The system-wide was approved in January 2026, taking effect with the Fall 2026 semester and replaces the existing campus-level course repeat policies This February 3, 2026 memo from Vice President for Academic Strategy Deborah Halbert, , addresses the implementation process, and the need to update campus catalogs, in particular.
Our office has developed the following set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and responses to assist campuses with the impending implementation of this new policy. Additional questions related to the interpretation and implementation of this policy may be sent to avpapp@hawaii.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, grade replacement will be “automatic,” in the sense that students will not need to file a petition or take specific action for the replacement to take effect.
Yes, that is correct and that is why this policy does not restrict the number of times a student may attempt a course. Instead, the Aligned Course Repeat Policy merely limits the number of course attempts that may be used to replace a previously earned grade in the GPA calculation. The policy does indeed allow students to keep repeating courses for a higher grade, so that they may meet program and graduation requirements.
No, courses from other UH campuses may not be used to replace earned grades and they will not be included in the GPA calculation. In order for grade replacement for GPA calculation to apply, the course must be repeated at the same campus from which it was originally taken.
Courses from other campuses can be used to fulfill requirements, but will not be used for grade replacement or GPA calculation as each campus maintains authority to calculate its own GPA.
The policy may not be applied retroactively, in the sense that courses taken prior to the Fall 2026 semester may not be used to replace previously earned grades under this policy. Prior to the start of the Fall 2026 semester, campus-specific course repeat policies will be applied.
Prior to the start of the Fall 2026 semester, campus-specific course repeat policies will be applied to students who repeat courses. Fall 2026 courses will fall under the new Aligned Course Repeat Policy, which means that a student taking a course for the third time could obtain grade replacement for GPA recalculation (in which the highest grade of the first three attempts is used) while a student taking a course for the fourth time could not (the fourth and subsequent attempts will be averaged with the grade used in GPA calculation by the campus policy in effect prior to Fall 2026).
No, the policy states that credit by examination is excluded, meaning that these methods cannot be used to replace a previously earned grade in the GPA calculation.
No, the policy specifies that credit by examination will not replace previously earned grades, so this matter will not be left to instructor discretion.
The policy provides students with GPA relief by allowing them to replace previously earned grades up to two times. For example, is a student completes a course and earns an F grade, then repeats it and earns a D grade, and then repeats it a second time and earns a B grade (at the same campus), the D and F grades would be dropped from the GPA calculation entirely and only the B grade would be applied.
The policy does not prevent students from continuing to repeat courses, but previously earned grades may only be replaced twice. GPA calculations after subsequent attempts would work as follows: The highest grade earned from the first three attempts will be averaged with the 4th attempt. For example, if a student repeated a 3-credit course and earned the grades of F (0 points), D (1 point), F, and then D, then the calculation would be 6 grade points divided by 6 credit hours (the D grade is the highest grade of the first 3 attempts and is averaged with the second D grade on the 4th attempt). If the student then attempted the course a 5th time and earned a C (2 points), then the calculation would be 12 points (D, D, C) divided by 9 credit hours. Across all attempts, the student will only have 3 credits earned.
The intent of this policy is to support students in their academic journeys and that is why it stipulates that only the highest grade of the first three attempts will be used toward the GPA calculation. Continued repeats beyond this number could indeed lower a student’s GPA and that is one reason why this policy strongly encourages students to consult an advisor before repeating a course.
No, not for reasons tied to this policy. The policy allows students to continue to repeat a specific course as many times as needed to fulfill a program or graduation requirement. The policy merely restricts how many of those subsequent attempts can be used to replace a previously earned grade in their GPA calculation. Additionally, the policy does not count Withdrawal (“W”) grades as attempts for grade replacement.
No, the home campus course grade takes precedence over the transfer-in grade because the latter is not part of the campus GPA. However, the student in this scenario should receive a prerequisite override for future coursework that requires the course, if needed.
The Aligned Course Repeat Policy allows students to repeat courses in which any letter grade was earned. It does not prevent them from repeating the way the UH 惭ā苍辞补 policy limits grade replacement to courses in which grades of “C-” and below are earned. This means that, if a student originally earned a grade of “B-”, they may retake the course up to two more times for GPA recalculation. If, in the three attempts of the course, the student earned the grades of “B-”, “B+”, and “D”, the highest grade of those three attempts would be used in the student’s GPA calculation; in this scenario, the grade of “B+” would be used.
This policy does not make special consideration for academic renewal students. Academic renewal policies and procedures only exist at certain UH campuses; the implementation of remedies under those campus policies is much rarer than for course repeats and is processed manually at the campus in question.
As stated above, this policy does not make special consideration for academic renewal, and academic renewal/forgiveness policies are only in place at a few 麻豆传媒campuses. On the other hand, this system policy does not prevent campuses from continuing to implement their own academic renewal policies. Grades earned during semesters for which students are granted academic renewal will indeed be counted as course attempts under this policy. (There is an exception for Withdrawal (“W”) grades, which the policy explicitly excludes from being counted as a course attempt.) Nevertheless, students can still benefit from utilizing their campus academic renewal option because the affected semester likely has more than one course that can be removed from GPA calculation, whereas the Aligned Course Repeat Policy applies to specific courses.
Courses that are designated as repeatable in the campus catalog allow students to repeat the course and earn additional credit for their subsequent attempts; for courses that are non-repeatable, students will only earn credit for the course once, even if they repeat it. To honor this distinction, the Aligned Course Repeat Policy does not take effect for repeatable courses until after the maximum attempts—as stated in the catalog—are exhausted. For example, if a 3-credit course is repeatable two times, this means that students can earn up to 9 credits for the course across 3 attempts; therefore, students will not be eligible for grade replacement for GPA calculation until their 4th attempt at the course. In some cases, it may not be in students’ best interests to re-enroll in a repeatable course for the purpose of grade replacement and GPA recalculation. The policy encourages students to meet with their advisor before repeating a course.