Pass/Fail
- General Guidelines
- First-Year Students & Third-Term Summer Starters
- Transfer Students
- LLM Students
- Non-Law Course, Research Course, Seminar/Course (No Exam / Paper Option)
- Minimum Grade Needed to Receive "P" on Transcript
- Honors
- Questions
I. General Guidelines
Law students make their limited grade option (pass/fail) elections for law courses ONLINE at the Law School Registrar's Office Web site. Do not use Wolverine Access to elect pass/fail! Wolverine Access does not correctly reflect pass/fail elections for law students. Please go to:
On the left side you will see the Pass/Fail column where you will click on the Graded or limited grade option (Pass/Fail) link to change the election for that class. The link will say "past deadline" if it is after the listed pass/fail deadline.
When making an election, be aware that the system processes your request slowly. It may take several seconds for the link to change from Graded to Pass/Fail (or vice versa). Please click only once and WAIT until the process is finished BEFORE making any further changes. Also, make sure to log-off the system when you are finished!
***You can change your limited grade option (pass/fail) election online anytime until the established deadline passes.***
Important Note: The Law School's online pass/fail election system is unavailable for the first two weeks of each term -- the system becomes active for use during the THIRD week of each term.
You may not exercise the limited grade option more than two times during your final semester.
For complete rules regarding pass/fail, please refer to the Law School Academic Regulations or the Student Handbook.
PASS/FAIL ELECTION DEADLINES
General Rules:
A student electing the limited grade option (pass/fail) in a course that is normally given on a graded basis must select the option online BEFORE the final exam becomes generally available. For take-home exams, this means the first day it is available for students to pick-up, often the first day of study days!
For a course or seminar with no exam (or if you are doing a final paper/project in lieu of the exam), the normal pass/fail election deadline is prior to turning in the paper/project on the appointed due date.
Exceptions
- By prior announcement, an instructor for a given course or seminar may establish an accelerated deadline for electing the limited grade option (pass/fail)! In this case, a student must select the option online BEFORE the accelerated deadline passes.
- By prior announcement, an instructor for a given course may permit the limited grade option election to be postponed until the time the exam is handed in. In this case, a student who elects the limited grade option (pass/fail) when the exam is handed in will file a Limited Grade Option Form in the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 HH, IMMEDIATELY AFTER the exam.
- By prior announcement, an instructor giving a take-home exam may permit the limited grade option (pass/fail) election to be made anytime prior to picking-up the exam. In this case, a student MUST file a Limited Grade Option Form in the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 HH, no later than IMMEDIATELY BEFORE picking-up the exam.
Courses for the current term that fall into the Exceptions category are on the list of "Accelerated or Postponed Limited Grade Option (Pass/Fail) Deadlines" which is posted on the Hutchins Hall first-floor bulletin board and in the Law School Registrar's Office (300 HH) during the THIRD week of each term.
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II. First-Year Students & Third-Term Summer Starters
First-Year Students:
First-year students are required to take ALL of your courses, including your first-year elective course, on a graded basis. Therefore, you may not elect the limited grade option (pass/fail) in your first-year elective course. If you do, you will receive no higher than a "C" in the course.
Third-Term Summer Starters
Summer starters in their THIRD term may elect pass/fail in upper-class courses.
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III. Transfer Students
Transfer students may elect a first-year course on a limited grade option (pass/fail) basis. You MUST file a Limited Grade Option Form in the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 HH, BEFORE the final exam becomes generally available.
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IV. LLM Students
LLM students are required to take ALL of their courses on a graded basis. Therefore, you may not elect the limited grade option.
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V. Non-Law Course, Research Course, Seminar/Course (No Exam / Paper Option)
Non-Law Course:
A student MUST have course approval (course approval requests are placed ONLINE using the External Enrollment link on the Law School Registrar's Office Web site). Those who receive a grade of "B-" or higher and want the mandatory limited grade of "S" vs. the letter grade to show on the transcript MUST file a Limited Grade Option (Pass/Fail) Form in the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 HH, by the beginning of the exam period of the department, school or college offering the course. The online limited grade option (pass/fail) system is not available for non-law courses!
If a student earns a grade below B-, the student will NOT receive credit toward the law degree. The grade, however, will be posted on the transcript to show that the course was attempted. It will not be factored into the grade point average and cannot be converted to the mandatory limited grade of "S."
Research Course:
Unless an accelerated pass/fail deadline has been established, a student can elect to take a research course on a limited grade option (pass/fail) basis up to the time the paper is handed-in on the appointed due date. A student who elects the limited grade option (pass/fail) basis AFTER August 21, 2008 at 5:00 p.m., MUST file a Limited Grade Option (Pass/Fail) Form in the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 HH, because the online system will not be available.
Seminar/Course (No Exam / Paper Option):
Unless an accelerated pass/fail deadline has been established, a student can elect to take a seminar/course in which a paper is written instead of taking an exam on a limited grade option (pass/fail) basis up to the time the paper is handed-in on the appointed due date. A student who elects the limited grade option (pass/fail) basis AFTER August 21, 2008 at 5:00 p.m., MUST file a Limited Grade Option (Pass/Fail) Form in the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 HH, because the online system will not be available.
If you are doing a paper/project instead of an exam and the seminar/course ENDS EARLY and no accelerated pass/fail deadline has been established, you may choose pass/fail online until the last day of class at 5:00 PM. AFTER the last day of class, you MUST file a Limited Grade Option (Pass/Fail) Form in the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 Hutchins Hall, prior to turning in your paper or project on the appointed due date.
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VI. Minimum Grade Needed to Receive "P" on Transcript
LAW COURSES: If a student elects to take a law course "pass/fail" and gets a C or better grade, a "P" will appear on the transcript. However, if a student gets a C- or lower grade, THAT grade will appear on the transcript. (There are ways to raise the grade to a C. In the unlikely event that you receive a C- or below, please make an appointment to see Dean David Baum or Dean Christine Gregory.) Be advised, a student who elects to take a class on a limited grade option basis and gets a C- or lower grade will NOT receive the "P" grade and STILL have used up those pass/fail credits. You will receive credit for the class for any grade above an "E."
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VII. Honors
To be eligible for a J.D. degree with honors and election to Order of the Coif, students who matriculated between May 2001 and September 2004 must earn a minimum of 60 credit hours in courses at the Law School which are fully graded and factored into his or her honor point average. Students who matriculated in May 2005 and thereafter must earn a minimum of 62 credit hours in courses at the Law School which are fully graded and factored into his or her honor point average. Mandatory limited grade credit for courses at this law school (e.g., Legal Practice, Clinics, and Externships) and from courses taken elsewhere, either in other schools and colleges of the University or at other law schools after enrollment at this law school, do NOT count toward the minimum graded credit hours. For provisional advanced standing students (generally transfer students), limited grade credit hours for courses taken at other law schools before admission to this law school DO count toward the minimum graded credit hours. Likewise, for students who spend one or two terms at another law school for a compelling and unusual personal reason pursuant to the Law School Academic Regulations, limited grade credit hours for courses taken at other law schools DO count toward the minimum graded credit hours. The G.P.A. cutoff for cum laude is 3.400. If a student does NOT qualify for degree honors, there is no limit on mandatory limited grade credits.
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VIII. Questions
If you have questions about how to elect pass/fail or pass/fail deadlines, please contact Debby Hartranft by phone at 734.647.7589 or by e-mail at dmhart@umich.edu.
If you have questions about pass/fail related to degree requirements or honors, please contact Jack Atkinson, Registrar, by phone at 734.763.6499 or by e-mail at magnette@umich.edu.
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