The Registrar’s Office is the official steward of records of academic work completed at the university. This policy governs the creation and maintenance of student academic records and the standards for undergraduate credit and grades. Information on graduate student credit and grades is found in the Graduate Studies Policy Handbook.

A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement. One hour of credit generally includes a minimum of one hour of instruction per week in a semester or two hours of instruction per week in a term. See Credit Hour Policy.

Earning Credit Hours

Undergraduate students (Students) earn approved university credit in the following ways:

Regular Course Work

Students may complete work in regular courses offered by BYU or may complete college-level courses through the university’s Independent Study, evening classes, or other Continuing Education programs.

Transfer Work

Students may complete college-level courses at an accredited college and receive credit for the transfer work accepted by BYU.

Advanced Placement (AP) Exam

Students may complete an AP Exam with a score of 3, 4, or 5 (credit varies based on subject and score).

International Baccalaureate (IB) Credit

Students who complete the IB examinations with a score of 5, 6, or 7 may receive college credit based on the higher-level subject and score.

Military Credits

The Registrar’s Office evaluates military courses using the recommendation from the Joint Services Transcript made by the American Council on Education (ACE). Courses are determined by ACE to be either upper- or lower-division, and BYU accepts only courses that have been recommended as upper-division.

Exemption and Challenge Examinations

Some requirements can be fulfilled by successfully passing an examination. Two types of examinations are available—exemption exams and challenge exams.

Exemption exams, available for a limited number of general education courses, result in the fulfillment of those general education graduation requirements. They do not result in academic credit or grades. Exemption examinations are offered at the testing center.

Challenge exams, available for select courses determined by departments, result in graded academic credit. The student’s transcript and grade point average (GPA) reflect the grade earned on the exam. The challenge examination is not meant to certify that a student has attended the class and completed all course requirements. Instead, it shows that the student’s skill and knowledge is sufficient to pass a challenge examination for the course.

Academic units decide which courses may be challenged by examination. Religion, internship, and activity courses (e.g., dance, music, experience design and management, ROTC) may not be challenged, although academic units may make individual exceptions under unique circumstances.

Only Students who have completed at least one course at BYU through day or evening school or the Salt Lake Center are eligible for the challenge examination option. Currently enrolled Students are eligible to take the exam, but the credit is not posted to the transcript until other BYU credit with a final grade is posted. Students generally may not use the challenge process for a course they previously completed. Requests for exceptions are directed to the Registrar’s Office. Students who are suspended or dismissed from the university are not eligible to challenge courses.

After Students have graduated, they are not eligible to challenge any additional credit at BYU unless it is specific to the BYU graduate program to which they have been admitted.

Earning BYU Credit While on Suspension

Students who have been academically suspended from BYU are eligible to enroll only in courses offered through Independent Study.

Class Standing by Credit Hour

At the beginning of each semester, Students are classified as follows:

After the semester or term has ended and all grades have been submitted by the faculty, Students may access their grades online. Grade point averages are calculated by assigning numeric values to the letter grades. The grade given in a course is the instructor’s evaluation of the student’s performance, achievement, and understanding in that subject as covered in the class. Earned credits count toward graduation and graded credits are calculated into the GPA.

1. If a student drops a class (a section of a course) by the add/drop deadline, the transcript will not show any registration for that class. If the student officially withdraws from a class after the add/drop deadline but before or on the withdraw deadline, the record will be marked W (official withdrawal). A grade of W is not calculated into the GPA.
   
   
2. A grade of CR (credit) indicates a passing grade. It has no effect on the GPA.

3. A grade of NC (no credit) indicates no credit received. It has no effect on the GPA.
   
   
4. A grade of I (incomplete) is recorded as part of a contract between the instructor and a student who is unable to complete the work by the end of the semester or term. See Incomplete Grades below.
   
   
5. A grade of IE (incomplete failure) is recorded and calculated as a failing grade when a student is unable to complete the work within the contract period. See Incomplete Grades below.
   
   
6. A grade of T (temporary) indicates course work in progress and is used only in certain approved courses in which work may extend beyond the semester. It is not calculated into the GPA. A grade of T may be changed to A, B, C, D, E, or CR (depending on the grade rule for the course) when the work is completed.
   
   
7. A grade of NS (not submitted) is placed on the student record when a grade roll has not been submitted to the Registrar’s Office by the grade submission deadline. After the deadline, an official grade change must be submitted by the instructor, either online through the grade roll or with a Grade Change Authorization form. An NS is not calculated into the GPA.

Incomplete Grades

An incomplete grade may be recorded for nonacademic extenuating circumstances (e.g., serious illness, personal injury, death in the immediate family) that arise after the withdraw deadline if a student enters into an approved Incomplete Contract. To be eligible for an Incomplete Contract, the student must be attending and passing the course through the withdraw deadline. If extenuating circumstances arise before the withdraw deadline, the student should withdraw or petition through the Registrar’s Office to be officially withdrawn from the course(s).

An Incomplete Contract must be requested by the student and approved by the instructor no later than 30 days after the grade submission deadline. The contract deadline (length of time for the student to complete remaining course requirements) is determined by the instructor, not to exceed one year. A grade of I posts to the student’s record after the contract is approved and remains until the instructor gives a final grade or the contract expires.

If the work is not completed and a new grade is not submitted by the instructor within the agreed upon deadline, the grade of I is changed to a grade of IE. The instructor and student may agree upon a new deadline at any time if still within one year beyond the semester.

Class attendance in a subsequent semester or reregistration is not permitted to fulfill the Incomplete Contract. In some special instances, such as a lab class, attendance may be required for the portion of the class or lab section missed.

Grade Changes

After the final grade submission deadline, grades may be changed for the following reasons only:

• making an error in calculating the grade
• posting the wrong grade to the grade roll
• changing a grade of T after the course work is completed
• posting a grade if no grade was submitted
• reevaluating the previous grade with no additional work submitted

When such corrections need to be made, an official grade change must be submitted by the instructor.

If a student completes any additional work beyond the end of the semester or term (original grade of T excluded), grade changes should not be made. For nonacademic extenuating circumstances that arise after the withdraw deadline, the student should request an Incomplete Contract.

An instructor cannot change a previous grade to a W (official withdrawal). In case of a nonacademic emergency, the student should file a petition for withdrawal with the Registrar’s Office.

Repeating Courses

Students may take any BYU course up to three times if the course is still being taught or an equivalent course exists. Each official withdrawal from a class (a section of a course), regardless of when the withdrawal occurred, counts as one of the three times. Beginning Winter 2026, when a course is repeated, the grade and credit hours from only the most recent attempt are used in calculating the GPA. All previous grades are retained on the transcript, denoted by RPT. To have a previously completed course marked repeated, the most recent attempt must be equal or greater in credit hours. For courses repeated from Fall 2011 through Fall 2025, no repeat policy was in effect, all grades from that period are calculated into the GPA, and all credit counts in the total hours.

Courses with an R-suffix are not subject to the limitations of this Repeating Courses subsection, and all attempts are factored into the GPA calculation.

Courses repeated at institutions other than where they were originally taken (and other than BYU) are not counted as repeats under this policy.

Dean’s List Scholastic Recognition

At the close of each semester and term the dean of each academic college receives a list of Students who are ranked in the top 5 percent of their college for the given semester, who have earned a minimum of 14 credit hours, and who have earned a minimum GPA of at least 3.5 for the semester. College deans’ offices retain records of dean’s lists.

Transcripts

The Registrar’s Office is responsible for issuing official transcripts of credit. The Registrar’s Office provides a student’s (or former student’s) official transcript within 60 days of receiving a request from the student or the student’s authorized representative (see Access to Student Records Policy). Official transcripts include only credit completed through BYU. Transcripts and reordered diplomas are issued regardless of existing holds or lack of a current ecclesiastical endorsement.

Access to Student Records

For FERPA-related information, see Access to Student Records Policy.

Academic Unit Student Records Retention

Each academic unit maintaining student records is responsible to establish a Department Retention Schedule in collaboration with University Records and Information Management.