Grading Policy

The faculty has adopted a college-wide grading policy which requires each instructor to give students a written statement regarding his/her grading policy at the beginning of each academic term. Students who have failed to receive such information prior to the end of the second week of classes should approach the instructor with a special request for a statement outlining the grading policy to be followed.

Grades

The College uses the following system of grading to indicate on its records the quality of a student's work:

• A     Excellent
• B+   Very Good
• B     Good
• C+   Above Average
• C     Satisfactory
• D+   Below Average
• D     Unsatisfactory (lowest passing grade)
• F      Failing
• I       Incomplete*
• XF   Incomplete changed to failing*
• S      Satisfactory (for non-credit courses)**
• U     Unsatisfactory (for non-credit courses)**
• J       "Continuing" Satisfactory Progress
           (Developmental Courses)
• UF    Unofficial withdrawal (student ceased to
           attend; calculated as a failing grade)
• W     Official withdrawl, beginning with second
           week of classes.  Withdrawls are not
           permitted after the eighth week of class
           meetings. 
• P       Pass (for non-credit courses)**
• AU   Audit

* An "Incomplete" grade may be given in cases of illness or extenuating circumstances acceptable to the Instructor only if the student had informed the instructor of the circumstances. A grade reported as "Incomplete" at the end of a semester will be permanently recorded as "XF" if the Incomplete is not removed within the first six weeks of the next regular semester. It is the student's responsibility to make acceptable arrangements with the instructor to complete the course requirements within the period. If the student is unable to contact the instructor, timely notice should then be given to the Department Chairman.  For those students attending Schools of Nursing, please refer to the School of Nursing Handbook.

** By Departmental Arrangement. It is the student's responsibility to report an error on his/her grade report to the Registrar's Office within two weeks of receipt of grade report. Otherwise, it is assumed that the grade report is accurate and is recorded permanently on the student's report card.

A student's academic standing is based upon his/her performance in all courses expressed in terms of the "academic average" he/she achieves. In computing this average, the following numerical values are assigned to each letter grade.

           Grade                      Grade Numerical Value

•    A                                       4.0
•    B+                                     3.5
•    B                                       3.0
•    C+                                     2.5
•    C                                       2.0
•    D+                                     1.5
•    D                                       1.0
•    F                                        0.0

Numerical quality points are then determined by multiplying the above values by the number of credit hours which the course carries. For example, a three-credit hour course in which the student receives a B represents 9 quality points earned.

Academic average is determined by dividing the total number of quality points earned by the total number of credits taken, whether passed or failed. The following table is an illustration of this computation:

Course	Credits	Grade and Numerical Value	Quality Points per Course
HIS 101	3	C (2)	6
PSY 101	3	B (3)	9
BIO 111	4	D (1)	4
FRE 101	3	A (4)	12
ENG 101	3	B+ (3.5)	10.5
CIS 101	3	F (0)	0.0
TOTAL	19		41.5

Total credits taken 19
Total quality points earned 41.5
41.5 divided by 19 results in a 2.18 grade point average.

Grades received in the non-credit preparatory or developmental courses are not included in the computation of averages, but are considered in dismissals or assigning probation by the Academic Evaluation Committee.

Grade Changes

Students seeking grade changes must present their initial appeal to the classroom instructor who awarded the grade. Thereafter, it is the instructor's prerogative to determine whether there is justification for a grade change. If a change is approved, the instructor must secure the required grade change forms from the Registrar's Office, complete them, and forward them to the appropriate administrative offices in order for the grade change to be officially recorded on the student's record. At no time should a grade change form be given to a student.