2017-2018 Catalog > Academic Information and Policies > Grades

Grades

Scholastic standing of both undergraduate and graduate students is indicated by the following grades: 

A - excellent

B - good

C - satisfactory

D - barely passing

F - failure

W - late drop

CR/NC - Credit/No Credit

CIP - Course in Progress

INC - Incomplete

NR - No record

AUD - audit

DEF - Deferred (graduate students only)

A W grade indicates a late drop from a course after the sixth week of the semester or has withdrawn from the College at any time during the semester.

A grade of Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) is to be regarded as the equivalent of a C or better only. Students that do not earn a passing grade will receive a NC grade on their transcript. Grades of CR or NC are excluded from grade averaging. Some courses are only graded on a CR/NC basis. 

With the exception of required courses, including foreign language, Core, and major and minor requirements, a student may take a course on a Credit/No Credit basis with the consent of the instructor. To do so, a contract must be filed with the Registrar by the published deadline (see Academic Calendar). The decision may not be changed after the CR/NC form is submitted to the Office of the Registrar. No forms will be accepted after the deadline.

The Credit/No Credit policy is intended to encourage students to explore classes in unfamiliar fields without the risk of incurring a low grade because of that unfamiliarity. It is not intended to allow students a partial exit from classes in which they are doing badly, and for that reason Credit/No Credit contracts must be completed early in the semester and are irreversible.

If a student changes her/his major or minor is changed to one that requires a course that has already been taken on a Credit/No Credit basis, either the student will be required to take an examination in that course for a grade, or the department or program chair will decide on a course to substitute for that requirement. The CR/NC grade will not change on the students transcript.

A grade of CIP is given to indicate that a course is still in progress at the end of the semester.

A grade of INC indicates that although the work completed is of passing grade, some portion of the course remains unfinished because of illness or for some other reason over which the student had no control. A student must petition prior to the last day of classes to receive an INC grade. Except under extraordinary circumstances, any student who has two INCs on their record from previous semesters cannot petition for an additional one. This grade, which must be approved by a dean or an associate dean, will be removed and replaced by a letter grade upon completion of the course requirements with a notation on the official transcript. Whether the student is enrolled in the college or not, the maximum time allowed for completion of course requirements is one year from the date the Incomplete was incurred. At that time the grade will revert to the default grade submitted by the professor if no other grade has been submitted.

A grade of NR is given when a charge of academic misconduct is pending; it will be changed to a letter grade when the pending judicial or other matter is resolved.

A grade of Audit is entered on the permanent record if requested by the student and if requirements specified by the instructor are met. Any regularly registered full-time student may audit one four-unit course each semester, without fee, subject to formal permission through forms available in the Office of the Registrar. Students not registered full-time may attend courses as auditors, subject to payment of Auditors’ fees. All paperwork must be filed by the appropriate add deadline for the semester. Courses that require extensive student participation (such as studio art) may not be audited. An auditor may not participate actively in course work or take final examinations and therefore does not receive credit. 

Instructors file written statements of reasons for assigning INCs and Failures with their grade reports at the end of each semester. In the case of an INC, the statement indicates the work necessary to attain a final grade. A copy of this statement is available to the student through their myOxy account.

Grades will not be changed for work done after the semester has ended. Students retaking a failed course will have both grades appear on the transcript and both grades averaged into the grade point average.

A graduate student’s grade may be Deferred (DEF) by the instructor who specifies the time within which the coursework is to be completed, the limit not to exceed one year except in the case of M.A. theses. If not removed within the specified time, a Deferred grade generally becomes an F.

Grade Point Average

Grade point average (GPA) is computed on a four-point scale: 

Courses graded CR/NC are not computed in the GPA.