VIII. Undergraduate Grades
(Graduate grading is covered in the Graduate Catalog)
A. Significance of Undergraduate Grades.
The grades reported are as follows:
A Excellent
B Superior
C Medium
D Inferior
F Failure
I Incomplete
S Satisfactory - Indicates credit has been earned for the course scheduled.
U Unsatisfactory - Indicates credit has not been earned for the course scheduled.
DL Delayed – Permissible for undergraduate research 3099/4099 and must be removed at the end of the next semester or a "U" grade will be assigned by the Registrar.
Y No grade available
Grades of "S" and "U" are permitted only for orientation courses, seminars, special problems, special readings, independent study courses (Numbered 3000, 4000, 4010 and 4099), education laboratories, research, and Pass/Fail courses. Standard grades also may be used for all of the above courses except the Pass/Fail courses.
The purpose of the "I" grade is to allow a student to complete a course when due to illness, unavoidable absence, or active military service, would be otherwise unable to do so.
B. Incomplete Grades due to illness and unavoidable absence unrelated to active military service. The grade of “I” will be given only at the end of a fall, spring or summer session, and only if the student has been prevented from completing a course due to sickness or unavoidable absence (unrelated to active military service) within the last four weeks (three weeks of classes plus finals week) of a fall or spring semester, or within the last week and a half plus the final exam period of an eight-week summer session, and then only if the student has a passing grade in the course up to the time of such sickness or unavoidable absence. The student must complete the work in which they are deficient within one calendar year from the close of the semester in which the "I" grade was recorded. Failure to do so will result in a grade of "F" being recorded for the student. The student may not enroll for a course in which they have a grade of "I" on file. A student may not withdraw from courses in which they have received an "I" grade.
C. Incomplete Grades due to active military service. Students who are called to active military service, as defined by the Missouri Revised Statute 41.948.1, are entitled to either withdraw from school, or receive a grade of “I” in all their classes. Students called to military service are entitled to an “I” grade regardless of when during the semester they are called to serve, and regardless of their prior academic performance in the class.
A withdrawal form obtained from the Office of the Registrar, must be completed, and the student must present documentation of their military orders. Once completed, the form is retained in the departmental office of the teaching department. For the purpose of determining scholastic standing, the grade of "I" will not be used.
The chair of the teaching department will determine what course work the student must complete to resolve the “I” grade. If it is impractical to have the student complete the original course, the chair may assign the student to an academically similar course. The student may not enroll for a course in which they have a grade of “I” on file. A student may not withdraw from courses in which they have received an “I” grade.
D. Grades Reported Twice During Each Semester. All grades, except for Summer Session, will be reported to the Registrar both at mid-semester and at the end of each semester or term. Except for grades in undergraduate and graduate seminars and Special Problems courses, which need not be reported at mid-semester. At the end of each semester or session, all grades will be recorded.
E. Semester Honor Roll. At the end of the semester all undergraduate students who meet all of the following conditions will be designated as honor students for that semester:
1. Obtained semester GPA of at least 3.2.
2. Completion of 12 or more semester hours of work.
3. Obtained passing grades in all courses for that semester.
F. Changes in Grades. A faculty member may change grades that they have reported at the end of any semester or session. Faculty can change grades electronically through Joe'SS for 12 months after grades are posted. After twelve months, the faculty member will need to submit the paper Change of Grade form. This form can be provided by the Office of the Registrar and will need to be signed by the instructor and the department chair.
G. Repeat Course GPA Adjustment. When a grade of “D” or “F” is received in a course taken at any UM System school, the grade may be replaced in the calculation of the GPA if the course is repeated at Missouri S&T. The courses must be equivalent in scope, content, and number of credit hours – as verified by the department offering the course at Missouri S&T. No more than 15 semester hours may be dropped from the calculation of the student’s GPA and a repeated course may only be used to replace one previous grade in that same course in the GPA calculation. Grades of “I”, “W”, “HR” or “Pass/Fail” will not replace the previous grade. All grades earned will appear on the student’s transcript. A statement of the repeat policy will be included on the transcript to explain the calculation of the GPA. After repeating a course, the student must submit a Repeat Course GPA Adjustment form to the Registrar’s Office to have the GPA changed. The new grade will replace the old grade in all GPA calculations in which the previous grade was used, with the exception of the UM GPA used for calculation of graduation honors. If a student does not submit the Repeat Course GPA Adjustment, both grades will be used in GPA calculations. The scholastic standing of a student for a past semester will not be changed as a result of repeating a course. This policy applies to undergraduate students only and may not be applied once the student has graduated.
H. Determining Scholastic Standing.
1. Semester Grade Point Average. At the close of each semester, the semester average for each student is computed as the total grade points earned during that semester divided by the total number of credit hours scheduled (except courses taken under the "Pass/Fail" option).
2. Cumulative Grade Point Average. A student's cumulative grade point average is calculated by dividing cumulative total grade points by cumulative total credit hours attempted using all courses taken for college credit for which a letter grade (or equivalent) has been given except courses taken under the "Pass/Fail" option. This grade point will be used by the Registrar to determine a student's eligibility for Honors at the time of graduation (see Section III.I).
I. Grade Appeal Procedure
1. The grade appeal procedure is available only for review of the final grade in a course that the student alleges was graded capriciously, not for review of the judgment of the instructor in assessing the quality of students' work or for questioning the stated grading criteria selected by the instructor. Only a student who alleges they were subjected to capricious grading may use the grade appeal procedure.
2. Capricious grading, as used here, consists only of any of the following:
a. The assignment of a semester grade to a particular student on some basis other than those related to academic performance in the section.
b. The assignment of a semester grade to a particular student by more exacting or demanding criteria than were applied to other students in the same section. (NOTE: Additional and/or different grading criteria may be applied to graduate students enrolled for credit in a course numbered below the 5000 level).
c. The assignment of a semester grade to a particular student by criteria that represents a substantial departure from the instructor’s previously announced criteria.
d. The assignment of a semester grade in whole or in part on the basis on the student’s race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or protected veterans status.
3. The grade appeal procedure shall consist of the following steps:
a. Except as provided in sections 5, 6 and 7, the initial step in the grade appeal procedure shall be for the student to review with the section instructor the semester grade, the stated grading criteria and how the stated grading criteria were applied to determine the student's semester grade. Any appeal under this policy shall be filed within thirty (30) days following the academic semester in which the grade is assigned. If the student and the instructor fail to reach a mutually satisfactory decision during this discussion, then the student may proceed to step b.
b. The student shall contact the chair of the instructor's department and request his/her service as a mediator during a discussion between the student and the instructor. If the student and instructor fail to reach a mutually satisfactory decision during this discussion, the student may then proceed to step c.
c. The student shall request, in writing, that the department chairperson inform the instructor and convene an ad hoc review group composed of the following: the chair- person (or designated representative) of the instructor's department, the dean (or the dean’s designated representative), and a third member to be appointed by the provost from the faculty.
d. The student’s written request should include: course, instructor, semester, rationale for considering the grading as arbitrary and capricious, and the outcome sought. The student and instructor shall be allowed to appear before the ad hoc review group. The decision reached by the ad hoc review group on the question of alleged capricious grading shall be binding and final on both the student and the instructor.
4. If capricious grading is substantiated by the ad hoc review group, the student shall be assigned a grade consistent with the stated grading criteria. A report of the ad hoc review group, with the student's semester grade, shall be forwarded by the department chairperson to the Office of the Registrar.
5. Should there be an allegation that the capricious grading was based upon the student’s race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or protected veterans status, the appeal shall meet the requirements of section 3d and may be received by the departmental chair, the college dean or the university provost. The allegation shall be referred to a joint investigatory team comprised of two members of the faculty appointed by the dean of the college (or the dean’s designated representative) or, if the dean is the instructor of the course, by the university provost (or the university provost’s representative), and one member of the university staff who has received training relating to investigating allegations of discrimination, appointed by the chief student affairs officer (or the chief student affairs officer’s designated representative).
a. The joint investigatory team shall conduct a thorough, reliable and impartial inquiry and shall issue a report that will address each allegation made by the student.
b. This investigation shall include interviews with relevant parties and witnesses, obtaining available evidence and identifying sources of expert information, if necessary.
c. The joint investigatory team will report to the ad hoc review group within thirty (30) days of appointment.
d. Additional time may be granted for the investigation by the chair of the ad hoc review group for good cause or by agreement of the parties to the appeal.
e. The ad hoc review group authorized in section 3c, the student and the instructor shall receive a copy of the report of the joint investigatory team.
6. Upon completion of the report required in section 5, the joint investigatory team will meet with the ad hoc review group to review the results of the investigation and provide an orientation on the process for consideration of an allegation of discrimination. The ad hoc review group shall make a finding as to the allegation of capricious grading.
a. The student and instructor shall be allowed to appear before the ad hoc review group and offer the testimony of witnesses and documentary evidence.
b. The findings shall address each allegation in the grade appeal, state the ad hoc review group’s decision relating to that allegation, and state the rationale for that decision.
c. The ad hoc review group will have the authority to implement remediation or training as needed to prevent reoccurrence of the discrimination.
d. A report by the ad hoc review group shall be issued within sixty (60) days of the filing of the appeal. Additional time may be granted for the report by the chair of the ad hoc review group for good cause or by agreement of the parties to the appeal.
e. Any issue of faculty discriminatory conduct shall be referred for review pursuant to CRR 600.040.
7. Retaliation against any individual who files a grade appeal or participates in a grade appeal investigation which involves allegations of unlawful discrimination is strictly prohibited. The ad hoc review group shall refer any issue relating to alleged retaliation for review under the appropriate process (CRR 600.040, CRR 0.050, and CRR 200.025).
J. Transfer Credit Policy. Missouri S&T accepts college-level (not remedial) course credits. All grades, quality points and credit hours are transferred and computed in the cumulative GP Grades not included in the transfer institution’s GPA due to a repeat or forgiveness policy may be removed from the Missouri S&T cumulative GPA upon verification to the Registrar’s Office. No more than 15 semester transfer hours will be dropped from the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA.
College-level (not remedial) course credit earned while enrolled in high school (dual- credit) shall follow the same policy as transfer credit.
K. Academic Forgiveness Policy. Missouri S&T has an academic forgiveness policy to enable those students who did not perform adequately in their undergraduate enrollment at Missouri S&T to be given a second chance to pursue their undergraduate academic goals. Students returning to Missouri S&T to pursue an undergraduate degree after an extended absence may request permission to remove one or more complete academic terms from future degree and GPA considerations. Academic forgiveness is a policy of Missouri S&T and as such may not be recognized by outside institutions or agencies.
1. Eligibility - To be eligible for academic forgiveness consideration, students must meet these requirements:
a. Students must have not been enrolled as degree-seeking at Missouri S&T or any other University of Missouri System campus for four or more consecutive years.
b. Students must not have graduated from Missouri S&T.
c. Students must be admitted as degree- seeking and have earned a minimum of 12.0 credits hours with at least a 2.5 GPA of record for those hours at Missouri S&T within the past 12 months.
2. Conditions - Academic forgiveness is based on the following conditions:
a. All courses and credits taken during the chosen term(s) will be removed from consideration for GPA and degree requirements. Students may not combine individual courses from multiple terms to compose the semester(s) dropped.
b. All courses and grades for the chosen term(s) will remain on the student’s academic record with a notation showing that those hours and grades will not count toward cumulative hours, nor GPA, nor can they be used to fulfill any degree requirements.
c. Forgiveness may be applied only to academic terms completed prior to the student’s extended absence.
d. Students may only be granted academic forgiveness once.
e. Students who choose academic forgiveness must meet the degree requirements of the Missouri S&T undergraduate catalog at the time of their readmission.
f. Degree requirements met during the dropped terms must be repeated.
g. To be eligible for a degree, students must complete a minimum of 24 credits at Missouri S&T after the granting of academic forgiveness.
h. Academic forgiveness only applies to Missouri S&T undergraduate courses and is not applicable to transfer work or graduate work.
i. Only students who are readmitted to a degree program at the undergraduate level at Missouri S&T are eligible to apply for forgiveness.
j. Academic Forgiveness must be approved by the primary academic department on a case-by-case basis.
3. Procedures
a. Students should discuss their desire to pursue academic forgiveness with an academic advisor in the primary department to which they have been admitted.
b. Students should submit an Application for Academic Forgiveness form to the Office of the Registrar.
c. For each term approved for academic forgiveness, a note will appear on the transcript.
Follow Office of the Registrar