Graduate School Grading

This document supersedes GFC Document 941 and 967, and the provision of GFC Document 890 Revised and Approved December 15, 2003 that stipulates S and U grades for theses, projects and papers will not appear on official transcripts. 

Reason for Changes

1. Elucidation of F grades related to financial aid reporting was approved in GFC Document 967, which was passed subsequent to 941. A new document is necessary to (re)consolidate all graduate student grade policies. 
2. The current prohibition of S and U grades appearing on official transcripts for dissertation, thesis, and master’s project or paper courses gives the impression that students did not receive credit for this work (when an S grade was given). This has been problematic for some students seeking professional licensure. Additionally, the concern of the original authors that faculty would be reluctant to give a U grade (reflecting unsatisfactory progress during that semester) if the U appeared on official transcripts is not shared by the current GFC membership. 
3. There were two main reasons for instituting S/U grading for thesis/dissertation/master’s project/master’s paper: to provide formal feedback to students on their progress each semester until the work was completed, and to reduce the influence of thesis grades on the overall g.p.a. under the former grading system whereby one final grade on the thesis, dissertation, etc. was given for all semesters of enrollment in these courses. 

The current wording of GFC Document 941 (Revised and Approved February 16, 2004) requires S and U grading for all master’s capstone courses. Since then, several programs have designated an integrating course to meet the master’s capstone requirement. Integrating courses with single semester enrollment should not be subject to S/U grading.

Grades with Associated Grade Points

Grade	Grade Points
A	4.00
A-	3.67
B+	3.33
B	3.00
B-	2.67
C+	2.33
C	2.00
C-	1.67
D+	1.33
D	1.00
D-	0.67
F	0.00

Grades without Associated Grade Points

Grade	Definition
K	Pass
E	Fail
S	Satisfactory
U	Unsatisfactory

Additional Requirements for F Grades

In the case of an ‘F’ grade, the instructor will also report the student’s week last participation in the course. The week of last participation is the last week of the term for which there is documented evidence of the student’s participation in the course. “Documented Evidence” includes any work or materials received from the student, such as exams, quizzes, projects, homework, etc. “Documented evidence of participation in the course” can also include an annotation by the instructor that the student was observed to attend class or otherwise participate in the course on a certain date. The mechanism to report the week of last participation shall be as follows: when reporting an ‘F’, the instructor will follow the ‘F’ with a numeral showing the last week of participation by the student. For example, following a regular, 16 week, term, the possible marks would be: 

Mark Definition

Following a six week summer term, the possible marks would be F0 … F6; etc. On official transcripts, only the mark ‘F’ will be reflected. 

On internal transcripts, the Week of Last Participation (‘F0’, ‘F1’, etc) will be reflected. 

Other Course Status Designations

Status	Definition
I	Incomplete
PI	Permanent Incomplete
Credit	C- or above in credit/no credit course
No Credit	Below C- in a credit/no credit course
NC	Not Completed (audit courses only)
P	Progress
W	Withdrawal
WR	Administrative Withdrawal

Grade Definitions

Grade	Definition
A	Superior work
B	Satisfactory, but undistinguished work
C	Work below the standard expected of graduate students
D, F	Unsatisfactory work

Grades or course status outcomes of D+, D, D-, F+, F, E, I, PI, NC, U, W, and WR may not be used toward meeting degree requirements. The P course status designation must be converted to a grade upon the completion of the course requirements. 

S and U Grades

S and U are the only valid grades for master’s thesis/project/paper, and doctoral dissertation courses, and courses for which students register on an audit basis. S and U grades will appear on both unofficial and official transcripts. 

Progress Status

Progress status (“P”) is valid for courses other than master’s capstone and doctoral dissertation in which there is an expectation of multiple-term enrollment for completion. Students may not graduate with a “P” status in a course. 

Incomplete Course Status

An “I” (Incomplete) may be assigned by the instructor if a student is unable to finish all the course requirements during the original semester of enrollment. An Incomplete course status designation is appropriate only when the following conditions are present: 

1. The student has done satisfactory work in a substantial fraction of the course requirements prior to grading time and provides the instructor with evidence of potential success in the remaining work. 
2. Extraordinary circumstances, not related to performance in the class, such as illness or a family emergency, have prevented the student from finishing the course requirements on time. 

An Incomplete will not be given to enable a student to do additional work to improve a grade. 

The instructor may deny a request for an Incomplete and assign a grade based on the work completed at that point. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate a request for an Incomplete. Reasons for requesting the Incomplete must be acceptable to the instructor. If approved, the instructor will indicate the conditions for the removal of the Incomplete, including the date for submitting all remaining work. 

The student also is responsible for seeing that the Incomplete is removed by the deadline and that the instructor has reported the grade to the Graduate School. 

The instructor may change the “I” to a grade (including an “F”) or to a “PI” (Permanent Incomplete) if the remaining work is not submitted by the deadline for completion. 

If the remaining work is not completed within one year of the end of the term of original registration for the course, the Incomplete will be administratively changed to a Permanent Incomplete (“PI”). (A “PI” is not computed into the grade point average.)  Except in cases where the work was completed, but the instructor neglected or was unable to file a grade change in time, the “PI” will remain on the student’s record. 

If the instructor and the Graduate Program Representative support it, the Graduate School will automatically approve a petition for a PI grade change within one year of the assigning of the PI. No extensive justification is required within this time period. If the instructor is no longer available, the Chair of the department for that course must approve the change, along with the Graduate Program Representative. 

A student who wishes to receive credit for a course in which a “PI” has been recorded, where one year has passed since the assigning of the PI, or where the instructor or graduate program does not support a request for a PI grade change, must register again for the course and satisfy the requirements for the course as set forth under the second registration. A student may not register for a course in which an “I” remains on record. 

A student may graduate with a course outcome status of “PI”, provided that all degree requirements have been met. All Incompletes must be changed to grades or Permanent Incompletes before a student may graduate. 

Registration on a Non-Graded Basis

Audit Basis

Graduate students may register for courses on an audit basis; however, courses taken in this manner may not be used toward meeting minimum credit requirements for the degree, or fellowships, or assistantships. 

Unwritten policy and practice. 

Credit/No Credit Basis

Graduate students may not register for a course on a credit/no credit basis, except when a course is offered only for credit/no credit. 

Course Repeat to Counteract Low Grade

Graduate students are allowed to repeat a course (once) in which a grade of B- or lower was earned. Both courses remain on the student’s permanent record and both are counted in the graduate grade point calculation. The repeated course may be counted only once toward meeting degree requirements. 

1. Revision of the Consolidated Grades Policy is approved as reflected in the proposed changes described above. 
2. Following appropriate administrative approval, the changes will be effective spring 2015. 

December 18, 2014

Subcommittee on Graduate Course and Curriculum

January 26, 2015

Approved

February 20, 2017

Revised and Approved

November 19, 2018

Revised and Approved