Undergraduates who earn grades of D+, D, F, 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 (Columbia and Palmetto College Campuses: Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter, Union) that every undergraduate student earning a "D+", "D", "F", 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.

Courses eligible for course grade forgiveness must be identical in subject code and number or cross-listed in the University of South Carolina Columbia academic bulletin.

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.

An eligible student wishing to apply the grade forgiveness policy to a course may do so at any time during their undergraduate enrollment. No applications will be honored after the first University of South Carolina baccalaureate degree is awarded from any USC campus.  

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 (includes all USC system campuses), without regard to the number of degrees sought.

Under the grade forgiveness policy, the forgiven and repeated class must be taken at the University of South Carolina - Columbia campus or a Palmetto College campus.

Courses transferred in from other institutions as well as courses taken at USC Aiken, Beaufort, and Upstate 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", or "WF". Only grades of A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D, F, or WF 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

• 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", or "WF".
• Courses eligible for course grade forgiveness must be identical in subject code and number or cross-listed in the University of South Carolina Columbia academic bulletin. Both courses should equal the same number of credit hours.
• 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 policy applies to courses taken at USC Columbia or at a Palmetto College campus (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter and Union). Courses transferred in from other institutions as well as courses taken at USC Aiken, Beaufort, and Upstate are excluded from this policy.
• 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", 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 (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter, Union).
• The grade in the second attempt must be a grade of A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D, F, or WF.
• 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 may only be applied once per course for a maximum of two courses (not to exceed 8 credits) on a student’s undergraduate academic record (includes all USC system campuses), without regard to the number of degrees sought. 
• Courses taken at Aiken, Beaufort, and Upstate cannot be used to forgive courses taken at Columbia or any of the four Palmetto College campuses (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter or Union).
• 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.
• Requests for grade forgiveness will not be honored after the first University of South Carolina baccalaureate degree is awarded from any USC campus.
• 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.