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WP (Withdrawn from course passing) Not Assigned
WF (Withdrawn from course failing) 0
DP (Involuntarily withdrawn from Not Assigned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DF (Involuntarily withdrawn from 0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).