System of Grading

GRADES AND QUALITY POINTS

Student work is graded according to the following scale:

LETTER GRADE QUALITY POINTS PER UNIT

A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0

A- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7

B+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3

B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.0

B- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7

C+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3

C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.0

C- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7

D+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3

D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0

D- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.7

F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

P (Work passed under pass/fail) Not Assigned

W (Withdrawal from a course prior Not Assigned

to the beginning of the ninth

week of the term. The grade

designation "W" will not be

counted as a unit attempted and

will therefore not affect the student's

cumulative grade point average.)

WP (Withdrawn from course passing) Not Assigned

WF (Withdrawn from course failing) 0

DP (Involuntarily withdrawn from Not Assigned

course passing)

DF (Involuntarily withdrawn from 0

course failing)

XF (Dismissed from course for 0

violation of academic integrity)

In addition to the above grades, the following notations are

used in reporting temporary term grades, but these notations

do not become a part of the student's permanent record:

"IN" represents incomplete and indicates that the student has

not completed, for valid reason approved by the instructor, the

work of the course.The incomplete work must be submitted

to the instructor not later than two weeks after the beginning

of the next term, including the Summer session, at which

time the instructor will assign the final course grade. Grades

of "IN" are not included in determining a student's grade

point average.When the "IN" is converted to a permanent

grade, the student's GPA will be recalculated.

"SP" is recorded by authorization of the Office of the

Registrar for the student who is under the care of a physician

at the time of the final examination or who has not

completed the work of the course by reason of extended

illness.Written verification by the physician is necessary to

receive an "SP."The work of the course must be completed

before the end of the next term.At the beginning of each

term in which a student does not enroll, the grade of "SP"

must be renewed by submission of a physician's statement and

be approved by the Office of the Registrar.

Students who have received either an "IN" or an "SP" and

who fail to complete their work will be immediately subject

to the rules of academic discipline (warning, suspension,

expulsion) which would have applied when the original

course should have been completed.

A student who is absent from a final examination without

valid reason will receive a "zero" on the examination. If there

is a valid reason for the absence, the grade of "SP" or "IN"

may be given.

"NG" represents no grade and indicates that the instructor

does not submit, at the time grades are due, a final grade. A

grade of "NG" is recorded in consultation with the Office of

the Registrar. An "NG" must be converted to a final grade by

the end of the next term, including the Summer session.

The "WP,""DP,""WF," and "DF" reflect the grade in the

course as of the date of official withdrawal.The grade

designation "WP" or "DP" will not be counted as a unit

attempted and will therefore not affect the student's

cumulative grade point average.A "WP" is recorded only if a

student officially withdraws from the College through the

Office of the Registrar. In each case that the grade

designation "WF" or "DF" is assigned, the course will be

considered as a unit, or partial unit, attempted and will be

considered an "F" in the computation of the cumulative grade

point average.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE

The cumulative grade point average is determined by dividing

the sum of the student's quality points by the sum of the units

attempted, excluding grades that do not carry a unit

attempted.

PASS/FAIL OPTION

The primary purpose of the pass/fail option is to encourage

students to explore an unfamiliar academic area without fear

of lowering their cumulative grade point average.

In addition to internships and co-curricular activities which

must be taken on a pass/fail basis, students may complete one

elective course on a pass/fail basis.The elective course, taken

on a pass/fail basis, cannot be in the same academic discipline

as the major, minor or concentration nor can it be a required

course for the major, minor or concentration which is outside

the discipline. In addition, the course may not be one of a

group from which courses may be taken to satisfy major,

minor or concentration requirements. No course satisfying a

core requirement can be taken on a pass/fail basis.

One course completed on this basis may be offered as a part

of the 33 units (excluding the two one-quarter unit physical

education activities) required for the degree, but if passed will

not be used to determine the cumulative grade point average.

Courses failed will be charged as courses attempted in

determination of the cumulative grade point average.

If a major, minor, or concentration is declared at some future

time in an academic discipline for which the pass/fail course

is part, the "pass" grade will be converted back to the original

grade submitted.

Students seeking a second degree may not exercise the

pass/fail option for elective courses but may enroll in

internships, which are automatically graded on a pass/fail

basis.

Special (non-degree-seeking) students may exercise the

pass/fail option, but are advised not to do so in any course

which they may want to apply toward core requirements,

major, minor, or concentration credit should they become

degree-seeking students.

Requests for pass/fail may only be submitted to the Office of

the Registrar prior to, and during, the add period for the

particular course. If a student has performed well in a course

being taken on a pass/fail basis, the student may submit a

written request to the Office of the Registrar absolutely no

later than the last day of classes for that semester to remove

the pass/fail designation, thus reverting to having a letter

grade recorded for the class. The student will then be eligible

to enroll in another course on a pass/fail basis, but a student

may enroll in only one course on a pass/fail basis in any given

semester.

REPEATING COURSES

Students may repeat any course except for prerequisites for

courses that have already been taken or are currently being

taken. Such prerequisite courses may be repeated only with

the approval of the department. All grades for courses will be

reported on transcripts, but only the most recent grade for

any given course will be used to compute the student's grade

point average, with the exception of grades of "XF, " which

will be used in computing the grade point average.A grade of

"W," resulting from a student's withdrawal from a repeated

course, will not remove a previous grade for that course, nor

will courses retaken on an audit (AU) basis.

Units for a repeated course that has previously been passed

will be counted only once toward graduation. A student's

academic standing, grade point average, and class ranking in

any given semester will not be recalculated retroactively when

a course is repeated in a later semester. Upon graduation,

courses cannot be taken on a repeat basis.

Transcripts will assign units attempted for each time a course

is taken, but will mark repeated courses "R" to indicate that

they are not to be assigned quality points or used in

computing GPA.

DISMISSAL FROM A COURSE

Students who are either suspended or expelled from a course

or from the College will be assigned a final grade of either

"DP" or "DF" by the course instructors as of the date of

dismissal if the final examination has not been completed.

The only exception would be in the course in which a

student has been found responsible for an academic integrity

violation and received a penalty grade of "XF."

WITHDRAWAL FROM COURSES

In a regular term, if a student drops a course or withdraws

from the College prior to the beginning of the third week of

the term, the course is dropped from the student's academic

record. If a student withdraws from a course or from the

College after the beginning of the third week but prior to

the beginning of the ninth week of the term, the grade

designation of "W" will be assigned.

A student may withdraw from courses after the beginning of

the ninth week of class and until two weeks before the

beginning of the examination period only as a result of

withdrawing from the College. A grade of "WP" or "WF" is

assigned for each course.

If a student withdraws from a course or from the College

after the second day and prior to the ninth class day of a

May term, the grade designation "W" will be assigned by the

instructor.The designation "W" will not be counted as a

unit attempted and will, therefore, not affect the student's

cumulative grade point average.Withdrawal from a course or

from the College within seven class days of the final

examination will not be authorized except for medical

reasons or other extenuating circumstances as authorized by

the Registrar. If a student withdraws from a course or from

the College after the second day and prior to the third week

of a Summer session, the grade designation "W" will be

assigned by each course instructor.The designation "W" will

not be counted as a unit attempted and will, therefore, not

affect the student's cumulative grade point average.

Withdrawal from a course or from the College within two

weeks of the applicable final examination will not be

authorized except for medical reasons or other extenuating

circumstances as authorized by the Registrar.

A student may withdraw from the College for medical

reasons until the beginning of the examination period. All

courses are removed from the academic record in cases of

medical withdrawal.

(Please see "Dismissal from a Course" for information

regarding involuntary withdrawals.)

Any drop or withdrawal from a course or the College must

be authorized by the Office of the Registrar and must be

made in writing.Withdrawal forms are available in the

Office of the Registrar. Students considering withdrawal

from the College are expected to meet with the Assistant

Dean for Academic Affairs.

GRADE REPORTS

A report on unsatisfactory progress in courses ("D" or "F"

grades only) is made approximately midway through the Fall

and Spring terms for all students other than freshmen.

Midterm reports for freshmen are published using letter

grades ("A,""B,""C,""D,""F") for all courses. All midterm

reports are considered advisory to the student and are not

made part of the permanent record.

Upon completion of Fall, Spring, May, and Summer terms,

student grade reports are available through the WebAdvisor

option on the Roanoke College Webpage.

CLASS RANK

A ranking of students by class is compiled at the end of the

Fall and Spring terms. It is based upon the cumulative grade

point average of each student. Grades earned in non-credit

courses and pass/fail courses are not considered in

determining class rank (unless the pass/fail course is failed).