An academic deficiency occurs when a student fails to complete a course with a satisfactory grade. The deficiency may occur because the student has failed the course or because the student has passed the course but with a grade that does not meet the minimum required by the student’s program.

Students who have academic deficiencies may be required to clear them before progressing within the curriculum, especially if a given course is a prerequisite for future coursework. Deficiencies may affect the student’s expected year of graduation.

With the approval of the appropriate program faculty and/or academic advisor, students can clear deficiencies in the following ways:

  1. Retake the same course at one of Northeastern University’s colleges, which will result in a “retake” grade (see “Retaking Courses” in this section of the catalog).
  2. Substitute a comparable course at one of Northeastern’s colleges, which will result in a “retake” grade (see “Substituting Courses” in this section of the catalog).
  3. Under special circumstances, if the course is not currently offered at Northeastern, a student may be advised to take a preapproved course at another institution outside Northeastern. The original grade will remain on the student’s Northeastern transcript and will still be used in the calculation of the GPA.