3364-71-11. Grades, quality points and grading policy

(A) Policy statement

(1) Grades. The policy recognizes the use of grades as a measure of academic standing. A grade will be awarded for a course at the end of each term by the instructor of record to indicate a student's academic achievement in a credit-bearing course. The university uses a variety of grading systems appropriate to the pedagogy of the course. A college may establish limitations on the number of courses a student may take with a non-letter grade. All grades are due at the end of each term. All grades, including non-letter grades and grades associated with non-satisfactory course completion, such as "W" and "NC," are transcripted and remain as part of the official record.

Grades are considered to be official at the time of submission to the registrar's office at the end of each term. Official grades can only be changed in accord with established policies and procedures. Grade appeals and evidence of grading errors are governed by rule 3364-71-05 of the Administrative Code (academic grievance).

Students may elect to earn a grade other than a letter grade in undergraduate courses when this option is made available.

Non-letter grades are awarded as follows:

(a) No grade "NR": NR is used until a final grade is available. (This is for registrar use only when faculty members do not assign a grade.)

(b) Audit "AU": Audit means a student is enrolled in credit bearing courses but elects not to receive credit. A grade of AU has no effect on the student's grade point average.

(c) Pass/no credit "PS" or "NC": Students may elect to enroll in certain undergraduate courses for pass/no credit rather than an "A-F" grade. The PS or NC grade has no effect on the student's grade point average.

(d) Incomplete "IN": The grade of IN is assigned only in extraordinary cases when unexpected conditions prevent the student from completing the requirements of the course within the term of enrollment. The IN has no effect on the student's grade point average.

(e) Progress in review "PRS" or "PRU": The progress-in-review grade is intended for undergraduate research courses and for special projects at the undergraduate levels, such as honors thesis, study abroad, etc. that may not be completed at the end of a particular grading period. The progress-in-review grade has no effect on the student's grade point average.

(2) Quality points. Quality points are the numerical values assigned to each letter grade.

Quality points are used to compute the student's cumulative grade point average by dividing the total number of quality hours into the total number of quality points earned including F grades for all repeated courses that have not been approved for deletion on the basis of petition by the student.

The relationship between grades and quality points is as follows:

Grades and Quality Points

GRADE	STANDARD	QUALITY POINTS FOR EACH SEMESTER HOUR
A	Achievement of outstanding quality ...............................	4.00
A-	Achievement of slightly less than outstanding quality ....	3.67
B+	Achievement of slightly better than high quality ............	3.33
B	Achievement of high quality ...........................................	. 3.00
B-	Achievement of slightly less than high quality ................	2.67
C+	Work of slightly better than average quality ..................	2.33
C	Work of average quality .................................................	2.00
C-	Work of slightly less than average quality .......................	1.67
D+	Work well below the average quality .............................	1.33
D	Poor but passing ..............................................................	1.00
D-	Barely above failing .......................................................	0.67
PS	Pass (selected courses only); equivalent of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+ or C ..............................................	.......*
F	Failure ............................................................................	.. 0.00
IN	Incomplete .......................................................................	.......*
PRS/PRU	Progress in Review ..........................................................	.......*
W	Withdrawal ......................................................................	.......*
NC	No Credit (selected courses only) equivalent of C-, D+, D, D- or F ............................................	..................*
* No effect on grade point average

(B) Purpose of policy

To identify the grades used at the university, to establish how grades are awarded and to assign quality points to these grades.

(C) Scope

This policy applies to all undergraduate students. Each college may publish detailed implementation strategies specific to that college.

(D) Procedure

All grades for credit-bearing courses, letter, and non-letter, are due at the end of each term as established by the registrar's office. Once a grade for a credit-bearing course is submitted to the registrar's office, it is considered official. No grade is given to students enrolled to audit a credit-bearing course.

Grade and grading policies and procedures established by the colleges, schools, departments or programs must be submitted to the provost for approval. A grading system for a credit-bearing course is part of the established curriculum approval process and any change to a grading system for a course requires resubmission through established curriculum approval processes.

The university registrar is responsible to maintain the grades and quality points for each individual student as part of the student's academic record. Requests for student's grades are governed by rule 3364-71-15 of the Administrative Code (confidentiality of student records FERPA).

(1) Student requests to audit a course or take a course pass/no credit

(a) Students must submit a request to audit a course before the end of the fifteenth calendar day of the term, prorated for any intercessions, summer and other courses not meeting the full semester.

(b) Students must complete a petition to take a class pass/no credit and obtain the approval of their college before the end of the fifteenth calendar day of the term, prorated for any intercessions, summer and other courses not meeting the full semester.

Grades of "C" or better will be awarded as PS, and grades of "C-, D+, D, D- and F" will be awarded as NC or no credit. The grades of PS and NC do not affect the grade point average. Students should consult their college regarding any limitations that may exist for this option

(2) Incompletes and progress in review grades

(a) Incomplete. The student is expected to complete the required work before the end of the following semester in which the IN grade is assigned (excluding summer and intersession).

During the semester following the assignment of the IN grade (excluding summer and intersession), the student may initiate a request to extend the IN grade to the succeeding semester (excluding summers). That request shall be granted upon approval of the instructor of record. The student may subsequently request a second, succeeding, one-semester extension of the IN grade (excluding summer and intersession). The second extension of the IN grade shall be granted upon approval of the instructor of record and an associate dean of the college offering the course. The total number of extensions for an IN grade shall not exceed two succeeding semesters (excluding summer and intersession).

At the time a student is assigned an IN grade, the instructor of record must also specify a default grade which the IN grade will convert to if the student does not complete the required work within the above specified time limits. The default grade may be based on percentage of required course work the student has successfully completed by the date the IN grade is assigned. Valid default grades are limited to the grading system for the course. The registrar's office shall interpret the absence of a specified default grade to mean that the instructor of record has assigned the grade of F as the default grade.

Once an IN grade has converted to the default grade, the student may choose to re-register and re-take the course consistent with the university policy on grade deletion.

Colleges, departments, programs, etc. shall not restrict or otherwise limit the rights of either the student or the instructor of record beyond that established by this policy.

(b) Progress in review. For continuing undergraduate research projects and for special projects at the undergraduate levels that may not be completed at the end of a particular grading period, the grade of PRS/PRU may be given to denote work in progress. It will not be considered in computing the grade point average. The grade of PRS/PRU must be removed from the student's record before the student may graduate.

A progress satisfactory "PRS" will be assigned as an interim grade if the student is already passing the course. Otherwise, the student will receive a progress unsatisfactory "PRU." The student's final grade will depend on whether the student completes the work necessary to issue a grade. At the point of graduation, if the work is not completed and the final grade not resolved, the PRS converts to a PS (credits earned but no GPA effect), and the PRU converts to an F or NC grade depending on valid grades for the course.

(3) Official grades can only be changed as follows:

(a) To change either the grade of IN, PR, PRS or PRU to a letter grade:

(i) Incompletes. Upon the completion of all requirements for a credit bearing course, the instructor of record will change the grade from IN to the grade earned by submitting the new grade to the registrar's office through established processes.

If the student does not complete all requirements for a credit-bearing course, then the grade will change from IN to the default grade originally entered.

(ii) Progress in review. Upon the completion of all requirements for a credit-bearing course, the instructor of record will change the grade from PRS/PRU to the grade earned by submitting the new grade to the registrar's office through established processes.

At the point of graduation, if the student does not complete all requirements for a credit-bearing course, then the grade will change from PRS to a PS or from a PRU to an F or NC depending on valid grade for the course.

(b) To change a letter grade to a letter grade:

A letter grade to letter grade changes must be forwarded to the college dean for their signature prior to being submitted to the registrar's office through established procedures.

Forms are available on the faculty and advisor tab under the teaching toolkit in myut.

Effective: 3/21/2019
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3364
Rule Amplifies: 3364