Grade Forgiveness Policy
Effective Autumn semester 2015, under the recently approved Grade Forgiveness Rule, students can petition to complete a second attempt at a course and apply grade forgiveness to the first attempt. The parameters of the Grade Forgiveness Rule are as follows:
- Students must submit a Grade Forgiveness petition to their academic advisor no later than the fourth Friday of the term in which the student is enrolled in the second attempt of a course.
- Students seeking to repeat a high-demand course in which they have already earned a passing grade may not receive permission to repeat it until students who truly need to take the course have had a chance to enroll.
- If approved, the first attempt's grade and credit hours will be removed from the Ohio State cumulative grade-point average (GPA) upon completion of the second attempt.
- Forgiveness only impacts the Ohio State cumulative GPA calculation. All grades remain on the student's transcript.
- Academic standing is not retroactively reviewed if a first attempt's grade is removed from the GPA calculation due to forgiveness.
- For students admitted to Ohio State in Autumn 2015 and later, a maximum of three courses can be repeated under this policy. Students who were admitted to Ohio State in Summer 2015 or earlier should review the information below to determine their eligibility.
Grade Forgiveness Policy in Chemistry Courses
Students who progress to a higher level course and then wish to repeat a lower level course to earn a better grade are not permitted to use Grade Forgiveness. For example, if one takes CHEM 1210, and then takes CHEM 1220, one may not then re-take CHEM 1210 for Grade Forgiveness. Similarly, if one takes CHEM 1220, and then takes CHEM 2510, one may not then re-take CHEM 1220 for Grade Forgiveness. Students in these situations are allowed to retake the course to earn a higher grade, but may not earn Grade Forgiveness for the course. Please contact the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Undergraduate Advising Office with any questions pertaining to the Grade Forgiveness Policy as it relates to chemistry and biochemistry courses.
Students should keep in mind that when applying to graduate or professional schools, or even to other colleges at Ohio State, all earned grades will be considered (including those forgiven under the Grade Forgiveness Rule) in the admissions process. The other college or unit may recalculate the original grade(s) into a student's cumulative GPA.
Forgiveness Course Equivalents for Chemistry Courses
- General Chemistry I: CHEM 1210, 1610, 1910H
- General Chemistry II: CHEM 1220, 1620, and 1920H
- Organic Chemistry I: CHEM 2510, 2610, and 2910H
- Organic Chemistry II: CHEM 2520, 2620, and 2920H
Courses that can Forgive Non-Equivalent Courses
- CHEM 1210 can forgive CHEM 1110 or CHEM 1210/1610/1910H
- CHEM 1220 can forgive CHEM 1250 or CHEM 1220/1620/1920H
- CHEM 1250 can forgive CHEM 1210/1610/1910H or CHEM 1250
- CHEM 2520 can forgive CHEM 2310 or CHEM 2520/2620/2920H
- CHEM 1210 can be used to forgive either CHEM 1206 or CHEM 1208 (not both 1206 and 1208)