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Fort Lewis College Official Seal

Policy identification number: To come...

File: Academic Policies / Grading Policies

Grades, Quality Points, and Grade Point Averages - Graduate (under revision)

Policy Summary

Grades are earned for each course and are recorded on a student's permanent record. Grades are based on performance in relation to learning outcomes listed on each course syllabus. This policy details grading standards for graduate students.

Policy Owner

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Approval Date

Effective Date

Search Terms

pvpaa, g, q, gpa, grades, graduate

Scheduled for Review

I. Grades

Students are assigned a grade for each course registered for, completed, and/or withdrawn from after the Census Date for each enrolled term. A grade can be classified as either an appraisal of the quality of a student’s work or an explanation about why such an appraisal was not made.

II. Grades Appraising Quality of Work 

Graduate Studies programs use the letter grade system to appraise the quality of a student’s work in a course. This system assigns a grade A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D- or F. Grades of A to C- earn credit. Grades of D+, D, D-, and F do not earn credits. Grades of A to F are figured into the computation of the cumulative grade point average.

III. Grades Explaining Why Quality of Work Was Not Appraised

A grade of AU, AW, GW, I, IP, MW, and NG explains why the quality of a student’s work in a course was not appraised.

  1. AU  - A grade AU means the student initiated, and the instructor approved, the auditing of a course. No credit is awarded for a grade of AU. This grade does not figure into the computation of the cumulative GPA.
     
  2. AW  - A grade of AW means the College withdrew the student from a course or a term as allowed by an administrative policy. No credit is awarded for a grade of AW. This grade does not figure into the computation of the cumulative GPA.
     
  3. GW  – A grade of GW means the student initiated withdrawal from a course or from a semester and this withdrawal was approved by the program director. No credit is awarded for a grade of GW. This grade does not figure into the computation of the cumulative GPA.
     
  4. - A grade of I means the student initiated, and the instructor approved in accordance with grading policy, a delay in the appraisal in the student’s work. The conditions for which a grade of I may be assigned are 1) the major part of the course requirements has been met; 2) the student is unable to complete the requirements in the term in which the course is taken for compelling and unforeseen reasons, and 3) in the opinion of the instructor, the requirements can be completed by the student without repeating the course. If the student completes the course requirements within the time allotted, the instructor will make an appraisal of the quality of the student’s work by submitting a Special Grade Report Form to the Registrar’s Office. If the course requirements are not completed within one year after the end of the appropriate term, the grade of I will revert to an F. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the dean of the school in which the course is offered, may waive for good reason the one-year deadline upon petition by the student to the program director. A grade of I cannot be removed by registering to repeat the course. A course for which a student has a grade of I at the time of graduation cannot be used to satisfy any graduation requirement. In the event that a student has graduated prior to removing a grade of I, the grade of I will remain permanently on the graduate’s academic transcript.
     
  5. IP –  A grade of IP means the student was enrolled in a course approved to conclude after the "Last Day of Classes" on the academic calendar.
     
  6. MW  - A grade of MW means the student was called to active military duty. No credit is awarded for a grade of MW. This grade does not figure into the computation of the cumulative GPA.
     
  7. NG  - A grade of NG means the instructor did not file a grade for the course by the deadline. Once the deadline has passed, up to one year after the grade of NG was filed, the instructor may make an appraisal of the quality of a student’s work by submitting a Special Grade Report Form to the Registrar’s Office. NG grades will revert to F grades after one year.

IV. Quality Points

Quality points for a course are determined by the numeric grade earned in the course multiplied by the number of credits for the course.

Graduate Studies uses the four-point system to three decimal points to assign numeric grades:

A = 4.000 points

C = 2.000 points

A- = 3.667 points

C- = 1.667 points

B+ = 3.333 points

D+ = 1.333 points

B = 3.000 points

D = 1.000 point

B- = 2.667 points

D- = .667 point

C+ = 2.333 points

F = 0.000 points

Numeric grades are not given for the grades of AU, AW, GW, I, IP, MW, or NG.

V. Cumulative Grade Point Average 

The cumulative grade point average serves as the overall assessment of the quality of a student’s course work. It is computed by dividing the total number of quality points for graduate courses by the total number of GPA credit hours. The result is truncated to two decimal points. Grades of AU, AW, GW, I, IP, MW, and NG do not figure in the calculation of the cumulative GPA.

Responsibilities 

For following the policy: faculty, students, staff

For enforcement of the policy: Vice President for Enrollment Management, Registrar's Office

For oversight of the policy: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

For notification of policy: Policy Librarian

For procedures implementing the policy: Vice President for Enrollment Management, Registrar's Office

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