Grading Options & Policies

Policies  
Accessing Grades     Academic Honors     Auditing a Course     Change of Grade     Computing the Grade Point Average     Grade Point Average Requirements     Grading System     Incomplete Grade (I)     In-Progress Grade (IP)     Pass/Fail Grading     Repeating Courses

Accesing Grades

Current students can access grades using the student planning module in Student Self-Service. Grades are listed on the progress page; the timeline tab, found on the plan & schedule page; and on the unofficial transcript page. Former students can request a transcript from the Office of the Registrar.

Academic Honors

Dean’s List

The Dean’s List recognizes undergraduate students who have achieved academic excellence.  It is compiled after each fall and spring semester.

To be eligible students must have:

• Been enrolled in an undergraduate degree program;
• Achieved a minimum semester GPA of 3.60;
• Completed 12 or more credits (excluding audited courses, credit by exam, pass/fail courses, and transfer credit);
• Received no grades lower than a B;
• Completed all courses on time, with no incompletes;
• Been enrolled in no remedial coursework.

Degree with Honors

Candidates for the baccalaureate degree may graduate with honors if they achieve a minimum of a 3.6 cumulative GPA.

Auditing a Course

Auditing a course provides students the opportunity for self-enrichment and academic exploration, without the pressure of receiving an evaluation of academic performance.

The following policies apply to audited courses:

• Audited courses do not carry credit and do not satisfy degree requirements.
• Students may not audit a required course unless the requirement has already been satisfied.
• An audited course may not be repeated for credit.
• Regular tuition rates are charged for audited courses, and are included in the full-time tuition charge.
• Audited courses will be indicated on the transcript with a grade of “AU”.
• Once registration has closed no change can be made to the audit status of a course.

To audit a course:

1. Download the Pass/Fail or Audit form from the Office of the Registrar’s website
2. Complete and return the form to the Office of the Registrar by the end of the registration period.

Change of Grade

A request for a change of grade is a form of an academic grievance. The full text of the Academic Grievance policy can be found on the Academic Standards page in the Policy section. A student may request assistance from any staff member at the University during any stage of the grievance process.

Students seeking a change of grade must submit a written request for a change of grade to the instructor no later than the end of the seventh week of the semester following the one in which the grade was given. Change of grade requests for graduating students must be submitted within three days of the senior grading deadline.

Change a grade requests will only be processed if an error occurred in computing or recording the final grade, or if reevaluation of previously submitted work is warranted. Extra work, beyond that required of other class members during the period when the class met, or work handed in after the completion of the course, may not be offered as reasons for a grade change.

Any change of a final grade should be made by the course instructor, who should submit the Change of Grade form electronically to the Office of the Registrar from the Portal, or via OnBase if available, no later than the end of the semester following the one in which the grade was given.

Computing the Grade Point Average

The GPA is computed by multiplying the number of credits earned for a course by the numerical value of the grade. The resulting figures from all courses for that semester are then totaled, and this figure is divided by the total number of credits attempted that semester. The grades of I, IP, NC, W, OP, OF, P, and AU are not entered in this computation.

Grade Point Average Requirements (GPA)

A student’s academic standing is determined at the end of the fall and spring semesters on the basis of attempted semester credits and cumulative grade point average. To retain good academic standing, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 for undergraduates and 3.0 for graduate students. Undergraduate students in degree programs in the College of Art, Media, and Design must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.33 in their major program.

Grading System

Grades excluded from GPA calculations

Incomplete Grade (I)

An incomplete grade may be granted only in extraordinary circumstances, either personal or academic, that prevent the student from completing coursework by the end of the semester. An incomplete grade is given only when the completed portion of the student’s coursework is of a passing quality. To receive the grade of incomplete, the student must obtain approval on the incomplete form from the course instructor, program director, the dean of the student’s college, and the Dean of Liberal Arts (for a Liberal Arts course) prior to the conclusion of the semester. Students should review policies regarding the impact of incomplete grades on academic censure located on the academic standards page.

The following policies apply to students requesting an incomplete:

• The completed portion of a student’s coursework must be of passing quality.
• Incomplete grades not cleared by the end of the sixth week of the following semester will be automatically assigned the grade of “F.”
• Completed forms must be received by the Office of the Registrar by the last day of the semester during which the course ran.

To request an incomplete grade for a course:

1. Download the Incomplete Grade Request form from the Office of the Registrar’s website.
2. Complete the request in cooperation with the course instructor.
3. Obtain approvals from the course instructor, student’s program director, student’s home college dean, and the dean of liberal arts for liberal arts courses.
4. Return the completed form to the Office of the Registrar. Completed forms must be received no later than the last day of the semester the student is enrolled in the course.

In-Progress Grade (IP)

An in-progress grade (IP) indicates that a student is making satisfactory progress toward completion their graduate thesis, project, or capstone. This grade will apply only to graduate thesis courses where the student’s thesis is still in progress.

The IP grade is available for the following courses only:

• AEDU 695  Graduate Project/Thesis  
• EDPD 701 Capstone Project: Master of Education  
• GRFA 785  MFA Thesis Exhibition  
• IDES 722 Thesis Documentation  
• MSEM 781  Thesis Development: Museum Exhibition Planning & Design  
• MSEM 782  Thesis Development: Museum Education Planning & Design  
• MSEM 784  Thesis: Communication  
• MUED 781  Thesis: Music Education  
• MUED 785  Project: Music Education  
• MUPF 680  Graduate Project/Recital  

An IP grade acknowledges the fact that the final course product may require additional time after the conclusion of a semester to complete. The IP grade will remain on the student’s record until a final thesis grade is submitted by the instructor. In some cases, a student will be registered for thesis courses as a sequence (e.g., MSEM 781). When the final grade is submitted by the instructor, it will replace the IP grade. The IP grade is not computed in the grade point average.

To remain in good standing while the thesis, project, or capstone is “in-progress,” students must register for GRAD 001 Graduate Thesis Continuation  or GRAD 002 Graduate Thesis Continuation  during each mandatory term of enrollment  not enrolled in coursework. For more information refer to the Continuous Enrollment Requirement for Graduate Students  policy published on the Enrollment and Registration  page.

Pass/Fail Grading

Optional Pass/Fail

Optional Pass/Fail grading is available to encourage students to enrich their academic programs and explore more challenging courses outside their majors, without the pressures and demands of the regular grading system.

The following policies apply to courses optional pass/fail:

• Available to undergraduate students only.
• A maximum of nine credits may be completed optional pass/fail.
• May only be used to satisfy elective requirements including both liberal arts and free electives.
• Once registration has closed no change can be made to the optional pass/fail status of a course.
• Students are evaluated using grades of optional pass (OP) or optional fail (OF), which are not computed into the student’s GPA.
• Course instructors are not to be informed of students taking a course pass/fail and will evaluate students by recording a standard letter grade, which will automatically be converted during grading to an OP or an OF. Grades of A to C are converted to OP and grades of C- to F are converted to OF.

To enroll in a course for an optional pass/fail grade:

1. Download the Pass/Fail or Audit form from the Office of the Registrar’s website
2. Complete and return the form to the Office of the Registrar by the end of the registration period.

Required Pass/Fail

Certain courses are offered at the University that are evaluated pass (P) or fail (F) only. This information is included in the course descriptions published in the course catalogue.

The following policies apply to pass/fail only courses:

• Students are evaluated using grades of pass (P) or fail (F).
• A pass (P) grade does not impact a student’s GPA, while a fail (F) is recorded as 0.00 and will negatively impact a student’s GPA.

Repeating Courses

Certain courses are designated as repeatable; they may be taken more than once for credit. The number of times a course may be taken for credit is defined in the course’s description in the course catalogue. Students who repeat a course, regardless of the grade previously earned, will have both grades counted in their cumulative grade point average. An exception is the Grade Replacement Policy, described below.

Grade Replacement

Undergraduate and graduate students may repeat a course to earn a higher grade; only the grade earned from the most recent attempt will be used in calculating the grade point average.

Once a grade replacement is applied, the grade and the credit hours earned on the initial course attempt(s) will be removed from the calculation of the cumulative grade point average and from the calculation of the total hours attempted and, when applicable, hours completed. The course title and grade for all previous attempts will appear on transcripts with a notation to indicate the grade was excluded from the computation of the cumulative grade point average. Use of a grade replacement does not retroactively change the status of the student’s semester academic honors or result in a refund of tuition or fees.

Student who fail a required course are strongly advised to repeat the same course during the next term in which it is offered.

Students may repeat courses for grade replacement according to the following set criteria. If any these conditions are not met, the general policy governing repeated courses applies.

The following policies apply to courses repeated for grade replacement:

• Only courses designated as not repeatable for credit may be repeated for grade replacement.
• Variable credit courses must be taken for the same number of credit hours as the original attempt when repeated for grade replacement.
• All occurrences of a course where a grade is earned, including withdrawals (W), appear on the transcript, but only the grade earned for the most recent attempt is used in calculating the grade point average.
• Credit is awarded only once for a course, repeats can affect academic progress, standing, and financial aid status.
• Grade replacement cannot be applied to courses in which the student was found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy.
• Grade replacement cannot be invoked after a degree has been conferred upon the student.

Financial Aid Considerations

In some instances, repeating courses could affect financial aid or other assistance. It is the responsibility of the student to meet with their financial aid counselor to discuss how repeating a course may impact their eligibility for financial aid.

To repeat a course for grade replacement:

First repeat attempt (original grade F)

1. Register for the course online or in person for automatic invocation of grade replacement.

First repeat attempt (original grade D or higher), courses completed prior to Fall 2010, and all future attempts

1. Obtain permission to retake the course for grade replacement from the student’s program director.
2. The program director must submit an Exceptions and Overrides form in OnBase with the Grade Replacement option selected.