Academic Policies
Grading Policies
Evaluation of each student’s abilities and achievements is an integral aspect of the University. Among the means of evaluation are class participation, oral and written examinations, projects, and papers. In addition, to receive academic credit for any course, students are expected to attend all classes and participate fully.
Grades are posted for each course about two weeks after the end of each block. About six weeks after the end of each semester students receive their grade report, which includes the Grade Point Average (GPA) and DC grades, the primary indicators of academic progress.
Grading for instructional courses
| Grade points (per unit) | ||
| A+ | (exceptional) | 4.00 |
| A | (excellent) | 4.00 |
| A- | 3.70 | |
| B+ | 3.30 | |
| B | (good) | 3.00 |
| B- | 2.70 | |
| C+ | 2.30 | |
| C | (fair) | 2.00 |
| C- | 1.70 | |
| NC | (No Credit) | 0.00 |
Though professors may apply different standards in their courses, the faculty have agreed upon the following general descriptors for the grades given for assignments and examinations at the University:
- The grade of “A” is given for work that is excellent. It is distinctive and exceptional. It goes beyond competence. It exhibits a high level of insight, critical evaluation, and/or awareness of the subtleties or nuances of a subject. Any work meriting this grade succeeds as a coherent whole, with clear command of the details that make up the whole.
- The grade of “B” is given for work that is good. This work demonstrates basic comprehension of the major concepts of the course and competency with respect to the skills identified in the learning objectives of the course.
- The grade of “C” is given for work that meets the minimal expectations of the faculty as identified in the learning objectives of the course. Though not necessarily complete, this work is adequate to pass the course. The broad outline of the subject seems to have been grasped, along with many of the major concepts.
- The grade of “NC” is given to work that substantially misses the broad goals of the course as outlined in the syllabus. This work does not demonstrate comprehension of the assigned work, even at a basic level. This work could have been done without reading the assignment or coming to class.
Grade codes not used in computing grade point average
| P | Pass |
| I | Incomplete |
| W | Withdrawal |
| PW | Pass/Waive |
| AU | Audit |
| H | Honors |
| NCR | Course was repeated or replaced |
| NP | No Pass |
Grading for development of consciousness courses
- H: Honors
- P: Pass
- NP: No Pass
Pass/No Pass/No Credit grades (P, NP, NC) are grades used in some laboratory, fieldwork, practicum courses, and some DC courses. The “P” grade means “C” or better for undergraduate students and “B” or better for academic courses for graduate students.
Incomplete (I) is given in rare cases when some required work cannot be completed before the end of a course due to illness or family emergency, or a similar situation at the discretion of the instructor. A student must have made arrangements for the grade of “I” before the final examination. The Registrar must receive a change of grade before the end of the following semester or the “I” grade will be changed automatically to an “NC.” In the year that a student graduates, a change of grade must be received by the Registrar one month before the student graduates.
Withdrawal (W) is granted under certain circumstances. See “Course Withdrawals”.
Pass/Waive (PW) — This grade is used to indicate credit given by examination.
Auditing Classes (AU) — To audit classes, students must have the written approval of both the instructor and the Academic Standards Committee before the course begins. “Approval for Audit” forms are available from the student’s academic advisor in the Enrollment Center. Students auditing a class who fulfil the requirement receive a grade of AU and will not receive academic credit. Students auditing a course are expected to participate fully in the class including taking the final exam. If the student does not fulfill this requirement, a grade of “NC” will be given for the course and the NC will be included in the student’s GPA. Students are required to pay full tuition for all audited classes. (Although visitors often sit in on individual class sessions, anyone who sits in on an entire course is required to officially register as a student.)
Honors (H) — This is added to an instructional course grade when a student has completed the Honors requirement for that course. “H” can also be used by itself as a semester grade in Development of Consciousness courses.
NCR — This means that the course was repeated later for a passing grade, or was replaced by another course, and that this grade has been removed from the instructional GPA.
Grade Changes must be approved by the course instructor or department chair. Grade changes are submitted by the department to the Registrar and then entered on the student’s record. Approval is subject to review by the Academic Standards Committee.
Honors for Undergraduates
- An Honors Component may be available for undergraduate courses. Completion of the Honors Component and a grade of A or A- is required in order to receive Honors. The Honors grade will be reflected on the transcript.
- Undergraduate students achieve the President’s Honor Roll for each semester in which they complete at least 12 credits of instructional course work with a grade point average of 3.70 (“A-”) or higher, and receive no NC or NP grades.
- The faculty award graduation honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) to undergraduates based on the student’s academic excellence and holistic development.
Honors for Development of Consciousness — Students in all programs achieve Development of Consciousness (DC) Honors for each semester in which they receive a grade of H.
Repeating a course for a higher grade is permitted in rare cases with approval of the Registrar and the course instructor. Credit is given only once, but the registration and grade for both courses will appear on the transcript. Only the higher of the two grades is used in calculating the GPA beginning with the semester in which it is earned.
If there have been extenuating circumstances, a graduate student may request to retest on an examination as long as:
- The student has received a grade of less than a B but higher than an NC on an examination.
- The student understands that no matter how well they perform on the retest, their final grade for the course cannot be higher than a B.
- The nature, extent, and preparation for the retest is determined on a case-by-case basis by the course instructor.
The content of this page was reviewed in January 2011.
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