Guide to Raising your GPA

So, your GPA isn’t quite where you want it to be. Whether you’re working to get back on good academic standing, or trying to raise your GPA to qualify for a scholarship or competitive program, here are a few strategies to help you achieve your GPA goals:

Use university policies and processes to your advantage to help raise your GPA:

• Repeat policy

  One way to raise your GPA is to repeat a class. When you repeat a class, the most recent WSU letter grade will be used to calculate your GPA. Grades for prior attempts will still appear on your transcript but will be excluded from your GPA and credit hours. Keep in mind that grades earned for courses taken at WSU trump grades earned at other institutions or through special credit. In other words, you cannot repeat a course at another institution that was previously taken at WSU and have the WSU grade replaced. Similarly, credit earned through special credit cannot replace an equivalent course where a letter grade was previously earned.

  Be sure to check with the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office or any other entities from which you receive funding before you repeat a class as you may not receive funding for repeated courses.

• Academic renewal

  If you have D+ or lower grades for courses taken at WSU six or more years ago, you may want to consider academic renewal to give your GPA a boost. Through this process your institutional GPA and earned credit hours are recalcalculated to exclude courses with D+ or lower grades. These courses will stay on your transcript but are notated with an “R” preceding the original grade (e.g., RD-). Note that general education and other requirements that you may have met with D grades will no longer be considered met after academic renewal. If you have questions about how academic renewal may affect your progress toward your degree, contact your academic advisor. Keep in mind, academic renewal may be requested only once during your academic career.

  For more information and to review the full list of eligibility requirements see weber.edu/Records/Academic_Renewal.html.

• Academic petitions

  Sometimes the semester doesn’t go as planned for circumstances out of your control. If this was the case for you, you have the right as a student to petition for a change in your academic record. Review the Academic Petitions page to learn more about what types of extenuating circumstances may qualify and the process for submitting a petition.

  Be aware that a one-year statute of limitations applies to qualifying circumstances. You may not submit a petition for events or semesters older than one year unless you can provide evidence of extenuating circumstances that prevented you from filing your petition within one year. Additionally, third-party documentation demonstrating proof of circumstances must be submitted with the petition. 

  For more information see weber.edu/AcademicPetitions.

• Drop deadlines

  While dropping a class will not raise your GPA, it can help protect it if one or more of your classes aren’t going well. There are two ways to drop a class:

  • Cancel
    • Class is removed from your transcript as if you had never registered
  • Withdrawal
    • Class stays on your transcript but a W grade is issued (W grades do not impact your GPA or credit hours)

  
  For more information, including how to drop with a hold on your record, see weber.edu/Registration/Dropping_Classes.html. 

  The cancel and withdrawal deadlines for each semester can be found on the Academic Calendar. Be aware that you may still be responsible for part or all of your tuition for the class depending on when you drop. Check the refund dates for more information.

  While dropping a class may be advantageous for your GPA, you’ll want to check with the Financial Aid & Scholarship Office and your academic advisor, before making any changes to your schedule to discuss how dropping may impact your aid and your progress toward your degree. If you are a veteran, athlete, or international student, you will also want to check in with the offices and/or advisors you work with in those areas before withdrawing.

Commit to good academic habits and monitor your status in your classes:

• Attend all your classses and turn in all your assignments

  While attendance may not necessarily be required for all your classes, it is still highly beneficial to make it a habit to attend every class session. Attending class will help you stay engaged with the course material and keep you in the know about important announcements and information shared by your professors. Making an effort to fully complete and turn in all your assignments, even the small ones, will help you earn a higher grade and prepare for course exams. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating how much full participation in your courses can impact your grades.

• Review your grades in each class and use the GPA Calculator to estimate your term and cumulative GPA

  It’s important to keep track of your grades during the semester so you can know if you need to increase your effort in one or more of your classes to reach your GPA goals. When you know your estimated grades, you can also use the GPA Calculator to get an idea of how your individual grades may impact your term and/or cumulative GPA. Keep in mind that as you earn more credit hours, individual grades have less impact on your cumulative GPA, so it may take several semesters to significantly impact your cumulative GPA. Watch the video for a demo of how to use the GPA Calculator to estimate your cumulative GPA.

• Get help at the first sign of difficulty

  Don’t struggle through an entire semester thinking you have to figure everything out on your own! Weber State has many free resources (covered by your student fees) to help you succeed. Whether you are experiencing academic or personal challenges, we can help.

  • Need help in your classes? Check out our tutoring services. 
  • Having trouble managing your time? Connect with an academic peer coach. 
  • Not sure how you are going to pay for your next semester? Meet with a financial coach in the Money Management Center.
  • Need help but don’t know what to do or where to start? Contact your academic advisor to help direct you to the most appropriate resource.

  
  Visit Student Access & Success for information about additional student resources.

FAQs:

• Can I repeat a course after earning an associate degree?

  Yes, you may repeat courses after earning your associate’s degree to try to improve your institutional (i.e., GPA for WSU courses) and overall GPA. Be aware that your associate’s degree GPA, which is posted on your official transcript at the time your degree is earned, will not change.

• Can I apply for academic renewal if I've already earned a certificate or associate's degree?

  It depends. Once a certificate, associate, or bachelor degree is awarded by Weber State University or received as transfer credit, any Weber State course(s) completed prior to the completion of that certificate or degree will not qualify for academic renewal. However, WSU courses completed after receiving a certificate or associate’s degree, but before completion of a bachelor’s degree, are eligible for renewal if they meet the requirements.

Be aware that you must maintain a cumulative WSU GPA of 2.0 or above to remain in good academic standing. If your cumulative WSU GPA falls below 2.0, you will be enrolled in the Bounce Back Program. Bounce Back provides support, information, and resources to help students improve their GPA. Students in Bounce Back must complete their program requirements before registering for their next semester.