Grades

Students’ grades in all courses are filed in the Office of Academic Records and become a part of the official records of the University.

The passing grades used are A, B, C, D, and under certain conditions, P and S. Nonpassing grades are F, U and NP. W, meaning withdrawal, is a neutral grade assigned when the student is passing at the time of withdrawal. A student who withdraws from a course with failing grades will receive the grade of F.

A, the highest grade, is given for work of exceptional quality. D is the lowest grade for which credit is given in any undergraduate college and means that, although in the judgment of the instructor credit should be allowed for the course, a degree will not be conferred upon a student whose work is all of that level. In the Graduate College, however, the grade of D is failing, insofar as credit toward a graduate degree is concerned, and cannot be used to satisfy prerequisite requirements and/or requirements for certificates. F means failure. No credit hours or grade points are awarded for an F, but the credit hours are calculated into the cumulative grade point average.

S and U, meaning Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory, may be used in grading certain courses identified at the discretion of the degree-recommending college. Courses selected for S-U grading must be of a noncompetitive nature and the entire class must be graded on this basis. The S-U grades are considered neutral in the computation of a student’s grade point average. At the undergraduate level, a grade of S signifies work of D quality or better (except in the case of credit earned by advanced standing examination, when the grade of S represents work of C quality or better). In the Graduate College, the grade of S represents work of B quality or better. S must be used to indicate that a thesis or dissertation is satisfactorily completed, and is the only passing grade accepted for special problems, individual research and directed readings courses. The S grade may not be used for lecture/recitation courses except with the expressed approval of the graduate dean. The U grade is used to indicate that no credit is to be given for the work undertaken.

P and NP, meaning Pass and No Pass, are used as grades in a course in which a student has enrolled under the pass/no pass option. P meaning Pass is used as a passing grade and indicates quality of C work or better. NP, meaning No Pass, is a nonpassing mark used to indicate no credit for a pass/no-pass option enrollment. The grades of P and NP are considered neutral in the computation of the student’s grade point average.

I is a neutral mark and means Incomplete. It is not an alternative to a grade of F, and no student may be failing a course at the time an I grade is awarded. To receive an I grade, the student should have satisfactorily completed a substantial portion of the required coursework for the semester. The instructor will indicate to the student, and to the Office of Academic Records, what must be done to complete the course and set a time limit appropriate to the circumstances. However, the time allowed may not exceed one calendar year. Students should not reenroll in the course to make up the Incomplete. If by the end of the year, no change in grade has been submitted, the grade of I will become permanent on the student’s record. After a grade of I has become permanent, a student may reenroll in the course.

X indicates that satisfactory progress is being made and is a neutral grade to be used only for thesis and dissertation research courses numbered 5980 and 6980 and for thesis and dissertation equivalent courses numbered 5880 and 6880.

AW, meaning Administrative Withdrawal, is a neutral grade used to indicate that a student has been involuntarily withdrawn by the institution. Students may receive an AW for disciplinary reasons, financial reasons or inadequate attendance.

N is a temporary grade used only to indicate that no final grade has been reported at the time of grade processing and is removed from the student’s record when the final grade is received. It is neutral in the computation of the student’s grade point average.

Each hour of A, B, C, D and F carries a grade point value as follows: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 and F=0. Grades of P and S, as well as grades of I, X, U, N, NP, AW, and W, carry no grade point value and are not included in the computation of a student’s semester or cumulative grade point average.