ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan’s largest undergraduate college plans to replace first-semester letter grades on first-year students’ external transcripts with pass or no-credit marks beginning in fall 2027.
The College of Literature, Science and the Arts describes the change as a grade-covering pilot intended to help students adjust to college, take academic risks and focus on learning. Students will still receive letter grades and instructor feedback in every course, but those grades will not appear on external transcripts or count toward the grade-point average.
The policy applies to first-year students in LSA, not every undergraduate school at the university. LSA is the university’s largest college and includes a wide range of humanities, social science and natural science programs. The transcript will carry a notation explaining that the first-semester grades were automatically designated pass or no credit.
University leaders have linked the plan to concerns about stress, depression and anxiety among college-age adults. They say covering grades can give students time to adapt to a demanding campus, explore unfamiliar subjects and seek help without believing that one difficult semester will define their academic record.
Critics have questioned whether the system will reduce motivation, weaken academic rigor or leave graduate schools and employers with less information. Some students and readers responding to coverage said a pass-no credit semester could make it easier to do the minimum, while supporters compared the approach with policies long used at other selective institutions.
The distinction between covered grades and ungraded courses is important. Michigan instructors will evaluate work as usual, and students will be able to see feedback and letter grades. The change affects how the results are recorded externally and calculated, not whether assignments, exams and course standards remain.
Details were still being developed, including how exceptions, repeated courses, transfer questions and professional-school prerequisites will be handled. The college said it was working with faculty and staff across campus before implementation.
The program could be closely watched by other universities confronting student mental-health concerns and debates about grade inflation. Research on pass-fail systems has produced mixed findings, in part because policies differ in who is covered, what counts as passing and whether instructors or students can still see letter grades.
Prospective students entering in fall 2027 should review the final LSA policy and ask how first-semester work will be treated by scholarships, academic programs and future applications. Students in Michigan’s other colleges should not assume the LSA pilot applies to them.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor, published Aug. 19, 2026. Additional verification: University of Michigan College of Literature, Science and the Arts.
