Grading

Policy

A student’s work in any course offered by Minnesota State University, Mankato will be evaluated in accordance with the following system of letter grades: A, B, C, D, F, P, NC, W, AU, I, IP, Z.

Procedure

Minnesota State Mankato uses an A-F grading system to measure student achievement. 

In addition to the use of straight A, B, C, and D letter grades, faculty members will have the option of using +/- additions for further differentiation of achievement.  If multiple sections of a course are offered in any given term, either every section must use +/- additions or no section shall.  This will be determined by the Department before each term’s registration commences. 

If the grade of A+ is assigned, it does not provide for assignment of a higher value on the four-point scale used to calculate grade point average.  4.0 remains the highest assigned value. 

Undergraduate students will be evaluated under the following grading system:

A = Superior

B = Above average

C = Average

D = Below Average

F = Failure

Graduate students will be evaluated under the following grading system:

A = Superior quality

B = Above average

C = Below average

D = Unacceptable performance

F = Unacceptable performance

For graduate students, no grade lower than a "C" is counted for graduation credit, but all grades earned (including Ds and Fs) are counted in determining grade point average. Graduate courses may be repeated, but the credit earned for the course is applicable toward the degree only once. However, all grades earned for that course shall be used in calculating grade point average.

Grade Submission Deadline

The Registrar’s Office shall determine grade submission deadlines for all courses. In general, for full-term courses, grades must be submitted no later than the Thursday after exam week. For fall/spring short courses that end prior to exam week, grades must be submitted no later than ten business days after the last day of class activity as defined by the course schedule. For summer session courses, grades must be submitted no later than ten business days after the last day of class activity as defined by the course schedule.

Pass/No Credit-Undergraduate

Departments may offer pass/no credit undergraduate courses for any type of instruction. 

An undergraduate student may choose to register for a course as P/NC with the understanding that credit will be received, indicated by the letter “P,”  on the transcript, if the equivalent of a “C” grade or better is earned. “C-“ does not constitute a passing grade. If less than a “C” grade is earned, no credit will be granted, and an “NC” will be recorded on the transcript.

Courses taken for P/NC may be applied to major or minor requirements for graduation only at departmental discretion.  Each student is responsible for understanding individual department policy in this regard.  A limited number of P/NC units are accepted to apply toward a major and no more than twenty-five percent of the total undergraduate degree requirements may be earned in pass/no credit courses.  Courses offered for only P/NC grading are exempted from the twenty-five percent computation.

Pass/No Credit-Graduate

Departments may offer pass/no credit graduate courses for theses, individual study courses, practicums, workshops, seminars, and internships in the major field.  They may not use Pass/No Credit grades for other courses in the student’s major without specific approval from the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research. 

A graduate student may choose to register for a course as P/NC with the understanding that credit will be received, indicated by the letter "P" on the transcript, if the equivalent of a "B" grade or better is earned. If less than a "B" grade is earned, no credit will be granted, and an "NC" will be recorded on the transcript. Whether the grade is "P" or "NC," the hours taken will not enter into the computation of grade point average. If the course is not passed, no credit will be given and an “NC” will be recorded on the permanent record.

Non-attendance (W)

Entry of a grade of “W” occurs automatically when an instructor enters information at the time of grade entry that a student has never attended class or participated in class-related activities.  The grade of “W” can only be entered by an instructor at the time of grade entry for non-attendance.  Other than this situation, a student is responsible for withdrawing from a course(s).

The following is the definition of Never Attended:

• Residential Course: Student never attended class for a seat-time course
• Online Course: Student never submitted work via the course management system

Partial attendance (F) 

Entry of “F” occurs automatically when an instructor enters information at the time of grade entry that the student partially attended and did not withdraw from the course and therefore earned the grade of “F” based on the work completed.  The instructor is required to enter the last date of attendance.

The following is the definition of Partially Attended:

• Residential Course: Student stopped attending class for a seat-time course and did not withdraw
• Online Course: Student stopped submitting work via the course management system and did not withdraw

Audit Grades (AU)

Auditing a course allows a student to take a class without the benefit of a grade or credit for a course.  A student who audits a course does so for the purposes of self-enrichment and academic exploration. Students may register for courses as auditors by choosing the grading method of “AU” at the time of registration.  Auditing means performance in the course is not evaluated for a grade.  Students need to notify the instructor the first day of the course of the intent to audit.  The deadline to change the grading method for audited courses is the same as for Graded/Pass/NC courses. Upon completion of the course, the instructor will enter the grade of “AU.”

 Students auditing a course:

• are required to pay full tuition and fees
• are not responsible to take exams and are not required to do homework
• are listed on the class roster (grade report)
• are counted as registered students

Students may not attend a course without registering for it.

Audited courses do not count towards graduation requirements.

Instructors are required to provide the same services to auditing students as given other students who are registered for credit.

Incomplete (I)

The grade of “incomplete” is reserved for special cases and means that, because of extenuating circumstances, the student failed to meet an important requirement of the course, but has in other respects done passing work for the semester.  A student and instructor must have a signed “Incomplete Contract” stating the assigned grade for the course is “I”.  Completion of course requirements must occur by the end of the following semester unless the instructor sets a shorter time limit.  For courses in spring semester, the following semester is fall.  A grade of “I” automatically changes to “F” or “NC “at the end of that following semester if no other grade is assigned.

The instructor may require the student to attend the same course in a subsequent term in order to complete the “important requirements of the course that need to be completed to determine the final assigned grade.”  In no other instances is a student allowed to attend a course without registering for it.

Students completing an Incomplete should not re-register for the same class.  Students completing an Incomplete cannot use these credits for enrollment or financial aid purposes in subsequent terms. 

Incomplete grades count as credits attempted but not as credits earned.

All Incompletes must have a grade posted before a degree will be awarded.

In addition to the guidelines noted above, completing the work for a grade of “I” by graduate students is not considered to be enrollment for purposes of the graduate student enrollment policy that graduate students enroll for at least one credit during the semester of graduation.

In Progress Grades (IP) 

Instructors may assign the grade of “IP” to students whose work at the end of a term is still in progress because the course, by design or by signed, contractual arrangement prior to registration, requires more than one term to complete all assignments. 

Completion of course requirements must occur within one year.  With the exception of thesis and dissertation grades, a grade of “IP” automatically changes to “F” or “NC” depending on the selected grading method after one year if no other grade is assigned.  For thesis and dissertation grades, a grade of “IP” automatically changes to “F” or “NC” depending on the selected grading method after two years if no other grade is assigned.  Example: “ IP” in Fall semester converts to “F” or “NC” at the end of next Fall semester; “IP” in Spring semester converts to “F” or “NC “at the end of next Spring semester.   “IP” in Summer converts to “F” or “NC” at the end of next Summer. 

Students completing an In Progress should not re-register for the same class.  Students completing In Progress grades cannot use these credits for enrollment or financial aid in subsequent terms. 

In Progress grades count as credits attempted and as credits earned.

All In Progress grades must be posted before a degree will be awarded.

In addition to the guidelines noted above, completing the work for a grade of “IP” by graduate students is not considered to be enrollment for purposes of the graduate student enrollment policy that graduate students enroll for at least one credit during the semester of graduation.

Grade “Z” 

The grade of “Z” is issued as a placeholder to mark that no grade has been submitted yet by the instructor of record.  The “Z” is replaced with the entry of a grade by the instructor.  In the absence of a grade, the “Z” automatically changes to “F” or “NC“ by the start of the next semester. 

Credits for a course with a grade of “Z” count as attempted but not earned.

Grade Changes/2-year limit

A change of grade will be accepted by the Office of the Registrar when securely submitted via the Electronic Grade Change system by the instructor.  Department chairs can authorize change of grades in the absence of the instructor by signing the official paper grade change form and submitting it to the Office of the Registrar.  Changes will be accepted for completed grades for up to two calendar years from the original term of enrollment for that specific course. 

Quality Points

Quality points (grade points) are determined on the basis of letter grades.  The number of quality points earned for a course may be determined by multiplying the number of points the grade commands by the number of credits the course carries.  Quality point equivalents are as follows:

A+ = 4              A = 4                A-   = 3.67

B+ = 3.33          B = 3.00            B-   = 2.67

C+ = 2.33          C = 2.00            C-   = 1.67

D+ = 1.33          D = 1.00            D-   = 0.67

F    = 0.00         P  = 0.00           NC  = 0.00

I     = 0.00         IP = 0.00           AU  = 0.00

Z    = 0.00         W =0.00            EX   = 0.00

Grade-Point Average (GPA)

The total number of quality points acquired by the student divided by the total number of credit hours attempted on a regular grade basis, is called the grade-point average (GPA).  For example, if a student has earned 102 quality points and has completed 48 credits of work, the grade-point average is 102 divided by 48, or 2.125. 

The local GPA is used to determine academic standing and Financial Aid eligibility and the cumulative GPA is used for graduation.

Rationale

Faculty members at Minnesota State University, Mankato have the responsibility to evaluate students’ academic performance