You may count up to ⅓ Passed Grade units toward the 120 overall minimum units you need for graduation.
Types of Passed Grades
There are two types of Passed Grade units:
- Courses that are only available on a Passed/Not Passed (PNP) basis (these include DeCals, Berkeley Connect, and research units, among others).
- Those that you elect to change to the Passed/Not Passed (EPN) grading option for courses that initially default to a Letter Grade upon enrollment.
For spring 2020 only, the Academic Senate approved a third Passed/Not Passed grading basis, called the 'Default Passed/Not Passed' (DPN) and encouraged students to use this option to satisfy requirements otherwise needing a Letter Grade, in acknowledgement of the abrupt impact caused by the switch to remote instruction part way through the semester.
Keep in mind that most requirements cannot be satisfied by an elected (EPN) Passed (P) grade. Be sure to confirm that you can fulfill a requirement using the EPN Passed grade option with your college or major department.
How the ⅓ Passed Grade Limit is Calculated
The limitation is calculated as ⅓ of the units you need to reach the overall minimum of 120 units, minus your Transfer Unit total. This value (120 - Total Transfer Units) is considered to be the baseline for the calculation. To estimate your ultimate limit, a 1/3 Passed Grade Limit Estimator is available in CalCentral, My Academics in the ‘Degree Progress’ card. Read on to learn how to use the Estimator.
Examples
A freshmen who has transferred 8 units of Advanced Placement:
120 – 8 = 112 units is the baseline
112 X 0.33 = 37 units (this is the maximum ⅓ Passed Grade Limit)
A transfer student who has 70 total transfer units:
120 – 70 = 50 units is the baseline
50 X 0.33 = 16.5 units (this is the maximum ⅓ Passed Grade Limit)
How to use the 1/3 Passed Grade Limit Estimator in CalCentral, My Academics
- Review your 'Current Units' shown in the left-hand column of the Estimator
Transfer Credit = Total transfer course units + Total exam units
Berkeley Letter Grade = Total Letter Grade (GRD) units (completed or in progress*) + Total Passed Grade (P) units earned in spring 2020 (either as DPN or PNP)
Berkeley P/NP = Total non-spring 2020 Passed Grade (P) units (CPN, EPN, or PNP completed or in progress*)
*Note: In progress includes the courses you are currently pursuing + any course enrollment you have added during Phase I & II for the next term.
- If you are below 120 Total Sum units
Use the Estimator to project how many Letter Grade units you need to earn to confirm your ratio will be at or below 33% by the time you graduate.
First:
- Determine the baseline for your ratio calculation by subtracting your Transfer Credit Total from 120.
- Estimate the amount of Letter Grade units you will need to meet this requirement by multiplying the baseline by 0.67 (2/3).
Then go to the Estimator :
- Enter the value in the 'Units to Add' box needed to raise or lower your current Berkeley Letter Grade total to match your 2/3 estimate (to lower, enter a negative value, e.g. -3).
- Enter the value in the 'Units to Add' box for Berkeley P/NP needed to bring your 'Total Sum' to 120.
Continue to update the unit values to shift the ratio as needed to confirm how many Letter Grade vs. Passed Grade units you need to earn to stay at or below 33% by the time you graduate. Be sure to make adjustments within your in progress units so the opportunity to change a grading option (by the published deadlines) will still be available to you.
If you wish to project beyond 120 Total Sum units by adding more units to raise your Total Sum, the estimator will continue to calculate the ratio within your baseline. To accomplish this, the estimator will consider all of your Berkeley Letter Grade units first, and then only include the Berkeley P/NP units needed to reach your baseline before calculating the ratio (e.g. if your baseline is 105, Berkeley Letter Grade total is 65 and Berkeley P/NP total is 45, the estimator will use 40 of the P/NP units (65 + 40 = 105) to calculate the ratio).
- If you have 120+ Total Sum units
The estimator is already calculating the ratio according to your baseline. If you are above 33% and do not plan to add any more enrollment, you need to add Berkeley Letter Grade unit values and subtract (i.e. enter a negative value) Berkeley P/NP units in equal amounts until your ratio is equal to or below 33%. This will let you know how many Passed Grade (EPN) units you need to change to back to Letter Grade (GRD) units by the grading option deadline.
If your ratio is above 33% and you do not have any available Berkeley P/NP units to convert back to Letter Grade, you will need to enroll in additional units for Letter Grade to meet this requirement. Adjust the Berkeley Letter Grade up until your calculation is at 33% to determine how many courses you need to add to your enrollment.
If you are below 33%, to determine how many units you can change to Passed Grade (EPN) by the grading option deadline, add unit values to your Berkeley P/NP total and subtract unit values in equal amounts from Berkeley Letter Grade until your ratio is 33%
For more information, review the 1/3 Passed Grade Frequently Asked Questions at the end of this webpage.
