Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 Policy Modifications
After carefully considering advice from the campus Faculty Senate and the ASUC Office of Academic Affairs, the Faculty of the College of Letters and Science, through their Executive Committee, have decided to make changes to how P/NP grades can be used during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters. This comes on top of a decision earlier in the semester to modify the Late Change of Class Schedule policy. The goal of these changes is to reduce stress during these tough semesters of pandemic and remote instruction, while still encouraging learning and student progress.
Please note that switching a course or courses to P/NP may not be the best action in all circumstances. Other strategies, such as dropping a course to focus on your remaining courses or taking an incomplete grade to spread out some work, are other options to cope with difficulties that you may wish to explore through our Options if You are Struggling in Your Courses page or with an L&S College Adviser.
These policy modifications are only applicable for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 and may not be applied to other semesters.
Summary of Modifications
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The Late Change of Class Schedule has been modified. While deadlines remain the same, the restriction that students may only submit a Late Change request during one semester in their time at Berkeley will not apply to the following actions:
- late drops of courses
- and late changes of grading option
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L&S College Requirements: Reading & Composition, Quantitative Reasoning, and Foreign Language, which typically must be satisfied with a letter grade, can be satisfied with a Passed (P) grade during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 if a student elects to take the course for P/NP. Note: This does not include Entry Level Writing.
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Requirements within L&S majors and minors can be satisfied with Passed (P) grades during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters. This includes prerequisites for majors. Contact your intended or declared major/minor adviser for more details.
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Departments may create alternative methods for admitting students into their majors.
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L&S students will not be placed on academic probation automatically for taking all of their courses P/NP during Fall 2020 or Spring 2021. However, students who receive NP or I grades may be placed on academic probation. Please see FAQ below for more information.
Late Change of Class Schedule Deadline:
Late grading option changes and late drops can be made up until the Late Change of Class Schedule Deadline:
FALL 2020: December 4, 2020 at 11:59pm PT
SPRING 2021: April 30, 2021 at 11:59pm PT
No requests for late changes to class schedules will be considered after this deadline, even if you experience technical difficulties on the deadline day. Therefore, we encourage you to submit early so you are able to seek support if you experience technical difficulties. If you do experience difficulties, we recommend submitting your request through an alternate format. See "How to submit" for options.
How to submit:
Late Drops
CalCentral eform
You can submit a late drop by going to your CalCentral's "My Dashboard" tab and selecting "L&S Late Schedule Change" in the Student Resources section. You can also find this link in your CalCentral's Enrollment tile in your "My Academics" tab.
If you are having trouble navigating CalCentral, you can access the eform directly here: L&S Late Schedule Change eform
The benefits of using the CalCentral eform are:
- faster processing times
- automatic routing to International Office (if dropping below 12 units) or Athletics for required signatures
Trouble with CalCentral eform
If you are having trouble with the CalCentral eform, you may always use L&S's Late Change of Class Schedule petition, available on our Late Change of Class Schedule page. If you need no signatures from Athletics, International Office, or another college (for simultaneous degree students), you may use the online version of the form. Otherwise, you will need to use the PDF version of the form. See the Late Change of Class Schedule page for links.
Signatures from L&S major departments are not required for late drops during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.
Simultaneous degree students
The modified late drop policy, as stated on this page, is for L&S students only. If you are a simultaneous degree student, your other college will also have to agree to a late drop. See your other college and if they approve, please use the PDF form available on our Late Change of Class Schedule page.
FEES
See the Office of the Registrar's Enrollment page to learn about fees for drops.
Grading Option Changes
CALCENTRAL
Through April 29th:
You can change your grading option through your CalCentral's Enrollment tile in your "My Academics" tab through April 29th. For support on how to make this change, check out the Student Information Systems guide on changing grading options.
April 30th
Because deadlines differ across colleges, on April 30th (the deadline day), a different procedure will be required to change your grading option. On April 30th, you can submit a grading option change by going to your CalCentral's "My Dashboard" tab and selecting "L&S Late Schedule Change" in the Student Resources section. You can also find this link in your CalCentral's Enrollment tile in your "My Academics" tab.
If you are having trouble navigating CalCentral, you can access the eform directly here: L&S Late Schedule Change eform
TROUBLE WITH CALCENTRAL
If you are having trouble with the CalCentral, you may always use L&S's Late Change of Class Schedule petition, available on our Late Change of Class Schedule page. If you need no signatures from Athletics or another college (for simultaneous degree students), you may use the online version of the form. Otherwise, you will need to use the PDF version of the form. See the Late Change of Class Schedule page for links.
Signatures from L&S major departments are not required for grading option changes during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.
SIMULTANEOUS DEGREE STUDENTS
The modified grading option policy, as stated on this page, is for L&S students only. If you are a simultaneous degree student, your other college will also have to agree to a grading option change. See your other college and if they approve, please use the PDF form available on our Late Change of Class Schedule page.
Other
The policy for late adds and late changes of units in a variable unit course have not been modified for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. If you would like to late add a class or change your units in a variable unit course after the deadline, please see our Late Change of Class Schedule page for more information about the policy and submission instructions.
FAQ by Topic
Modifications to the P/NP Policy
Can a P grade satisfy...?
For L&S students, a P grade earned in Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 will satisfy:
- L&S major and L&S minor requirements
- Reading and Composition
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Foreign Language
A P grade earned in Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 will not satisfy:
- Entry Level Writing (as a UC-wide requirement, L&S cannot modify this requirement)
A P grade can always satisfy:
- American History and American Institutions
- American Cultures
- L&S Seven-Course Breadth
What does CPN mean on my CalCentral?
EPN and PNP are the usual codes on CalCentral that indicate you are enrolled in a course for the Pass/No Pass grading option.
- EPN stands for "Elective Pass/No Pass." EPN indicates that the course can be taken letter graded or pass/no pass, but that you have selected Pass/No Pass.
- PNP indicates that the course is only offered for P/NP grading and cannot be changed to letter graded.
During Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, CalCentral needs a code that lets the system understand that EPN courses can be used to count for some requirements that typically only take letter graded course work. CPN is a grading option that will only appear for these terms.
- CPN stands for "College Pass/No Pass." CPN indicates that the course can be taken letter graded or pass/no pass, but that you have selected Pass/No Pass. It is also used by CalCentral to make sure the policy modifications outlined above are able to be implemented in your Academic Progress Report.
These codes are simply to help you know your options with your courses. The transcript will only reflect a P or NP once grades are submitted and will not indicate what grading options were available.
Academic Probation
IF YOU start the semester on academic probation
If you are on Academic Probation, you will need to follow typical probation policies around grading options to make letter graded progress. This means that if you are on academic probation, you will need to take all of your courses for a letter grade unless a course is only offered P/NP.
IF YOU start the semester ON good academic standing
L&S students in good academic standing will not be automatically placed on academic probation for taking all of their courses P/NP during Fall 2020 or Spring 2021.
If your final grades include letter grades:
You will have your academic standing assessed under our typical policy based on your semester and cumulative GPAs. See the Academic Probation page for more information.
If your final grades consist of all Pass (P) grades:
You will remain in good academic standing.
If your final grades consist of all No Pass (NP) grades:
You will be placed on academic probation
If your final grades consist only of P/I/NP:
If you receive P's in at least 50% of the total units you are enrolled in at the end of the semester, you will not be placed on academic probation. If you receive P's in less than 50% of the total units you are enrolled in at the end of the semester, you will be placed on academic probation. If you have questions about the possibility of being placed on probation, you should consult with a College Adviser and may consider the modified Late Change of Class Schedule outlined above.
Major Admissions
Some majors require particular grades or grade averages in certain classes for admission to the major. Major departments may create alternative methods for admitting students into their majors, but are not obligated to do so.
Seeking advising from major departments: Major departments are receiving news about this decision at the same time as students. We appreciate your patience and understanding as major departments meet to make decisions about how to accommodate these policies into their admissions criteria and seek approval from the L&S Executive Committee. This is expected to take some time.
1/3 P/NP Limit and GPA
These requirements have not been modified for Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 coursework.
Passed (P) grades may account for no more than 1/3 of your total required units for graduation. While Passed grades earned in Spring 2020 did not count toward this limit, Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 will count toward this limit. Passed grades will CalCentral has an estimator tool to help you understand where you are toward this limit.
Also, you must have an overall GPA of at least 2.0 to graduate.
These are not L&S requirements and the College therefore has no authority to modify the P/NP limit or the GPA required to graduate.
If you are nearing graduation and have concerns about either of these requirements, please consult with an L&S College Adviser. See the Degree Requirements page for more information on these requirements.
Repeats
These requirements have not been modified for Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 coursework.
If you earned a D+ or lower in a course and are retaking the course for grade replacement, you must earn a letter grade in the second attempt of the course for the grade to be considered for replacement. Other restrictions apply to repeats. See our Course Repeats page for more details.
This is not an L&S policy and the College therefore has no authority to modify repeat rules.
Transfer Credit
- Reading and Composition
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Foreign Language
- Major/Minor Requirements normally satisfied with letter grades
How will it "look" if I take a lot of P/NP?
Schools: While many professional and graduate schools adjusted their standards for Spring 2020 to be more lenient toward passed grades, it is unclear at how taking a large number of P/NP grades over Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 will be viewed by admissions for these programs and preferences may differ across programs. Please consult with admissions offices for the programs you are considering. You may also check in with the Career Center to see if they have guidance.
Law schools have reported that taking PNP grades after Spring 2020 can negatively impact a student's chances of admission. Refer to our Pre-Professional Graduate Programs advising services for more support.
Other: If you are applying to a competitive program or major while in undergrad, you will need to contact that program or major for more information on how patterns of P/NP grades will be viewed.
Modifications to the Late Change of Class Schedule Policy
Exception to Restrictions for Drops and Grading Option Changes
For Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, the Late Change of Class Schedule policy will be modified. While deadlines will remain the same, the restriction that students may only submit a Late Change request during one semester in their time at Berkeley will not apply to the following actions:
- late drops of courses
- and late changes of grading option
In other words, students may request these actions by the Late Change of Class Schedule deadline without having it impact their late change limit or eligibility.
This means that students who have previously used their Late Change of Schedule Petition can still submit a Late Change request for the above changes by the deadline. It also means that if you request one of these actions for the first time in these semesters, you will still be able to use your Late Change of Class Schedule in a future semester.
Late adds and late changes of units in a variable unit course are not included in this policy modification, and will be subject to the regular policy, including late change limits and eligibility.
See the Late Change of Class Schedule page for more information, including how to submit a Late Change request.
Late Drops and the 13 Unit Minimum
As a standard practice, L&S approves Reduced Course Loads whenever a late drop puts you below 13 units. This means that academically, this is okay to do. However, if you:
- use Financial Aid
- are on a Visa (12 unit minimum)
- are an NCAA athlete (13 unit minimum)
- have any other reason you need to be in a full-time course load
dropping courses may have impacts on these statuses. Check with the corresponding office for guidance.
Simultaneous Degree Students
While L&S has modified its Late Change of Class Schedule policy, this is not true of all UC Berkeley colleges. If you are a Simultaneous Degree student, you cannot use a Late Change of Class Schedule (modified or otherwise) without approval from both of your colleges. Please seek advising from your other college to determine your options in regards to using a Late Change of Class Schedule request.