Pass/Fail Grading System - Office of the University Registrar at Northeastern University

ATTENTION:

Northeastern University has temporarily changed the Pass/Fail grading policy for Spring 2020 Undergraduate classes in light of the move to online and remote learning necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Please visit this page for more information.

The individual schools and colleges state how and when the pass/fail system may be used. An outline of the general system follows.

Any student not on academic probation may register for one pass/fail course per semester if permission is granted by the college in which the student is enrolled and if the course is offered on a pass/fail basis.
Pass/fail courses are normally restricted to electives outside the major, minor, or NUpath requirements. The college faculty, however, may choose to adopt the pass/fail system of grading when it appears pedagogically sound for required courses within a major or minor.
Before requesting a pass/fail grade from an instructor, students should meet with their academic advisor to determine whether doing so will disqualify the course from satisfying a program requirement or elective. In general, courses taken on a pass/fail basis can be used only to satisfy open electives.
Individual faculty members may decide whether any of their courses may be taken on the pass/fail system of grading, except when uniformity is necessary. In such cases, the department and/or college faculty offering the course determine whether the pass/fail system is used.
Grades recorded on the basis of the pass/fail system do not figure in the computation of the grade-point average. Satisfactory completion of all courses taken on the pass/fail system is designated on the student’s permanent record by the letter S. Unsatisfactory work is designated by the letter U. Any unsatisfactory grade must be handled according to the existing policy of the college but must never be cleared through the election of the same course pass/fail, except when this system is the only one used by the college for grading the course.
To use the pass/fail system, students must meet all prerequisites for the course and declare by the end of the second week of the semester their intention to receive a pass/fail grade. This deadline may be extended to the end of the eighth week of a full semester or the end of the fifth week of summer half semester at the option of the instructor.
Students must submit a Petition to Elect Pass/Fail Grade, signed by the faculty member.