Grades and Grading Policies
A student's academic performance is graded by the instructor at the close of the semester with one of 13 grades. Each of these grades is used to determine a student's average and class standing, according to the table below. The lowest passing mark is D-.
Grading Rubric
The letter grades with their numerical equivalents are shown below:
| EXCELLENT |
A+ |
(4.0) |
A |
(4.0) |
A- |
(3.7) |
| GOOD |
B+ |
(3.3) |
B |
(3.0) |
B- |
(2.7) |
| SATISFACTORY |
C+ |
(2.3) |
C |
(2.0) |
C- |
(1.7) |
| POOR |
D+ |
(1.3) |
D |
(1.0) |
D- |
(0.7) |
| FAILURE |
F |
(0) |
|
|
|
|
The foregoing numerical equivalents of the letter grades are established to enable the registrar to construct students’ grade point averages and class ranks, which are necessarily numerical. An instructor assigns a letter grade to indicate his or her qualitative (not numerical) assessment of a student's work.
Thus, for example, an instructor would assign “C+,” “C” or “C-” to indicate assessments of “satisfactory,” and the instructor may use any information he or she considers appropriate, including, but not limited to, numerical information to decide whether a student's work is “satisfactory.” The registrar’s conversion of the instructor’s letter grade into an element of a student’s grade point average is a separate matter.
Evaluation of performance in a course is represented by a single grade which combines grades for work in the course and for the final examination in a ratio determined by the instructor. When a student elects to take a course on a credit/no credit basis, standing in the course is represented by the notation of Cr, NC, or F (see “Credit/No Credit Option”).
After the drop period, and following a warning to the student, an instructor may request the Committee on Academic Standing to remove from the course a student who is willfully and consistently neglectful of assigned work or other course obligations. If the committee concurs, a grade of F will be entered on the student's permanent transcript.