Grades
Grades reflect student's performance and achievement in academic courses. Instructors members are responsible for assessing student performance and assigning grades according to the following grade designations:
"A," excellent/outstanding; "B," above average; "C," average or satisfactory; "D," minimally passing; "F," failure; "I," incomplete.
These letter grades correspond to the following quality points (grade points) and numerical ranges:
| Grade | Quality Points | Numerical Ranges |
| A | 4.00 quality points | 95 to 100 |
| A- | 3.67 quality points | 90 to 94 |
| B+ | 3.33 quality points | 87 to 89 |
| B | 3.00 quality points | 84 to 86 |
| B- | 2.67 quality points | 80 to 83 |
| C+ | 2.33 quality points | 77 to 79 |
| C | 2.00 quality points | 70 to 76 |
| D | 1.00 quality points | 60 to 69 |
| F | 0.00 quality points | below 60 |
Other Grades
| Grade | Explanation |
| I (Incomplete) | indicates satisfactory performance in the course but failure to do a portion of the work assigned. The deficiency must be remedied as prescribed by the Instructor within 30 days of the date of issuing reports. The Instructor then assigns a grade or it becomes a permanent F. An Incomplete grade received by a student in his or her graduating semester must be made up three weeks prior to the date of graduation; otherwise, graduation will be delayed until the next official graduation date. |
| IP (In-progress) | is given only for those courses which by their nature require more than a semester to complete (e.g., some senior projects and internships). |
| P and NP | marked for courses taken for "Pass/No Pass" credit. P indicates "pass" and is equivalent to course grade C or better. NP indicates "failure to pass," with the student not entitled to credit for the course or for the hours which had been assigned to it. "Pass/No Pass" (P/NP) and Audit arrangements must be made at the time of registration, and are non-changeable after the first week of class. The P/NP option is mandatory for internships and practice teaching, and for Applied Music and Ensembles (except for Music majors and minors). Other Business courses, Core Curriculum courses, and major and minor courses may NOT be taken P/NP. The P/NP option may be used for electives and is not to exceed 12 hours. A grade of P or NP have no quality points associated with them and hence, are not includd in the computation of the Grade Point Average (GPA). |
| W | signifies official withdrawal from class |
| WF | withdrawal with failure |
| WX | withdrawal in the last month by special permission of the Dean of the School |
| F | indicates failure; when this grade has been received, credit can be obtained only by repeating the course at St. Mary's |
| NC | signifies No Credit; registration administratively canceled |
| IS | indicates that the course is In Session |
The grade the Instructor submits is based on class work, tests, and final examination, combined in such proportion as the Instructor in charge of the course in question may decide. Class standing in the course, moreover, is determined by the regularity of the student's attendance at lectures (and laboratory or other similar exercises), by recitation grades, written assignments, laboratory work, etc.
Grades of F and WF are both equal to 0 quality points and do affect the Grade Point Average.
Grades of I, IP, IS, NC, P, NP, NR, W and WX have no quality points associated with them and, hence, are not included in the computation of the Grade Point Average.
How to Compute Your Grade-Point-Average (GPA)
- Assign a quality point to each grade:
Remaining quality points may be viewed above.GPA Grade Quality Points A 4.00 A- 3.67 B+ 3.33 B 3.00, etc. - Multiply: Quality Points X Number of Semester Hours earned in the course. The second digit of each course number indicates the number of semester hours the course carries: e.g., in EN 1311, second digit is a 3, therefore course is a three-semester hour course.
- Add and Divide: The total number of quality points divided by the total number of semester hours earned.
Add and Divide Course Credit Hours Grade Quality Points Calculation Total Quality Points EN 1311 3 B- 2.67 3 x 2.67 8.01 SMC 1301 3 A 4.00 3 x 4.00 12.00 AR 1301 3 B 3.00 3 x 3.00 9.00 SE 1341 3 A- 3.67 3 x 3.67 11.01 BL 1401 4 B+ 3.33 4 x 3.33 13.32 16 53.34
(Total # of Quality Points/Total # of Semester Hours) = GPA
53.34/16 = 3.33 GPA
Grade Points Required for Graduation
A candidate for graduation must present, in addition to the required credit hours, at least a two-point average (2.0) over all courses offered to fulfill graduation requirements in his or her major and minor subjects, and in the total of the remaining courses. He or she must also present a "C" average on the courses taken at St. Mary's and applied to graduation in the major subject, and the total of the remaining courses taken at St. Mary's.
(Academic Probation and Suspension)
(Effective spring 2013).
Academic Status
The minimum requirements to remain in academic Good Standing will be:
| Semester GPA | Cumulative GPA | Semester Completion Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 1.80 | 2.00 | 67%1 |
To remain in Good Standing, a student must meet all of the requirements noted above at the end of each semester.
- If a student does not meet all three of the requirements, the student will be placed on Academic Probation. Academic Probation will occur only one time.2
- If a student meets all requirements during a probationary semester, the student will return to Academic Good Standing.
- If a student meets 1 or 2 of the requirements during a probationary semester, the student will be placed on Academic Continued Probation.
- If a student does not meet any of the requirements during a probationary semester, the student will be placed on Academic Suspension.
To illustrate how this policy will affect students, please review the table below.
| If your academic standing during this current term is: | And you meet the following requirements at the end of current term: | Your new academic standing for the following semester will be: |
|---|---|---|
| Good Standing | All 3 requirements | Good standing |
| Good Standing | 0, 1 or 2 of the requirements | Academic Probation2 |
| Academic Probation | All 3 requirements | Removed Probation (Good Standing) |
| Academic Probation | 1 or 2 of the requirements | Academic Continued Probation |
| Academic Probation | None of the requirements | Academic Suspension |
| Academic Continued Probation | All 3 requirements | Removed Probation (Good Standing) |
| Academic Continued Probation | 0, 1 or 2 of the requirements | Academic Suspension |
| Readmitted on Probation | All 3 requirements 3 | Removed Probation (Good Standing) |
| Readmitted on Probation | 0,1 or 2 of the requirements 3 | Academic Suspension |
- 1
Completion ration refers to the percentage of attempted hours actually completed/passed.
- 2
Academic Probation occurs only one time. If a student returns to Good Standing and does not meet the requirements at a later time, the student will be placed on Academic Continued Probation.
- 3
Students readmitted on probation may be required to fulfill additional conditions that are placed by their Academic Dean at the time of readmission. Requirements may include, but are not limited to, higher semester GPA, restriction on hours enrolled, and required follow up with campus resources. Readmission letters will outline specific readmission requirements.
Academic Suspension
The first Academic Suspension is for a period of one long semester (fall or spring). Extenuating circumstances may be presented to the appropriate academic Dean for review.
A second Academic Suspension is for a period of at least 12 months.
After the third suspension, a student is not eligible to enroll at St. Mary's University.
Removal of probation after a suspension is governed by the readmission conditions.
Any priority registered courses will be cancelled due to the suspension status.
GPA and Completion Ratio
The GPA for a semester includes all courses taken for credit. Therefore, in addition to courses passed with a grade of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, or D, the GPA includes those with F and WF. Not included are zero-hour course, "pass/no-pass" course, those taken as an Auditor, and courses with grades of W, WX, NC, I, IP, IS, or CR. All courses attempted, however, are figured into the semester completion ratio.
For summer terms, academic standing evaluation is based on semester and cumulative GPA calculations. Completion ratio is not considered when evaluating academic standing.
The above policy does not govern eligibility for financial assistance. Please contact the Office of Financial Assistance for eligibility requirements.
Academic Plan Requirement
Students who are placed on academic probation will be required to complete a written academic plan and a written financial aid appeal (if receiving financial assistance) in order to meet their probationary terms. Guidelines on how to complete the above requirements will be outlined in each student's probationary letter.
Dean's List
To be eligible for the Dean’s List in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Science, Engineering and Technology or the Greehey School of Business, undergraduate students must be full-time status (12 earned GPA hours) and earned a minimum semester grade point average of 3.60. The Dean’s List consists of three categories: Highest Honors, student must earn a grade point average of 3.90 to 4.00; High Honors, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.80 to 3.89; Honors, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.60 to 3.79. The Dean's List is published each Fall and Spring semester.