P/F grading option available for fall

A few items to note regarding changing from a letter grade to pass-fail:

• You can choose to opt for a Pass/D/Fail for one, or more of your classes.
• Currently, to earn an MBE degree, you must receive a grade of C- or better in all courses, with the exception of ENGR 180 and PHYS 212/212L where a D is passing for these 2 classes only.
• You don’t have to make a decision now about changing from a letter grade to a Pass/D/Fail. Professors will submit letter grades by 12/22/20 and then you will have 5 days until 12/27/20 to request switching letter grades from a C- or higher to a P.
• A course that is graded as a pass with a P will *not* count towards your GPA, but it will satisfy degree requirements and prerequisites for future courses.
• Once you choose to take a P you may not change your mind and go back to a letter grade.
• Courses previously taken and being repeated in fall 2020, if graded with a P, will still overwrite and exclude the first letter grade from GPA calculations.
• When making decisions about changing to pass/fail, consider impacts to minimum GPA requirements for scholarships and financial aid, as well as potential questions from future employers or applications to graduate school.

A few items to note regarding admission to upper-division and beyond:

• If you switch from a letter grade to a P in an ME core class, that course will not be used to calculate your ME core GPA for admission to upper-division.
• To be admitted to upper-division, you still can’t exceed the maximum number of ME core repeats (3 on 20-21 catalog and 2 on 19-20 and earlier catalogs), and must still meet the minimum ME Core GPA (2.6 on 20-21 catalog and 2.4 on earlier catalogs).
• REMINDER: Math 170, Math 175, PHYS 211, ENGR 210 (ME 201) and ENGR 220 (ME 203) are ME core classes for all catalogs. CHEM 111, ME 105 and ME 302 (ME 321) are only ME core classes for the 19-20 and earlier catalogs while ME 271 (ME 273) is only an ME core class on the 20-21 catalog.

This GPA calculator may be helpful as you determine which route you are going to go.

Questions? Reach out to your advisor, or AdviseME@boisestate.edu. While we cannot make the decision for you, we can help you look at the different options.

On December 23rd you will receive an email with a link to an eform. Use this eform to choose the course(s) you wish to change to a grade of P and submit by the deadline.

For undergraduate students, Boise State does not limit the number of grades of P a student may earn.

For graduate students, please refer to the graduate catalog as some degree programs may limit the amount of (P) Pass grades.

No, students must opt into the grade of P by utilizing the eform that will be sent to them via email on December 23rd.

We recommend that students interested in the Accelerated Master’s program do not select a Pass/Fail option for the six core classes (ME 302, ME 330, ME 350, ME 320, ME 380, and ME 352). However, we also understand this is a challenging time, and a student’s eligibility into the program will not be affected if they have a ‘P’ in one of the six core classes. If they have more than one ‘P’ in the six core classes, they may no longer be eligible for the program.

All Graduate Students will be allowed to revisit the grading basis for their courses, and must select between a letter grade option or a Pass/Fail option; no additional actions are necessary for students that don’t intend to change their grading basis. Details and limitations for the Pass Grading Basis accommodation for graduate students are attached in the document below. Students are encouraged to carefully consider what is best for them, depending on their own, individual circumstances.

The Registrar’s Office will publish and manage an electronic form that graduate students will use to exercise the grading change option, if they choose to do so. An email with the form will be sent from the Registrar’s Office on December 23, 2020 to your BroncoMail account. Students will have until 11:59 pm on December 27, 2020 to request this alternative grading accommodation. This decision will be final.

In a communication with the Idaho Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, the Department asked if substituting a Pass for a letter grade would impact the ability of an engineer to get their Professional Engineer license. Executive Director Keith Simila responded that the Board is only concerned with the final engineering degree and not the individual course grades. (updated 5/14/20)