You can use grade replacement for a maximum of 15 credit hours, subject to approval by your school. You can request a grade replacement no more than twice for a single course, and each attempt counts toward your 15 credit limit.

To use grade replacement, the repeated course grade should be the same as or higher than your previous attempt at the course. Any replaced grades will be excluded from your cumulative program GPA, but will still appear on your academic record with an X to show that the grade was excluded.

Please note that grades that have been assigned as the result of academic misconduct (i.e. plagiarism) may be repeated for credit but may not be replaced with an "X" by this or any other grade replacement policy.

Some IU East schools may not honor grade replacement when you apply to the school or in computing your graduation honors. Check with your school or division for more information.

Once a grade replacement has been put on your record, it can’t be reversed.

Grade replacement is available only for courses taken at Indiana University.

To petition for your grade replacement, you'll need to complete the Petition for Grade Replacement form online, or pick up a paper form in the Office of the Registrar.

Petition for Grade Replacement online

You’re able to submit an appeal only if you took the course within the last five years. (Academic units may choose to enforce shorter time periods.) Exceptions to this five-year period are extremely rare.

The grade change appeal process

First, appeal to the Dean of your School:

• Contact the Dean in writing within 20 business days after the course grade was posted, including the following:
  • Student’s name
  • Student’s ID number
  • Student’s correct mailing address
  • Name of course and number
  • Full name of instructor
  • The assigned grade
  • The date you contacted your instructor about the grade change request and its result.
  • Course syllabus
  • An argument, which demonstrates a valid reason that the instructor would be obligated to assign a better grade, which should include an analysis of relevant evidence.
    • Relevant evidence may include: final exam, assignment instructions and/or student’s electronic gradebook, and/or copies of previous communications with instructor, and/or witness testimony
• The Dean may appoint a faculty designee of the school to review the appeal.
• The Dean or designee may require additional documentation.

If your appeal to the Dean is unsuccessful, you have one final option, to appeal to the Admissions & Academic Affairs committee:

• Prepare and submit a formal letter within 30 business days after the course grade was posted, and email it to appeals@iue.edu or mail it to:
  Admissions & Academic Affairs Committee 
  Office of Academic Affairs
  Indiana University East
  2325 Chester Blvd., Richmond, IN 47374
• The letter should contain the following:
  • Student’s name
  • Student’s ID number
  • Student’s correct mailing address
  • Name of course and number
  • Full name of instructor
  • The assigned grade
  • The date “Appeal to Instructor” was initiated and result
  • The date “Appeal to Dean of School” was initiated and result
  • Course syllabus
  • An argument, which demonstrates a valid reason that the Dean’s decision should be reviewed, which should include an analysis of relevant evidence.
    • Relevant evidence may include: final exam, assignment instructions, and/or student’s electronic gradebook, and/or copies of previous communications with instructor and/or Dean, and/or witness testimony.
• The committee may require additional documentation.
• The decision of the committee will be final.

This grade forgiveness policy applies to all IU East undergraduate degree programs.

If you’re interested in grade forgiveness, talk with your academic advisor for details. After meeting with your advisor, you will be given a link to an online form to begin the process.

The fine print

You can request grade forgiveness only once. However, taking advantage of this doesn’t keep you from using other available course-specific grade replacement options after you start taking classes again.

Forgiveness is available only for courses taken at Indiana University.

A student’s transcript should accurately reflect all of the student’s academic work. Transcripts of students who exercised grade forgiveness will reflect all grades. A statement on the transcript will explain which grades have been excluded from the GPA calculation. For financial aid eligibility, your entire transcript will be evaluated.

Schools retain the right to grant forgiveness and may set guidelines for a minimum GPA above which you can’t petition for forgiveness. If you change schools after re-enrolling, your new school might not honor the forgiveness granted by your previous school.