Adopted as University Senate Policy February 20, 1997

See list of amendments at the end of the policy.

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. There are two distinct grading systems on each campus of the University of Minnesota, A-B-C-D-F (with pluses and minuses) and S-N. The S-N system is a self-contained alternative to the A-F system and the two may not be combined for a particular student in a particular course. Students may receive grades or symbols only from the grading system under which they have registered for a course.

   Interpretation by the Committee on Educational Policy: The policy does not require any instructor to use pluses and minuses.

2. There are, in addition, registration symbols identified and described in this policy that carry neither grade nor credit.
   

3. No student may receive a Bachelor's degree unless at least 75 percent of the degree-qualifying residence credits carry grades of A, B, C, or D (with or without a plus or minus attached to it). Colleges and units may choose not to accept academic work receiving a D (with or without a plus or minus).
   

4. Each college, campus, and program shall determine to what extent and under what conditions each of these two systems may be available to its students and to its faculty, consistent with the provisions of this policy. Any college, campus, or program may specify what courses or proportion of courses taken by its students or its prospective students must be on one or the other grading system. No campus, college, or program is required to offer a course on the S-N grading system. Any unit may choose to limit grades in a particular course to the A-F or the S-N system.
   

5. When both grading systems are available to a student, he or she must declare a choice of system as part of the initial registration for the course. The choice may not be changed after the end of the second week of classes (the first week in summer sessions).
   

6. Except as provided in this policy in Sections I (8) and IV (5), no college may use any grading system other than the one established by this policy.
   

7. The University's official transcript, the chronological record of the student's enrollment and academic performance, will be released by the University only at the request of the student or in accord with state or federal statutes; mailed copies will include the official seal of the University imprinted on them. Students may obtain an unofficial transcript of their own academic work at their request, except when they have a transcript hold on their record.
   

8. The Law School and the Medical School are exempt from the provisions of this policy, but shall report their grading systems, and any changes therein, to the Senate. Any other units which believe that the national norms of their profession require a different grading system may make application to the Senate Committee on Educational Policy for an exemption from this policy; all such exemptions must be approved by the University Senate.

1. There are five permanent grades given for a single course for which credit shall be awarded, which will be entered on a student's official transcript: A-B-C-D-S grades including pluses and minuses, as follows, and carry the indicated grade points. The S grade shall not carry grade points but the credits shall count toward the student's degree program if allowed by the college, campus, or program.
   

   These definitions apply to grades awarded to students who are not enrolled in graduate programs, but the grade points are the same no matter the level or course of enrollment.
   

   Instructors are permitted to hold graduate and undergraduate students who are in the same class to different standards of academic performance and accomplishment. The syllabus must make clear what the different standards will be for the different groups of students who may be enrolled in the class.
   

   A	4.00	Represents achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.
   A-	3.67

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   B+	3.33
   B	3.00	Represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.
   B-	2.67

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   C+	2.33
   C	2.00	Represents achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect.
   C-	1.67

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   D+	1.33
   D	1.00	Represents achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements.

   
   _________________________________

   S	Represents achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better.

   
   

2. There are two permanent grades given for a single course for which no credit shall be awarded and which will be entered on a student's official transcript.
   

   F

   -0-

   Represents failure and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I (see Section III (1)). The F carries 0 gradepoints and the credits for the course do not count toward any academic degree program. The credit hours for the course shall count in the gradepoint average.

   
   

   N

   Represents no credit and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I (see Section III (1)). The N carries no gradepoints and the credits for the course do not count toward any academic degree program. The credit hours for the course do not count in the gradepoint average.

   
   

   Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be grounds for awarding a grade of F or N for the entire course.
   

   Interpretation by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy: This provision allows instructors to award an F or an N to a student when academic dishonesty is discovered; it does not require an instructor to do so."

   Students who enroll for a course on the A-F grading system shall receive an F if such grade is warranted; students who enroll for a course on the S-N system shall receive an N if such grade is warranted.
   

3. In connection with all symbols of achievement instructors shall define for a class, at one of its earliest meetings and as explicitly as possible, the performance that will be necessary to earn each. For undergraduate students, a C- grade shall be equal to an S grade.
   

4. Every student shall have calculated, both at the end of each grading period (quarter or semester) and cumulatively, a grade point average, which shall be the ratio of grade points earned divided by the number of credits attempted with grades of A-F (including pluses and minuses). Both the periodic and cumulative grade point average will appear on each student's record.
   

   Interpretation by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy: Courses which carry zero credits do not count in either term or cumulative grade point averages.

   All special grade point averages calculated at the request of a college or unit, if approved by the appropriate chancellor, provost, or vice president, will be accommodated by the Office of the Registrar in such a manner that they do not appear on the student's official transcript or any unofficial transcript which might be issued.

III. OTHER TRANSCRIPT SYMBOLS

1. There shall be a temporary symbol I, incomplete, awarded to indicate that the work of the course has not been completed.

   The I shall be assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, the student was prevented from completing the work of the course on time. The assignment of an I requires a written agreement between the instructor and student specifying the time and manner in which the student will complete the course requirements. In no event may any such written agreement allow a period of longer than one year to complete the course requirements.

   For graduate and professional students, an I is to remain on the transcript until changed by the instructor or department. For all other students, work to make up an I must be submitted within one year of the last day of final examinations of the term in which the I was given; if not submitted by that time, the I will automatically change to an F (if the student was registered on the A-F system) or an N (if the student was registered on the S-N system) for the course.¹

   When an I is changed to another symbol, the I is removed from the record. Once an I has become an F or an N, under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it may subsequently be converted to any other grade, upon petition by the instructor (or the department if the instructor is unavailable) to the college.

   A student does not need to be registered at the University in order to complete the work necessary to convert an I to a grade with credit in the time and manner previously agreed upon between the student and the instructor. The instructor is expected to turn in the new grade within four weeks of the date the work was submitted by the student.²

   If a student graduates with an I on the transcript, the I will remain permanently an I. A student may petition his or her college, within a year of graduation, to complete the work in the course and receive a grade. The degree GPA would be frozen upon graduation but the cumulative GPA would reflect the change in GPA if a student chooses to complete the work and change I to a grade within a year of graduation.

   Interpretation of Policy on Incompletes for Students Called to Active Military Duty - When appropriate, instructors may prefer to make arrangements for the student to take an incomplete. Senate policy requires that an incomplete be made up within one calendar year of the end of the term in which the incomplete is given. When students are called to active military duty, and reach agreement with their instructor(s) to take an incomplete, they will have up to one calendar year following their discharge from active duty to complete their incomplete(s).

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   ¹ If an I changes automatically to an F or an N, the instructor has the discretion to reinstate the I for another year.

   ² This may mean that there would be, temporarily, an F or an N on the transcript: if the student waits until the last week or so to turn in the work required to make up the I, and the instructor uses all or nearly all of the four weeks allowed to grade the work, the one-year period will lapse and the I will be changed to an F, until the instructor changes the grade.

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2. There shall be a symbol T, transfer, posted as a prefix to the original grade, to indicate credits transferred from another institution or from one college or campus to another within the University when reevaluation is required.
   

3. There shall be a symbol V, visitor, indicating registration as an auditor or visitor, which shall carry no credit and no grade.
   

4. If a student officially withdraws from a course during the first two weeks of classes, there shall be no record of that course registration entered on the student's transcript.
   

   There shall be a symbol W, withdrawal, entered upon a student's record when the student officially withdraws from a course in accordance with procedures established by the student's college or campus. The W will be entered on the transcript irrespective of the student's academic standing in that course if the student withdraws from the course during the third through eighth week of class (second or third weeks of summer sessions). Withdrawal in the ninth or later week of classes (fourth or later in summer sessions) shall require approval of the college and may not be granted solely because a student is failing the course; there must extenuating non-academic circumstances justifying late withdrawal.
   

   Each student may, once during his or her undergraduate enrollment, withdraw from a course without college approval, and receive the transcript symbol W, after the eighth week of class and at any time up to and including the last day of class for that course.
   

5. There shall be a symbol X, indicating a student may continue in a continuation course in which a grade cannot be determined until the full sequence of courses is completed. The instructor shall submit a grade for each X when the student has completed the sequence.
   

6. There shall be a symbol K, assigned by an instructor to indicate the course is still in progress and that a grade cannot be assigned at the present time.

IV. OTHER PROVISIONS

1. When a student graduates, no further changes to his or her transcript will be made (to that portion of the transcript related to the program from which the student graduated) except as expressly allowed under the provisions of this policy.

2. An undergraduate student may repeat a course once. When a student repeats a course, (a) both grades for the course shall appear on the official transcript, (b) the course credits may not be counted more than once toward degree and program requirements, and (c) only the last enrollment for the course shall count in the student's grade point average. The preceding sentence of this policy shall not apply to courses using the same number but where students study different content each term of enrollment; all such courses falling under this provision must be approved by the college. If an undergraduate student repeats a course after his/her degree has been awarded, the original course grade will not be excluded from the degree GPA nor will the new grade be included in the degree GPA, as provided in Section IV (1) of this policy. When students enrolled in the Graduate School repeat a course, provisions (a) and (b) apply but not (c); both grades for the course shall be counted in the student's grade point average.

3. Any college or campus may set special scholastic or other standards for registration in a particular course, for scholastic probation, admission, honors, continued residence, degrees, and other purposes they deem appropriate.
   

4. All grades for all courses each period (quarter or semester) shall be submitted to the Office of the Registrar no later than 72 hours after the last final examination for that term.
   

5. This grading system shall go into effect fall quarter 1997, thereby replacing all previous University, campus and college grading systems except those of the Law School and the medical schools. Its grades, symbols, and provisions may not be applied retroactively to any grades or symbols awarded before that time. Each transcript will clearly identify the procedures under which it was produced and will be maintained and released under policies in effect during the time of the student's registration.
   

6. The course syllabus for every course which enrolls undergraduates shall include the definitions of grades set out in Section II (1) of this policy, as follows, and shall also include the workload expectations set forth in the Senate Policy Statement on Class Hour-Credit Ratio, as follows.

   A - achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.

   B - achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.

   C - achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect.

   D - achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements.

   S - achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better ----

   F (or N) - Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I (see also I).

   I - (Incomplete) Assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, e.g., hospitalization, a student is prevented from completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between instructor and student.

   Academic Dishonesty

   Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be grounds for awarding a grade of F or N for the entire course.

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   One conventional credit is hereby defined as equivalent to three hours of learning effort per week, averaged over an appropriate time interval, necessary for an average student taking that course to achieve an average grade in that course.

7. Only the Senate Committee on Educational Policy shall have the authority to grant to individual colleges or campuses permission to use alternative grading methods outside the provisions of this official University system, for a specified period (but no longer than five years), and only for the purpose of experimenting with a new grading system for possible system-wide adoption. Such permission may be granted if the proposal does not interfere significantly with the registration options of students from other colleges, campuses, and programs. Such alternative systems shall be reported for information to the University Senate as soon as permitted and, after the specified period, shall be re-evaluated, either to be discontinued, or with Senate approval on recommendation from the Senate Committee on Educational policy, made part of the system-wide policy. Except for the provisions of this section 6, no college or program may use any grading system except for the one contained in this policy.
   

   Because alternative grading systems, once used, must be maintained by the University for decades afterward (to preserve the integrity of the transcripts), the Senate Committee on Educational Policy will rarely grant permission for alternative grading systems. It will consider doing so only when (1) those who propose it can make a persuasive case that the alternative is a more accurate and effective way to measure and record student academic performance, and (2) there is strong reason to believe that the proposal will be useful to all colleges and campuses of the University (except the Law School and medical schools).
   

8. The chancellors and provosts shall resolve disputes between and among colleges and campuses should procedures developed for this grading system result in unacceptable complications for students registering across college lines or across campuses. They should bring to the Senate Committee on Educational Policy issues they are unable to resolve informally through negotiation, with recommendations for resolution.
   

9. A student shall have the right to petition the college scholastic committee or other appropriate body concerning any of the provisions of this policy. No student, however, may initiate an appeal of the grade earned in a course more than one calendar year after the grade was assigned. Changing a grade to a W (withdrawl) is subject to the one-year limitation on appeal set forth in the preceding sentence.

   
   

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   Amended by the University Senate April 17, 1997
   Approved, as amended, by the Administration May 27, 1997
   

   Amended by the University Senate February 19, 1998
   Amendments approved by the Administration March 13, 1998
   

   Amended by the University Senate November 5, 1998
   Amendments approved by the Administration April 22, 1999
   

   Amended by the University Senate February 18, 1999
   Amendments approved by the Administration April 18, 1999
   

   Amended by the University Senate April 22, 1999
   Amendments approved by the Administration July 22, 1999
   

   Amended by the University Senate February 24, 2000
   Amendments approved by the Administration March 9, 2000
   

   Amended by the University Senate April 20, 2000
   Amendments approved by the Administration July 26, 2000
   

   Interpretation approved by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy
   after reported for information to the University Senate February 22, 2001
   

   Interpretation approved by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy
   after reported for information to the University Senate April 19, 2001
   

   Interpretation approved by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy
   after reported for information to the University Senate December 6, 2001
   

   Amended by the University Senate October 31, 2002
   Amendments approved by the Administration January 28, 2003
   

   Amendments approved by the Senate Consultative Committee
   after reported for information to the University Senate October 2, 2003
   
   Amendments approved by the Administration September 18, 2003
   

   Interpretation approved by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy
   after reported for information to the University Senate March 3, 2005
   

   Interpretation approved by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy
   after reported for information to the University Senate March 3, 2005
   

   Amended by the Faculty Senate September 29, 2005
   Three amendments approved by the Administration October 19, 2005
   

   Amended by the Faculty Senate April 5, 2007
   Amendment approved by the Administration April 16, 2007
   

   
   
   

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