Grades

Grades

Graduation is dependent upon quality as well as upon quantity of work done. Letter grades are used. 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	3.67
B+	1	3.33
B	1	3
B-	1	2.67
C	1	2
F	1	0
FX - Failure or Academic Dishonesty	1	0
P - Passing	0	0
I - Incomplete	1	0
IN - (see below)	0	0
W - Withdrew	0	0
WP - Withdrew Passing	0	0
WF - Withdrew Failing	1	0
@F - Administrative Failure	1	0
@W - Administrative Withdrawal	0	0
NC - No Credit	0	0

The inclusion of letter grades A-, B+, and B- within each course’s grading scale is at the discretion of the instructor or program. The complete grading scale to be used is announced at the beginning of each course.

Students are expected to complete all coursework prior to the end of the semester/term. It is sometimes possible for a faculty member to issue an Incomplete (I) designation to permit the completion of coursework after the semester/term has finished. An incomplete can only be awarded in cases in which all the following criteria are met:

the student successfully completed at least 75% of the course requirements;
the student experienced circumstances beyond their control such as illness, emergency, death in the family, or other reasonable cause, which prohibited the completion of coursework;
upon the occurrence of these circumstances, the student discussed their inability to complete the work for the course with their instructor;
the student initiated the request for the Incomplete before the last regular day of the course;
the student is in good standing (passing) the course at the time of the request.

Specific programs may have additional stipulations regarding the incomplete designation described in their program handbook.

If granted, the faculty member assigns an I instead of the grade for the student needing an Incomplete when grades are submitted. Within 24 hours of submission, Registrar Services will send the faculty member an e-mail notification that the 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 email address. The student must accept the contract within seven business days to confirm the Incomplete. Otherwise, the contract is nullified. If the contract is nullified or 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 (or 28 days for eight-week courses) after the last day of the term in which the I was submitted. If this 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 then, the Incomplete is converted to a final grade of F. Once the F is recorded, the student, the advisor, and the faculty member are notified by e-mail. The provost or their designee approves final grades resulting from conversion of the Incomplete designation.

An IN is assigned in the following cases: (1) individuals in a practicum or internship who are prevented by circumstances beyond their control from completing their practicum or internship by scheduled deadlines; (2) students in courses with a multi-semester component which are not completed by grading deadlines.

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. The WF is treated the same as the regular F; it counts against the student’s grade point average and is repeatable only under the provisions outlined below.

The @W represents an administrative withdrawal from a course. It is assigned to any student on an official class roll who has never attended a class session.

The @F represents an administrative failure of a course. It can be assigned by either the instructor or the Registrar to any student who exceeds the permissible number of absences in a course. This grade is treated the same as the regular F; it counts against the student’s grade point average and is repeatable only under the provisions outlined below.

Even when an @W or @F has already been assigned by the Registrar, an instructor may assign a regular F at the end of the term as he/she deems appropriate.

A student only has one opportunity within a program to repeat a course in which they received a grade equivalent to an F, including @F, or WF, and replace the grade in the overall GPA calculation as described under the provisions below.

The FX grade is assigned for reasons of academic dishonesty and counts against a student’s GPA just as 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.

Once a grade has been submitted to the Registrar, it cannot be changed except in the event of a clerical error or an error in calculation, or as a result of the appeal process.

A student who has a question about a grade should consult the instructor as soon as possible. A student who believes a grade to be inaccurate or unfair may address the matter following the process described in Academic Grievance and Appeal Procedures.

Under no circumstances will a grade be changed after having been reported to the Registrar without the approval of the applicable associate provost.

Grades will not be recorded if the student’s account is in arrears unless satisfactory arrangements have been made with the Student Accounts Office.

WF Grade

Any admitted student receiving a grade of WF in a graduate course will be suspended from the program in which the grade was received. The student may reapply to that program after one year. Dual-degree-seeking students who receive a WF in a course that applies to both programs will be suspended from both programs. The program graduate faculty makes the decision on whether to readmit, and, if readmitted, the stipulations that will apply. If readmitted, the student must repeat at Gardner-Webb the course in which he or she received the WF, making at least a B. If a grade of B or higher is not earned, the student will be dismissed from the program. The course must be repeated the first time it is offered at the student’s site or online after the student’s return. Only the higher grade will be counted in calculating the Gardner-Webb grade point average, although the lower grade will remain on the official transcript.

@F Grade

Any admitted student receiving a grade of @F in a graduate course will be suspended from the program in which the grade was received. The student may reapply to that program after one year. Dual-degree-seeking students who receive an @F in a course that applies to both programs will be suspended from both programs. The program graduate faculty makes the decision on whether to readmit, and, if readmitted, the stipulations that will apply. If readmitted, the student must repeat at Gardner-Webb the course in which he or she received the @F, making at least a B. If a grade of B or higher is not earned, the student will be dismissed from the program.The course must be repeated the first time it is offered at the student’s site or online after the student’s return. Only the higher grade will be counted in calculating the Gardner-Webb grade point average, although the lower grade will remain on the official transcript.

F Grade

Any admitted student receiving a grade of F in a graduate course will be suspended from the program in which the grade was received. The student may reapply to that program after one year. Dual-degree-seeking students who receive an F in a course that applies to both programs will be suspended from both programs. The program graduate faculty makes the decision on whether to readmit, and, if readmitted, the stipulations that will apply. If readmitted, the student must repeat at Gardner-Webb the course in which he or she received the F, making at least a B. If a grade of B or higher is not earned, the student will be dismissed from the program. The course must be repeated the first time it is offered at the student’s site or online after the student’s return. Only the higher grade will be counted in calculating the Gardner-Webb grade point average, although the lower grade will remain on the official transcript. No more than one F (or its equivalent WF or @F) may be replaced in the overall GPA calculation.

FX Grade

Any admitted student receiving a grade of FX in a graduate course will be suspended from the program in which the grade was received. The student may reapply to that program after one year. Dual-degree-seeking students who receive an F in a course that applies to both programs will be suspended from both programs. The program graduate faculty makes the decision on whether to readmit, and, if readmitted, the stipulations that will apply. If readmitted, the student must repeat at Gardner-Webb the course in which he or she received the F, making at least a B. If a grade of B or higher is not earned, the student will be dismissed from the program. 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.

C Grade

A student who receives nine hours of C grades will be suspended from the program in which the grades were received. The student may reapply to that program after one year. The program graduate faculty makes the decision on whether to readmit and, if readmitted, the stipulations that will apply. If the student earns only a total of nine credit hours of C grades in different graduate programs, the program faculty may stipulate not to suspend the student and to allow continued work, on probation status, until the 3.0 is reached.

Grade Point Average

A graduate student’s general academic performance is indicated by a current-term grade point average (GPA) and a cumulative GPA. The current-term and cumulative GPAs are determined by dividing earned quality points by attempted credit hours. Both values are calculated based only on work completed at Gardner-Webb in the student’s current degree or certificate program of enrollment. In addition, a total institutional GPA is calculated and represents combined academic work at Gardner-Webb as of the last term of attendance. The cumulative GPA in the student’s current degree or certificate program determines the student’s eligibility for graduation.