University Of Michigan To Drop Letter Grades For First-Semester Students

The University of Michigan will change how thousands of first-year students are graded beginning in fall 2027, replacing first-semester letter grades on external transcripts with a pass or no credit designation, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The change will apply to first-year students in the university’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, or LSA, which enrolls about half of Michigan’s roughly 8,000 incoming first-year students. The pilot program is intended to ease students’ transition to college, reduce academic pressure, and encourage them to explore challenging coursework.

Under the new system, students will continue to receive letter grades and feedback from instructors. However, those grades will not appear on external transcripts or factor into students’ GPAs during their first semester.

The university will retain internal records of students’ letter grades for purposes including academic advising, scholarships, awards, compliance, and certain applications for internships or academic programs. After the first semester, students will return to traditional letter grades that appear on transcripts and count toward their GPAs.

The University of Michigan joins several institutions that have adopted similar approaches to first-year grading, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Swarthmore College, and Wellesley College.

MIT, which launched its program in 1968, uses a pass or no-record system for first-year students during their first semester and January Independent Activities Period. Students transition to an A, B, C, or no-record system during the spring semester before moving to standard A-F grading as sophomores.

Michigan’s decision comes amid a broader debate over academic pressure, student mental health, and grading practices in higher education. The university has described its approach as “grade covering,” with the goal of giving students time to adjust to university-level expectations while continuing to receive feedback on their academic performance.

Beginning with the fall 2027 class, LSA students’ official transcripts will note that all first-semester grades were automatically designated as pass or no credit. Traditional letter grades will appear on their transcripts for subsequent semesters.

RELATED CONTENT: From Debate To Copy and Paste: How AI Drains Flavor From College Discussions