Pass/Fail and Non-GPA Grades
Last updated 2026-08-09
Every transcript carries codes that are not ordinary letter grades. Each one answers two independent questions: does this earn credit toward my degree, and does it affect my GPA? The answers are often not the same.
Two questions, not one
It helps to stop thinking of grades as good or bad and start sorting them into four boxes:
- Credit and GPA — ordinary passing letter grades.
- Credit, no GPA — pass marks (P, CR, S) and transfer credit (TR). Your credit total rises; the average does not move.
- No credit, but GPA — most failing grades. Scored at 0 points, so they pull the average down while adding nothing to your progress.
- Neither — withdrawals (W), audits (AU), incompletes (I), in-progress marks. Invisible to both totals.
What "excluded from GPA" really means
A course excluded from the GPA is removed from both sides of the division — it contributes no quality points and no credit hours to the calculation. That is why adding a fourth pass/fail course to a semester leaves the semester GPA exactly where it was. Students frequently expect some movement and are surprised when nothing happens.
The mirror-image mistake is including those courses in a hand calculation. Counting a 3-credit P as three credits of nothing drags the average down by a quarter or more — one of the most common reasons a hand-calculated GPA disagrees with the transcript.
Codes you will actually see
The letters vary between institutions, but the families are recognisable: P / CR / S for a pass without grade points; NP / NC / U for the corresponding fail; W for a withdrawal; WF for a withdrawal that is penalised as a failure; I for incomplete, usually converting to a real grade later; AU for audit; TR for transfer credit. Some universities also use a punitive fail code for academic integrity cases, scored at 0 and flagged on the transcript.
Only your own university's table tells you which of these earn credit and which count in the average — and the answers do differ. Each university page on GPAWorld lists every code that institution publishes, with both answers next to it.
Should you take a course pass/fail?
It is a trade, not a free option. Taking a course pass/fail protects your average from a weak result — but it equally prevents a strong result from lifting it. If you expect to do well in a heavy course, a normal grade is worth more to your GPA than the protection is.
Note too that programmes often cap how many pass/fail courses can count toward a degree, and some graduate admissions treat a transcript full of them with suspicion. The GPA arithmetic is only part of the decision.
Want to see what a pass/fail course does to your own semester? Open the GPAWorld calculator and pick your university — it uses that university's own grade points, rounding, and CGPA formula.
Frequently asked questions
Does a pass/fail course affect my GPA?
At most universities, no. A pass grade that carries no grade points is excluded from the GPA division entirely, so your completed-credit total rises while the average stays exactly where it was. A few institutions do assign points to pass grades, so check your own university's table.
Does a withdrawal (W) hurt my GPA?
A plain W normally carries no grade points and earns no credit, so it does not affect the GPA at all. A penalised withdrawal — often coded WF — is usually scored as a failure at 0 points and does count.
Do transfer credits count toward my GPA?
Usually they earn credit toward the degree without carrying grade points, so they raise your credit total but leave the average untouched. This is why your credit count can jump after a transfer while your GPA does not move.
What happens to an incomplete (I)?
While it stands, an incomplete normally sits outside both the credit and GPA totals. Once the work is finished it converts to an ordinary grade and is calculated like any other course from that point.