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Undergraduate Course Repeat and Course Forgiveness

Undergraduate students are eligible to repeat up to 28 units and may apply a maximum of 16 of those 28 repeatable units for course forgiveness. The course repeat policy will be applied to courses taken at San Diego State University, except where enrollment is restricted or the student no longer qualifies for admission to a course.

Course Forgiveness

A course may be repeated once for grade forgiveness. Although the original grade(s) shall remain on the transcript, only the most recent grade will be used in calculating grade point averages. Courses taken in summer term and courses taken through Open University will be counted for grade forgiveness. Course forgiveness is only available to undergraduate students. 

• Students can only register to repeat the same course if they previously earned a grade of C- or lower.
• A maximum of 16 units is allowed for course forgiveness as part of the 28-unit course repeat limit.
• Course forgiveness can be applied to lower- or upper-division courses.
• The same course can be repeated only one time for course forgiveness.
• Students may not use course forgiveness for courses in which the original grade was the result of a finding of academic dishonesty.
• Beginning fall 2018, course forgiveness is applied automatically to the first attempt of a repeated course up to the course forgiveness unit limit. If a student wishes to adjust a course forgiveness that was applied automatically, they will need to contact their advisor for assistance.
• Exception for spring 2020 (COVID-19): Courses with Credit (CR) grade earned from spring 2020 will not be included in the maximum 16 units of course forgiveness. More information is available on the Enrollment Services COVID-19 Updates web page.

If you wish to adjust course forgiveness that was applied automatically, contact the Office of the Registrar via the Contact Us form.

Course Repeat Petition

Requests for special consideration of the course repeat policy will be reviewed only by petition and if there is a serious and compelling reason that warrants an exception.

Students must make an appointment with an academic advisor to discuss the course repeat policy and find out if the circumstances warrant a petition. The advisor will file the petition on behalf of the student and ensure that notes have been entered in EAB that correspond to the petition request. 

In order to be eligible for approval of the course repeat petition, the student should have no registration holds. Time conflicts between classes are not permitted.

Be advised that financial aid may not cover the additional course attempt. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships for more information.  Course repeat petitions may be filed during the following dates:

*We cannot guarantee the processing of a Course Repeat Petition received after the close of the submission period.

If the criteria listed above has been met and the request is approved, the student will be notified via their SDSU email. Once approved, the student will be able to register for the class (if there are open seats) or be added to the waitlist for that term. If the waitlist period has ended, the student will need a permission number from the instructor to enroll. There is no guarantee, even with an approved petition, that the student will be added to a course. 

If the student wishes to change to a different schedule number of the approved course, the student may change or adjust their enrollment in my.SDSU within the first five days of the add/drop period. If the request is denied or the student was unable to get into the class via the waitlist, the student will need to plan future terms and degree completion accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions