Repeating a course
Repeating a course
Repeating a course means taking a course with the same course number (for example, ART 115) as one you’ve already completed. You can also repeat a course by taking one that is “equivalent” to one you’ve already taken. Equivalent courses are listed in course descriptions in the class schedule.
| How will it affect my… | |
|---|---|
| Transcript | All grades will appear on your transcript permanently. |
| GPA | Only the highest grade earned will contribute to your GPA. |
| Credit hours | Only credits from the highest grade earned will contribute to your total credits. |
| Program completion | Only the highest grade earned can be used toward your degree or certificate. |
| Financial aid | Financial aid can be used to repeat a course as many times as needed to earn a passing grade of D or higher. Once a passing grade is earned, financial aid will pay for one repeat. No more repeats will be given even if the final attempt is failed. |
| Veterans education benefits | Once a course has been successfully completed, it will not be certified again for veterans benefits. If you fail a class, veterans benefits can be used to repeat a course once. The course must fulfill an unmet graduation requirement. See more about choosing classes for veterans benefits. |
Examples
- ART 115 Basic Design will only count toward your total credits once.
- ART 131A and ART 131B are both called Drawing I, but they have different course numbers. If you took both, you would not be repeating classes.
- PE 186F Jazz Dance and D 150 Jazz Dance are equivalent courses. If you took both, you would be repeating the class.
In rare cases, you can repeat a course for credit (for example, co-op courses). If you exceed the limit of allowed repeats, the oldest grade and credit will be excluded from your GPA and credit totals. Contact your program to plan repeatable classes.
Taking a “mutually exclusive” course
Mutually exclusive courses have content that is very similar to a different course. Students who have taken one course would be repeating material if they take the other. Mutually exclusive courses are listed in course descriptions in the class schedule.
| How will it affect my… | |
|---|---|
| Transcript | All grades will appear on your transcript permanently. |
| GPA | Grades from both classes will contribute to your GPA. |
| Credit hours | Credits from both classes will contribute to your total credits. |
| Program completion | Only one of the mutually exclusive courses can be can be used toward your degree or certificate. |
| Financial aid | Financial aid cannot be used to take a course that is mutually exclusive with a course you’ve already successfully completed. |
| Veterans education benefits | Veterans benefits cannot be used to take a course that is mutually exclusive with a course you’ve already successfully completed. |
Repeating a class to improve your GPA
Important things to consider when deciding to repeat a class:
- Only the highest grade earned will count towards your GPA.
- All grades earned will appear on your transcript.
- The repeat policy does not apply to credits you have transferred to PCC from another school.
- If a course can be repeated for credit (for example, co-op courses), all grades factor in your GPA. If you exceed the limit of allowed repeats, then the oldest grade will not count towards your GPA.
See the previous repeat policy
Repeat policy prior to Fall 2020: The most recent grade earned for a course will be calculated into the GPA and the total credit hours earned; all other grades earned for that course will be excluded from the GPA and the credit hours earned.