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Grades, Plus/Minus

The purpose of the grading system is to provide a framework in which the faculty can report evaluation of a student’s performance and achievement. For the internal purposes of a school or college, its faculty may adopt a variant of the campus grading system.

The A through F grading system is appropriate for those subjects and situations that allow discrimination in quality of achievement and performance. The S/U grading system is more appropriate for students wishing to take elective courses in a subject matter field in which they will be competing with majors, for mastery learning situations, and for courses graded primarily on the basis of attendance.

Graduate students cannot earn a D-range grade.

Grades carrying credit are: A+/-, B+/-, C+/-, D+/-, and S. Grades calculated in the grade point average are A+ (4.00), A (4.00), A- (3.7), B+ (3.3), B (3.00), B- (2.7), C+ (2.3), C (2.00), C- (1.7), D+ (1.3), D (1.00), D- (0.7), and F (0). The grades of S, U, NR, and W are not incorporated in the grade point average.

Students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 to remain in good academic standing.

All regulations currently applicable on a course-by-course basis and tied to a specific letter grade are interpreted to mean a specific letter grade range. Hence, if a student must achieve a C in one course in order to proceed to another course, under the plus-minus grading system, that student must achieve a grade in the C range, which would include the grade of C-.

All regulations currently tied to a specific grade average are interpreted to mean the numerical average currently associated with that specific grade. Hence, the required C average or better on all courses is a 2.00 average or better.

The grade of S (on S/U basis) is defined as equivalent to the letter grade of C- or higher.

Graduate and professional students

Policy Source: Faculty Handbook