Grades

A. System of Grading

1. The scholastic achievement of a student in a particular course is expressed by means of the following symbols: “A” for work of superior quality; “B” for work of above average quality; “C” for work of satisfactory quality; “D” for work of poor quality; and “F” for work of unsatisfactory quality. A grade of “FS” indicates that a student failed a course that he/she stopped attending. The grade of “FN” indicates that a student failed a course that he/she never attended. A student receiving an “F” in a course is advised to repeat that course at the earliest possible time. The student is cautioned that some courses in which a “D” grade is received may not be applicable toward degree requirements. For more detail concerning these “D” grades, students should refer to “Specific Degree Requirements of the College” in the introductory section of the appropriate College.
2. A student may resign or be canceled from the University up to and including the fourteenth day of classes of a regular semester, or the seventh day of classes during a summer term, without any grade or notation being made on his or her permanent record.
3. The symbol “W” indicates the resignation or cancellation of the student from the University or the dropping of a course prior to the deadline printed in the Schedule of Classes. The course and grade will be posted to the student’s permanent record but will not be included in the calculation of the semester, adjusted, and cumulative average.
4. The symbol “WM” indicates that the student’s withdrawal from a course occurred because of military call-up.
5. The symbol “WX” indicates that the student has been removed from a course by administrative action.
6. Withdrawals in courses taken at UL Lafayette cannot exceed the numbers allowed in the following table without the student incurring a fee for excessive withdrawals. Withdrawal allowances cannot be “banked” or carried forward.

Withdrawals resulting from resignation from the University will not count toward the limit, nor will course withdrawals resulting from military activation (“WM” grades) or administrative action (“WX” grades). Withdrawals earned at other institutions will not count toward the limit. Schedule adjustments made during the “drop/add” period at the beginning of each term are not recorded as “W” grades and thus do not impact the limits on withdrawals.

7. Incompletes
   1. A student who is doing passing work but due to circumstances beyond his/her control does not complete the prescribed course work, may receive the grade of I, at the discretion of the instructor. As a course grade the I yields neither credit nor quality points applicable toward a degree. The grade of I may be converted to a grade of A, B, C, D, F, NC, or CR upon the successful or unsuccessful completion of course requirements, as specified by the instructor, and only upon submission of an official change-of-grade card. The grade of I must be changed by the date designated in the administrative calendar in the following regular semester or it will automatically be changed to an F (or an NC in a CR/NC course). In the event the grade of I is changed to an F (or an NC in a CR/NC course) the student’s academic status may change. If an automatic grade of F causes an academic suspension, the student will be allowed to complete the semester on probation. Any credits earned during a Summer Session will also be granted.
   2. Unusual circumstances may permit the assignment of a permanent I. The student must initiate the request for this permanent grade of PI. This request must be approved by the instructor, if possible, the Department Head of the course, the Academic Dean of the course, and the Student’s Academic Dean. This request must be received in the Registrar’s Office prior to the deadline stated above.
   3. Extenuating circumstances such as prolonged medical problems, serious accidents, death in the immediate family, or special circumstances concerning the course itself may permit the extension of the deadline for the completion of an “I”. The request for such an extension must be initiated by the student and must be signed by the instructor, the Department Head of the course, the Academic Dean of the course and the student’s Academic Dean. The extended deadline may not be beyond the deadline for dropping a grade of “W” in the following regular semester.
8. The symbols “S” (for Satisfactory) and “U” (for Unsatisfactory) are used to show the achievement of the student in a course which yields no semester hour credit. The grade of “S” is also used to indicate that a student has successfully participated in one of the University’s Advanced Credit Exams and has earned credit in that course through that program. The grade of “S” is also awarded in the case of credit for certain military experiences, for CLEP credits, for College Level GED credits and for most correspondence course credits (See Section VIII ). The grades of “S” and “U” are also used to indicate participation in a Continuing Education Units Program.
9. The symbol “AU” signifies that the course has been audited. Students who do not attend all classes and participate in all course activities will be given a grade of “W”.
10. The symbol “R,” which appears only on a student’s permanent record or a transcript thereof, indicates that a course so marked has been repeated.
11. The symbol “NR” indicates that the instructor reported no grade for that student but that the student was officially registered for the course and did not withdraw officially.
12. The following system of grading is allowed in certain specialized courses.
    1. The symbol “CR” signifies the satisfactory completion of a course to which no quality-point-bearing grade is assigned. The credit hour value of such a course is counted as hours earned and may be applicable toward a degree, but it is not used in computing the semester, adjusted, and cumulative average.
    2. The symbol “NC” signifies unsatisfactory completion of a course to which no quality-point-bearing grade is assigned. No credit is earned which is applicable toward a degree and the semester hour value is not used in computing the semester, adjusted, and cumulative average.
    3. If the student wishes to withdraw from the course, a grade of “W” shall be given up to the final date of withdrawing as prescribed by the University calendar.
    4. A student who is doing passing work but because of circumstances beyond his or her control does not complete the prescribed course work shall receive the grade of “I” in a course to which no quality-point-bearing grade is assigned. The semester-hour value of such a course is not applicable toward a degree, and it is not used in computing the semester, adjusted, and cumulative average.

B. Quality Points

1. A student’s semester, adjusted, and cumulative averages are computed by assigning quality points to the course grade, multiplying this quality-point figure by the credit for the course, summing the results, and dividing this total by the total number of credits for all courses.
2. The quality points assigned to each grade are as follows:

C. Semester Average

1. A student’s semester average is used in determining the student’s academic status at the end of each semester. (See Section VII .)
2. GPA hours is the total semester hours credit for which the grades of A, B, C, D, or F have been assigned.
3. Semester hours earned is the total semester hours credit for all courses completed in which the grades of A, B, C, D, CR, and S are assigned.
4. Semester quality points is the total of the quality points for all courses in which the grades of A, B, C, or D have been assigned.
5. Semester average is the result of dividing the total semester quality points by the total GPA hours for that semester only.
6. Courses in which grades of W, AU, CR, NC, S, U, and I are assigned are not included in the calculation of the semester average.
7. Example without withdrawals:

8. Example with withdrawal and incomplete:

D. Cumulative Grade Point Average

1. Cumulative hours is the total semester hours credit for all courses without the application of the repeat rule (see Section F), both at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and at other institutions in which the grades of A, B, C, D, and F, or their equivalent, are assigned.
2. Cumulative hours earned is the total semester hours credit of those courses completed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, those courses accepted in transfer, and those completed by other means, in which the grades of A, B, C, D, CR, and S are assigned.
3. Cumulative quality points is the total of the quality points for each course in which the grades of A, B, C, and D are assigned.
4. Cumulative average is the result of dividing the total cumulative GPA quality points by the total cumulative hours.
5. Courses in which grades of W, AU, CR, NC, S, U, and I are assigned are not included in the calculation of the cumulative GPA average.
6. Example without withdrawals:

7. Example with withdrawal and incomplete:

E. Adjusted Grade Point Average

1. Adjusted GPA hours is the total semester hours credit for all courses with the repeat rule applied (See section F) to all University of Louisiana at Lafayette courses in which the grades of A, B, C, D, and F, or their equivalent, are assigned.
2. Adjusted GPA hours earned is the total semester hours credit of those courses completed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, those courses accepted in transfer, and those completed by other means, in which the grades of A, B, C, D, CR, and S are assigned.
3. Adjusted quality points is the total of the quality points for each course in which the grades A, B, C, and D are assigned.
4. Adjusted GPA is the result of dividing the total adjusted quality points by the total grade point average hours.
5. Courses in which grades of W, AU, CR, NC, S, U, and I are assigned are not included in the calculation of the adjusted GPA average.
6. The adjusted GPA is used for graduation.
7. Example without withdrawals:

8. Example with withdrawal and incomplete:

F. Repeating of Courses

1. At the University of Louisiana at Lafayette the effect of repeating a course previously taken at this University is the removal of the GPA hours, hours earned, and quality points of the previous attempt from the calculation of the adjusted average used for graduation. The student is responsible for reporting a repeated course to the Office of the Registrar.
2. Repeating at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette a course previously taken at another college or university has no effect on the previous grade or GPA hours.
3. Repeating at another college or university a course previously taken at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has no effect on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette grade or GPA hours.
4. Courses taken and repeated at another college or university will have the same effect as in 1 above.
5. Students are cautioned that many undergraduate curricula, graduate schools, professional schools, and other colleges and universities may compute the undergraduate GPA on all GPA hours when accepting applications for admission and/or when evaluating records for graduation.
6. The adjusted GPA is used for graduation.

G. Final Grade Reports

1. A final grade in each course for which a student is officially registered is given at the end of each semester, summer session and intersession. This grade is recorded in the Office of the Registrar and becomes a part of the student’s permanent record. Students may access their final grades online via the University portal, ULink.
2. For the correction of any error made in the reporting of course grades, one should apply to the Registrar. If an error is one of transcription, it can be corrected by the Registrar. But if it was made by an instructor, the Registrar must be authorized by the appropriate instructor, his or her department head and academic dean and the student’s academic dean to make the corrective changes in the student’s record.
3. Except in cases of error, no instructor may change a grade which s/he has turned in to the Registrar.
4. If a student finds omissions or possible errors in his or her grade report, s/he should make application to the Registrar for a review of his or her record not later than the last day of his or her next semester in residence, and in no case after a lapse of three years.
5. See Section XII  for guidelines for appealing unfair and/or capricious final grades.

H. GradesFirst

GradesFirst serves as an early alert system for freshmen and sophomore students. The notification system is utilized early in the semester to allow for student support staff to provide intervention services when students need it most. It is a system of communication and collaboration of faculty, advisors, students and support staff.

GradesFirst seeks to promote academic success for students by:

• Identifying students having trouble with course material
• Providing students timely support and direction to appropriate campus resources
• Encouraging students to utilize campus resources and to also communicate with professors, advisors and student support staff regarding concerns
• Helping students develop self-advocacy skills
• Making the college transition process more enjoyable by providing more opportunity for academic success

I. Transcripts and Letters of Verification

Requests for official transcripts, letters of good standing, and letters certifying enrollment may be made in the Office of the Registrar. None of these documents will be released until all indebtedness to the University is paid in full and all transcript holds are cleared.