GRADING SYSTEM

Effective Date
April 1984
Last Revision Date
June 2026
Policy Owner
Chief Academic Officer 

1. Policy & Purpose 

The College is committed to maintaining high academic standards through a uniform grading system. Grades reflect student achievement of course learning outcomes and provide a permanent record of academic performance. 

Policy included in Catalog

Last Review Date: June 2026

History
Adopted: April 26, 1984
Revised: May 26, 1988
Reformatted: May 3, 2011
Revised and Renumbered 5240A to 6320C: June 11, 2026

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Procedure 6320C

GRADING SYSTEM

Effective Date
April 1984
Last Revision Date
June 2026
Policy Owner
Chief Academic Officer 

1. Procedure

The College uses a standard letter grading system in which grade points are assigned to letter grades to calculate a student’s grade point average (GPA). 

The chart below lists the letter grade, its meaning, and its point value. 

Letter Grade	Meaning	Points	GPA Impact	Counts Toward Graduation
A	Excellent	4	Yes	Yes
B	Very Good	3	Yes	Yes
C	Acceptable	2	Yes	Yes
D	Insufficient	1	Yes	No
F	Failure	0	Yes	No
S	Satisfactory	0	No	Sometimes (see procedure)
U	Unsatisfactory	0	No	No
I	Incomplete	N/A	No	No
W	Withdrawal (no credit)	N/A	No	No
AU	Audit (no credit)	N/A	No	No
NA	Non-Graded (Courses that are required in conjunction with other graded courses)	N/A	No	No

 

An ‘I’ (Incomplete) 
The grade of ‘I’ (Incomplete) may be assigned when extenuating circumstances – such as a serious illness, family emergency, or military service – prevent a student from completing up to 50% of remaining coursework after the midpoint of the semester. The student must be passing the course (with a grade equivalent to “C” or higher) at the time the Incomplete is requested. A written Incomplete Agreement, outlining the remaining work and due date (no later than the end of the following semester) must be submitted. The student is responsible for initiating this request.  Incompletes not resolved by the agreed-upon deadline automatically convert to an ‘F’” unless an instructor or School Dean authorizes an extension of no more than one additional semester.  

An Incomplete (‘I’) is not considered a final grade and therefore does not fulfill prerequisite requirements; students must successfully complete the course with a grade of ‘C’ or higher to advance to subsequent coursework.  

Incompletes must be completed with the instructor who issued the original grade. With the following exceptions: 

• When the instructor no longer teaches at the College, the School Dean shall assign an instructor from the department area that the course was offered to complete the incomplete process.
• The course is a self-paced, open-entry class. 

An ‘S’ (Satisfactory) or ’U’ (Unsatisfactory) 
Students may elect to take any course on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis by submitting a completed request form, signed by the instructor, to the Office of the Registrar by the first day of the section. A grade of ‘S’ is equivalent to a ‘C’ or better. 

‘S/U’ grades generally do not fulfill graduation requirements unless prior approval has been granted by the School Dean(s) or, in cases of extraordinary circumstances, authorized by the Chief Academic Officer. 

‘S/U’ grades generally do not transfer to other institutions. It is the responsibility of the student to verify with the transferring institution that a letter grade of ‘S’ will be accepted in transfer. 

When ‘S/U’ grades are assigned for credit by exam, AP, CLEP, extra-institutional credit, and military P.E. credit, they may be used to meet graduation requirements.  

Policy included in Catalog

Last Review Date: June 2026

History
Adopted: April 26, 1984
Approved: May 26, 1988
Revised: June 8, 2006
Reformatted: May 2, 2011
Revised: April 29, 2020
Revised and Renumbered 5240A to 6320C: June 11, 2026