 For most of its history , UCSC employed a unique student evaluation system . With the exception of the choice of letter grades in science courses the only grades assigned were " pass " and " no record " , supplemented with narrative evaluations . Beginning in 1997 , UCSC allowed students the option of selecting letter grade evaluations , but course grades were still optional until 2000 , when faculty voted to require students receive letter grades . Students were still given narrative evaluations to complement the letter grades . As of 2010 , the narrative evaluations were deemed an unnecessary expenditure . Still , some professors write evaluations for all students while some would write evaluations for specific students upon request . Students can still elect to receive a " pass / no pass " grade , but many academic programs limit or even forbid pass / no pass grading . A grade of C and above would receive a grade of " pass " . Overall , students may now earn no more than 25 % of their UCSC credits on a " pass / no pass " basis . Although the default grading option for almost all courses offered is now " graded " , most course grades are still accompanied by written evaluations . 
