. Students who repeat a transfer course will receive UW-Whitewater course credits regardless of the number of credits the course carried at the transfer institution; for example, a student repeating a 4-credit transfer course with a 3-credit UW-Whitewater course will receive only the 3 UW-Whitewater credits. All other repeat regulations apply.
- A student may not repeat a course if the student has received credit for a higher level course in the same department for which the course to be repeated is a prerequisite or corequisite. For example, a student who has received credit for English 102 may not repeat English 101.
- In courses in which there has been a change in the number of credits awarded, a repeat for grade replacement will replace the credits and grade from the first attempt with the credits and grade for the repeat. For example, in a course that had changed from 5 credits to 4 credits, a 5-credit D would be replaced by a 4-credit B.
- If a student officially drops or withdraws from a repeat course, the original enrollment attempt's grade and earned credits will be reinstated or remain in the student's term and cumulative calculations.
All attempts of repeated courses, including the grades, remain on academic records and transcripts even though they may not be included in the GPA calculation or earned credits. Students should be aware that graduate schools and other institutions to which they might wish to transfer may not accept repeats and may include all grades in calculating GPA for admission. Student athletes, veterans and international students should check with the appropriate UW-W school officials before repeating courses as it may affect their eligibility or financial benefits.
Appeal for Third Attempt of a Course
Students who wish to enroll in a third attempt of a course must file an approved university appeal. Contact the Registrar's Office at (262) 472-1570, registrar@uww.edu or in Roseman 2032 for information about the appeal process.
Repeat for No Credit
Under certain circumstances, students may need to repeat courses in which a C grade or above was earned. For example, a student may need to repeat a course if a grade of B is required for the student to proceed to a higher level course or to remain in a major. In such cases, repeat grades will be considered only as qualifying students to continue, and the repeats will not be counted for grade replacement or earned credit. All enrollment attempts will be recorded on academic records and transcripts, with the non-credit attempts identified as No Credit.
Graduate Students
Graduate students are allowed to repeat at most two courses in their degree programs. Courses may be repeated only once. When a course is repeated, the original course and grade remain on the transcript; however, the last grade and units earned replace the original and are the only ones used in computing the overall grade point average and the grade point average in the major or emphasis. Students who have been dropped from a degree program may not use the course repeat process to gain readmission into that degree program.
A course taken for undergraduate credit may not later be changed to graduate credit. Courses taken for undergraduate credit may not be taken for graduate credit, although exceptions may be granted by the degree program coordinator when the field of knowledge has changed to the degree that the course content has changed substantially from the first time the student took the course to the present. Graduate courses may not be retaken unless indicated otherwise in the Graduate Catalog.
