Repeated courses

Because some programs do not allow students to repeat courses, any student planning to do so must first consult with his or her adviser, department chair or program head.

The semester credits attempted and the grade points earned for all attempts are included in computing the cumulative GPA. No matter how often a course is repeated, it may be counted only once as credits presented toward graduation unless otherwise specified in the course description.

If a student repeats a course in which a D or F was earned on the first attempt, the student can file the historical repeat course option form at any time during a semester prior to the awarding of the undergraduate degree. This form must be filed before the last week of classes in any semester so the cumulative GPA can be adjusted at the end of that semester. It is available online at the Office of the University Registrar Forms.

In the case of courses that are no longer offered at VCU, students may take the established equivalent course at VCU and the historical repeat described in the previous paragraph applies. Verification of the equivalency should be confirmed with the program offering the course prior to registering for the second course.

The grade is not excluded until the request is made. If, however, more than one D or F grade is received in the same course or its equivalent course, only one of these grades will be excluded from the computation of the cumulative GPA.

Grades for all attempted courses remain on the student’s permanent record. Students may not repeat courses for which they have previously received transfer credit. A repeated course may be counted only once toward credits necessary for graduation. Before repeating a course, the student should consult with the adviser, department chair or program head.

Initiating the repeated course option by using the historical repeat course option form will not result in a change in previously earned academic statuses (warning, probation, suspension). Students who choose to repeat a course must do so before the awarding of their undergraduate degrees from VCU, or from any other college to which VCU course work is transferred. The student’s GPA at graduation will not be affected by repeating a course at any time after graduation.

Students who are eligible to file a historical repeat on a course that would change their academic standing have until the end of the add/drop period the following semester to file an ARAC petition with their school/college ARAC representative to request that the academic status be changed. Once the add/drop period for the following semester has passed the student can still submit the historical repeat and have the grade point average changed, but the academic status will not be changed.¹ For courses taken in the spring semester, the following semester is the summer session and the petition must be filed within one week (seven days) of when the first summer session starts.