Grades and Reports
Grading System and Quality Points
Graduation is dependent upon quality as well as upon quantity of work done. A student earns quality points as well as credit hours if the level of performance does not fall below that of “D-.” Letter grades are assigned. They are interpreted in the table below, with the quality points for each hour of credit shown at the right.
| Grades |
Hours Attempted Per Credit Hour |
Quality Points Per Credit Hour |
| A+ |
1 |
4 |
| A |
1 |
4 |
| A- |
1 |
3.67 |
| B+ |
1 |
3.33 |
| B |
1 |
3 |
| B- |
1 |
2.67 |
| C+ |
1 |
2.33 |
| C |
1 |
2 |
| C- |
1 |
1.67 |
| D+ |
1 |
1.33 |
| D |
1 |
1 |
| D- |
1 |
.67 |
| F |
1 |
0 |
PZ - Pass in Pass/Fail Option
(Credit Hours Earned) |
0 |
0 |
FZ - Fail in Pass/Fail Option
(No Credit Hours Earned) |
0 |
0 |
| FX - Failure for Academic Dishonesty |
1 |
0 |
| FD - Dimensions Failure |
0 |
0 |
| P - Passing (with approval) |
0 |
0 |
| I - Incomplete |
1 |
0 |
| IN - Incomplete (with approval) |
0 |
0 |
| W - Withdrew |
0 |
0 |
| WP - Withdrew Passing |
0 |
0 |
| WF - Withdrew Failing (first six such grades assigned) |
0 |
0 |
| WF - Withdrew Failing (seventh or more such grades assigned) |
1 |
0 |
| @F - Administrative Failure |
1 |
0 |
@W - Administrative Withdrawal
(student never attended) |
0 |
0 |
NC - No Credit
|
0
|
0
|
| TR - Transfer Hours |
Hours Credit Only |
Hours Credit Only |
| CR - Credit Hours |
Hours Credit Only |
Hours Credit Only |
| AU - Auditor |
0 |
0 |
| E - Course Repeated |
0 |
0 |
| I - Later or Higher Attempt Computed According to Grade |
1 |
Multiplied by quality points for final grade |
Notations on Transcripts
E - Course Excluded from GPA
I - Course Included in GPA (located to the right side of the quality points of the course)
1 Multiplied by quality points for final grade
An Incomplete may be assigned only when a small amount of coursework (e.g., tests, project, research paper, or final exam) is not submitted by the end of the course. An Incomplete is appropriate only in situations where there are mitigating life circumstances of a serious nature that prevent completion of course requirements. When semester grades are submitted, the faculty member assigns an “I” in place of the grade for the student needing an Incomplete. Within 24 hours of submission, Registrar Services will send the faculty member an e-mail notification that the required “Incomplete Contract” is available through WebbConnect under the “Manage Classes” folder. The faculty member completes the online contract and submits it electronically through WebbConnect. WebbConnect automatically sends the contract to the student via the student’s Gardner-Webb e-mail address. The student must “accept” the contract in order to confirm the Incomplete. If the student “denies“ the contract, the faculty member will be notified, and either a revised contract will need to be submitted or a final grade assigned for the course.
The final date for completion of the coursework and conversion of the Incomplete designation to a grade can be no more than 90 days after the last day of the term in which the “I” was submitted. Extensions can be submitted to the Registrar. If the 90-day period expires without conversion of the Incomplete, notification is sent to the faculty member by email requesting the final grade. If no grade is submitted at that time, the Incomplete is converted to a final grade of “F.” Once the “F” is recorded, the student, the success coach or faculty advisor, and the instructor are notified by e-mail.
An “IN” is assigned to a student involved in an internship or other multi-semester course structures in which the final assessment cannot be determined by the end point of the registered term. The student has a maximum deadline of the end of the following semester to complete the coursework (this may vary by program in the graduate schools); otherwise the incomplete will be automatically changed to an “F” by Registrar Services. While in effect, the “IN” will have no negative bearing on the student’s semester and cumulative grade point average.
A “W” will be assigned when a student withdraws from a course during the first 40% of the term. After the first 40% of the term, a “WF” or “WP” is assigned by the instructor based upon the instructor’s assessment of the student’s work at the date of withdrawal.
A student wishing to withdraw from a class or completely from school after the schedule modification period is over must submit the Withdrawal Form, which is located in WebbConnect. Success coaches and faculty advisors do not have the access to withdraw a student from courses. Course or complete withdrawals are not official until they have been processed by the Registrar. E-mail notifications are sent to the student, the success coach or faculty advisor, and the instructor(s) of the course once the withdrawal has been processed.
@F - This grade represents an administrative failure of a course. It could be assigned by either the instructor or the Registrar to any student who ceases to attend class or who otherwise exceeds the permissible number of absences in a course. This grade is treated the same as the basic “F”; it counts against the student’s grade point average and is repeatable under the provisions of the Repeat Course Policy.
FX - This grade is assigned for reasons of academic dishonesty and counts against a student’s GPA just a grade of “F” does. It is assigned by the Registrar upon written request of the instructor of record in accordance with the University’s policy on academic dishonesty. Once the grade is assigned, it appears on the transcript as a permanent indication of an incident of academic dishonesty. University policy on repeating courses does not apply in the case of an FX. A student may repeat the course, but the FX remains on the transcript and will continue to be calculated into the GPA.
The last date for withdrawing from an individual course will be a date not to exceed 75% of the course (including summer school and 8-week terms). After this point, students may not withdraw from individual courses but may completely withdraw from school.
Once a grade has been submitted to the Registrar, it will not be changed except in the event of a clerical error or an error in calculation, or as a result of the appeal process. Unless an “I” or “IN” has been assigned, an instructor cannot accept coursework from a student after a grade has been submitted.
For the policy concerning the appeal of a grade, see the section entitled Academic Appeals.
Pass/Fail Option
In the spirit of its liberal arts tradition, Gardner-Webb encourages students to pursue a broad range of interests outside their chosen major. Toward this end, students enrolled in Gardner-Webb Online may (but are not required to) select the Pass/Fail (P/F) grading option to utilize in a maximum of four courses during their enrollment at Gardner-Webb. This option may only be utilized for free electives and may not be utilized for any course counted as meeting General Education, major, minor, or required prerequisite requirements. The Pass/Fail option may be utilized for no more than one course in any given semester or session. The Pass/Fail option must be selected by the student prior to the end of the designated schedule modification (i.e., “drop/add”) period in any given semester/session and once the option is selected may not be changed although the course may be dropped as per normal rules governing that process. Student transcripts will show a final grade of “PZ” or “FZ” for the chosen course and the “PZ”/”FZ” grade will not count toward GPA calculations either as hours attempted or grade points earned. If passed, the course will count toward the 120 hours needed for graduation; if failed, the course and grade will be indicated on the student’s transcript but the failing grade will not affect the student’s GPA. Repeats of failed P/F courses will be governed by the normal rules for that process. Credit hours for any course chosen for the P/F option will count toward a student’s semester/session enrollment and billing hours as if it were taken under regular grading policies.
Individual student selection of the P/F option will not be indicated on official communications (e.g., rolls, progress reports, etc.) to the course instructor until the final grade report which will indicate that the student has selected the P/F option. The instructor will select the appropriate grade in accordance with the course grading policies he/she promulgated in the course syllabus. All grades of “D-“ or higher are considered passing.
NOTE: Because courses taken under the Pass/Fail option do not count toward GPA calculations, students should be aware of the policy on earning Dean’s List and Honor Roll distinctions (i.e., students with 12-15 hours calculated in their GPA must earn a 4.0 for Dean’s List and at least 3.5 for Honor Roll; for students with more than 15 hours calculated in their GPA the minimum thresholds are 3.7 and 3.2 respectively).
Examinations and Assessments
Comprehensive final examinations or assessments are required in every course by the end of the semester. If a comprehensive exam is given, a student who does not take the examination at the scheduled time will receive a failing grade in that course unless excused by the instructor. If the student is excused, an Incomplete (I) will be recorded.
Grade Point Average
The student’s general academic performance is indicated by both a current term grade point average and a term-by-term grade point average (GPA). The current term and the cumulative GPAs are determined by dividing earned quality points by attempted credit hours. Both values are calculated based only on academic work completed at Gardner-Webb. In addition, there are three total GPAs calculated: total institution GPA, total transfer GPA, and overall GPA. Total institution GPA represents combined academic work at Gardner-Webb as of the last term of attendance. Total transfer GPA represents combined academic work that qualified for transfer from other institutions. Overall GPA represents both academic work completed at Gardner-Webb and work transferred from other institutions.
Grade Reports
Each student receives a course grade at the end of the semester. Final grades can be accessed by visiting webbconnect.gardner-webb.edu.
Transcripts of Student Records
Requests for copies of a student’s record should be made to Registrar Services via the webpage www.gardner-webb.edu/transcripts. All transcripts will reflect the student’s complete academic record. No transcripts will be issued without the written authorization of the student. No transcript will be issued for a student who has a financial obligation to the University.