Undergraduates who earn grades of D+, D, F, FN, or WF may take up to two undergraduate courses for a second time, on the USC Columbia campus or a USC Palmetto College campus (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter or Union), for the purpose of grade forgiveness. Courses taken at Aiken, Beaufort, and Upstate cannot be used to forgive courses taken at Columbia or any of the four Palmetto College campuses. 

Grade forgiveness attempts must be used prudently. Students should talk to their academic advisor before submitting the request to use grade forgiveness. Only two classes may be forgiven, and decisions cannot be revoked.

Grade Forgiveness Request

First, be sure to look at your academic transcript in Self Service Carolina.  The final grade for the second attempt in the course must be posted and shown on the transcript.

Please review the terms, conditions, eligibility requirements and restrictions, which can be found below, before completing the Grade Forgiveness Request form.

Policy, Terms and Conditions

It is the policy of the University of South Carolina that every currently enrolled fully-admitted, degree-seeking undergraduate earning a "D+", "D", "F", "FN" or "WF" in an UG course may take the same course for a second time for the purpose of applying grade forgiveness. Undergraduate students may take up to two (2) undergraduate courses for a second time for the purpose of grade forgiveness. Both the first and second grades shall appear on the USC permanent record, but only the second grade will be used in computing the University of South Carolina grade point average. An explanatory notice will appear on the record. Once grade forgiveness is applied to a repeated course, the action may not be revoked.

Eligible students wishing to apply grade forgiveness to a course may do so at any time during his/her undergraduate enrollment, but no requests will be honored after the degree is awarded. Grade forgiveness can only be applied once per course for a maximum of two courses (not to exceed 8 credits) on a student’s undergraduate academic record, without regard to the number of degrees sought. Under the grade forgiveness policy, the original course (first attempt) and the second attempt in the same course may be taken at the USC Columbia campus or a USC Palmetto College campus (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter or Union).

Courses taken at Aiken, Beaufort, and Upstate cannot be used to forgive courses taken at Columbia or any of the four Palmetto College campuses. Courses transferred from other institutions are excluded from this policy.

This policy does not prevent students from repeating classes multiple times, in accordance with program requirements, but only the second attempt in the class may forgive the original grade of "D+", "D", "F", "FN" or "WF". Only a regular letter grade can replace a forgiven grade. Grades of “W”, “I”, “S”, “U”, "UN" or “AUDIT” may not replace previous grades. Grades carrying an honor code violation sanction are not eligible for grade forgiveness.

Eligibility Requirements and Restrictions

• You must be enrolled as a USC Columbia or USC Palmetto College campus (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter or Union) student during or after the Fall 2007 term.
• You must be fully-admitted and degree-seeking at USC Columbia or at a Palmetto College campus (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter and Union). This does not apply to courses taken at USC Aiken, USC Beaufort or USC Upstate.
• The grade to be forgiven must have been earned the first time you attempted the course.
• The grade to be forgiven must have been taken Fall 2007 or after.
• The grade to be forgiven must be a "D+", "D", "F", "FN" or "WF".
• The original course (first attempt) to be forgiven and the second attempt in the course used for forgiveness must be the same course, taken as a degree seeking student. Course changes (course title, number, description, credit hours) will be reviewed to determine if grade forgiveness can be applied.
• Course availability is not considered when applying grade forgiveness. Course substitutions are not allowed.
• A course equivalent used to meet degree requirements does not necessarily meet grade forgiveness requirement.
• The grade to be forgiven is for a course taken at USC Columbia or at a Palmetto College campus (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter and Union).
• You are not eligible for grade forgiveness if you are pursuing a second degree at USC and the grade to be forgiven was earned after you earned your first degree.
• You are not eligible for grade forgiveness if the grade for this course carries an honor code violation sanction.
• The grade of "D+", "D", "F", "FN" or "WF" earned in the first attempt must be replaced with the grade earned in your second attempt in the same course.
• The first and second attempt in the same course may be taken at the USC Columbia campus or at a Palmetto College campus.
• The grade in the second attempt must be a regular grade (not an “I”, “S”, “U”, "UN", “W”, or “AUD”).
• If you are a student in the SC Honors College and the grade to be forgiven was earned in an honors section of the course, in order to receive honors credit  the grade in your second attempt must also be earned in an honors section of that course. The South Carolina Honors College does not permit honors credit to be awarded with a non- honors section of the same course.
• Grade forgiveness cannot be applied to graduate level courses used for Senior Privilege or Accelerated Bachelors/ Master credit.
• Both the original course grade and the second attempt in the course used for grade forgiveness will remain on your USC record.
• The GPA hours and quality points earned in the original course will be removed from the GPA calculation which may affect the calculation of graduation honors.
• Grade forgiveness can only be used one time per course for a maximum of two (2) USC undergraduate courses not to exceed eight (8) credit hours, regardless of the number of degrees sought or the number of campuses attended.
• Once grade forgiveness is applied to a course, the action will not be revoked, nor can courses used for forgiveness be exchanged for other courses.
• You may consult your academic college advisor for how best to apply the grade forgiveness policy, however the decision you make is yours.
• You may request grade forgiveness at any time during your undergraduate enrollment but no later than the date your undergraduate degree is posted.
• For your college or major program eligibility requirements, course repeat restrictions, and progression grade point averages are not affected by this grade forgiveness policy.
• Courses intended to be repeated for additional credit, such as research or applied music, are not eligible for grade forgiveness.
• Semester honors (dean’s list or president’s list), academic standing (scholastic deficiency, probation, suspension), or previous grade totals will not change retroactively as a result of applying grade forgiveness to a course.
• You are not eligible for grade forgiveness if your academic record and GPA were recalculated as a result of the USC’s Academic Forgiveness (Renewal) Policy for Former Students.
• You understand that in the future if you apply for admission to other colleges, universities, graduate and professional schools, or if your record is evaluated by a national testing agency such as AMCAS or LSDAS, both USC grades will likely be included in the calculation of your GPA.
• Financial aid and or scholarship eligibility may be affected by grade forgiveness and you should consult a financial aid counselor prior to requesting grade forgiveness.