Grades and Grading Policies

Credit Enrollment

The semester hour is the unit on which credit is computed. It represents one 50-minute class exercise per week per semester. To obtain credit, a student must be properly registered and must pay fees for the course.

Grades
Grade Reports
Grade Changes
Repeating Courses
Grade Appeals
GPA Calculation

Grades

Grading Options

Ordinarily a grade of "A+," "A," "A-," "B+," " B," "B-," "C+," "C," "D," or "E" is given upon completion of a course, unless another grading option such as "audit" or "pass/fail" is indicated at the time of registration. Grading options cannot be changed after the close of the drop/add period.

The instructor of a course has full discretion in selecting which grades to use and report from the available grading options.

1 Note: Although the plus/minus scale includes a grade of A+ with a value of 4.33, the cumulative GPA is capped at 4.00. Questions about the grade scales may be referred to the University Registrar's Office at registrar@asu.edu.

2 Note: Not applicable for graduate classes.

Incompletes

A mark of "I" (incomplete) is given by the instructor when you are otherwise doing acceptable work but are unable to complete the course because of illness or other conditions beyond your control. You are required to arrange with the instructor for the completion of the course requirements. The arrangement is recorded on the Request for Grade of Incomplete form. Do not reregister or pay fees to complete the course. You have one calendar year from the date the mark of "I" is recorded to complete the course. When you complete the course, the instructor must submit a grade change request to the University Registrar's Office. If you receive an "I" in an undergraduate course in the fall 1983 or thereafter, your grade will be automatically changed to a failing grade "E" if you do not complete the course within one calendar year. If you receive an "I" in a graduate course (500-level or above) your "I" grade will become a permanent part of your transcript if you do not complete the course within one year, and you will have to reregister and pay fees to repeat the course for credit. Marks of "I" are changed to a grade of "E" (0.00) for purposes of evaluating graduation requirements for undergraduate students.

No Report (NR)

The "NR" grade simply means that a grade has not yet been reported. Once final grade processing takes place for the semester, most classes will have an actual grade posted instead of the "NR". If an "NR" grade appears for a course in a prior semester, you should contact the instructor of the course to find out why a final grade was not recorded.

Pass (P)

The "P" grading option is used to indicate a passing grade in a class when an individual student receives permission from both the class instructor and his/her college or school. For further information about this grading option, contact your advisor. If you earn a "P" grade, you will earn hours, but the grade is not used for computing your GPA.

Note: the "P" grade should only be assigned when an individual student receives permission to take a course as pass/fail. Permission is recorded on the Pass/Fail Enrollment form. If the course only awards pass/fail grades, the "Y" grade should be utilized to indicate successful completion of the course.

Withdrawal (W)

If you withdraw from a class after the first week of school, you will receive a mark of "W" on your transcript. You earn no credit or grade for withdrawn classes.

Audit (X)

A student may choose to audit a course, in which case the student attends regularly schedule class sessions, but no credit is earned. The student should obtain the instructors approval before registering and paying the fees for the course. Selected courses may not be audited. Veteran students using education benefits should see Veterans Services.

The mark of "X" is recorded for completion of an audited course unless the instructor determines that the student's participation or attendance has been inadequate, in which case the mark of "W" (withdrawal) may be recorded. This grading option may not be changed after the close of drop/add. The "X" is not included in earned hours and is not computed in the GPA.

Satisfactory (Y)

The "Y" grade is generally used as a grade for successfully completed internships, projects, readings and conference, research, seminars, theses, dissertations, and workshops. You earn hours for a "Y" grade, but the grade is not used for computing your GPA.

Note: a "Y" grade is used for courses in which the instructor assigns only grades of "Y" or "E." If a course utilizes only the letter grades of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, and E, but an individual student receives permission to take the course for pass/fail credit, the "P" (pass) or "E" (fail) grade should assigned to that student.

Course in Progress (Z)

The "Z" grade is typically used for courses where work will not be completed within one semester's time, such as research, thesis, and dissertation. Once coursework is complete, your instructor will submit a grade change to assign an appropriate grade. Some courses, such as continued registration, do not earn credit and the "Z" grade will remain on your transcript.

Remedial Enrollment

A mark of "RC" (remedial credit) or "RN" (remedial no credit) may be assigned for this grading option. The course appears on an unofficial ASU transcript but does not appear on the grade report or official ASU transcript and is not included in earned hours. Remedial hours are included in verification of enrollment for purposes of loan deferment and eligibility.

Academic Dishonesty (XE)

The grade of "XE" denotes failure due to academic dishonesty and is treated the same as an "E" for the purposes of GPA, course repeatability, and academic standing determination. A student may not avoid any penalty for academic dishonesty by withdrawing from a course. A student may be reinstated to a course to receive a penalty of a reduced or failing grade or XE.

Grade Reports

Final Grades

You can obtain your grades after every semester by using any of the following methods:

• To view or print your grades, sign in using your ASURITE UserID and Password.
• Submit a request for an official grade report that will show the grades for the last semester in which grades have been processed. You may submit a request to any registration site.

Grade Changes

Ordinarily the instructor of a course has the sole and final responsibility for any grade reported. Once the grade has been reported to the registrar, it may be changed upon the authorization of the faculty member who issued the original grade, a department chair, and the dean of the college concerned. This policy also applies to the grade of "I" (incomplete).

Grade changes are submitted online and receive approval by the department chair (or designee) and the dean of the college (or designee) in which the course is offered. Once approvals are received, the new grade will be reflected on your transcript immediately.

Repeating Courses

An undergraduate course taken at ASU may be repeated for credit if the grade of "D", "E", or "W" or a mark of "X" is received. An undergraduate student may not repeat for credit an undergraduate course in which a grade of "C" or higher is earned. Undergraduate courses in which grades of "D" or "E" are received may be repeated only once. After an undergraduate student repeats 100- and 200-level courses, the student's transcript shows both grades, but the student's cumulative GPA reflects only the higher grade. After an undergraduate student repeats 300- or 400-level courses, the student's cumulative GPA and the transcript reflect both grades.

To be eligible for the deletion of "D" or "E" grades from calculations of the GPA, the course must be repeated at ASU. Independent Learning courses may not be used to repeat "D" or "E" grades. Students who have graduated are not eligible to delete the grade for a course taken before the award of the ASU bachelor's degree.

Student wishing to repeat a class for third time with grades of "D" or "E" must petition the standards committee of the college of which they are enrolled. This policy does not apply to seminar and independent study courses with different content each semester. This policy affects only undergraduate students and undergraduate courses.

Most grade adjustments will be processed automatically after the grades are reported each semester. If it has been more than two weeks since your grades were posted, submit a Delete Grade Form to the University Registrar's Office. For additional information on repeating a course or the deletion process, contact the Recording Section at (480) 965-7550.

Demonstration of Mastery

An undergraduate student who receives a "D" in a course in which a "C" or higher is required may use the grade from an equivalent course taken elsewhere to demonstrate mastery at the "C" or higher level. However, the course may neither be transferred to ASU (since credit has already been given for the course) nor computed in the student's GPA.

Grade Appeals

ASU has informal and formal processes students may follow to appeal a grade. See the Catalog.

GPA Calculation

The following grades and their values are used in computing your semester and cumulative ASU GPA:

To calculate your GPA, follow these steps:

1. Multiply the grade point value by the number of semester hours for which the course was taken to determine the honor points.
2. Add together all the honor points.
3. Add together all the semester hours that received one of the above grades to determine net hours.
4. Divide the honor points by the net hours to calculate the GPA.
   Honor Points ÷ Net Hours = GPA
   GPAs are rounded to the nearest 100th of a decimal point.
   Semester GPA is based on semester net hours. Cumulative GPA is based on total net hours.
   Although the plus/minus scale includes a grade of A+ with a value of 4.33, the cumulative GPA is capped at 4.00.