Grades are reported and recorded as letter grades. Graduate Students do not receive a grade of D. Student grade point averages (GPA) are calculated from quality point equivalents noted here:
| Grade | Description | Points/Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | Excellent | 4.00 |
| A | Excellent | 4.00 |
| A- | Excellent | 3.67 |
| B+ | Good | 3.33 |
| B | Good | 3.00 |
| B- | Good | 2.67 |
| C+ | Fair | 2.33 |
| C | Fair | 2.00 |
| C- | Fair | 1.67 |
| F | Failure | 0.00 |
| AF | Administrative Failure due to a missing grade.1 | |
| XF | Failure resulting from academic dishonesty.2 |
- 1
The AF grade is equivalent to the grade of F in the determination of grade point averages and academic standing (Effective spring, 2017).
- 2
The XF grade is equivalent to the grade of F in the determination of grade point averages and academic standing. (Effective fall, 2005)
A candidate for a graduate degree must complete the program with a minimum overall grade-point average of 3.00.
A course may be repeated for credit only when failed and only once. Both grades remain on the student's transcript, but only the second grade will be considered when determining GPA. Students who retake a failed course must notify the Graduate College when the retake is complete so Graduate College staff can work with the Registrar's Office to remove the failed course from the student's GPA calculations.
In certain instances, grades are assigned that will appear on the transcript, but will not be used in grade point calculation. These grades are:
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| AU | Audit (see below) |
| INC | Incomplete (see below) |
| S/U | Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (see below) |
| SP/UP | Satisfactory Progress/Unsatisfactory Progress (see below) |
| W | Withdrawn |
| AUP | Administrative Unsatisfactory Progress |
AU: Students wishing to regularly attend a course, but not receive credit, may register as an auditor, with the approval of the dean and the instructor. Auditors have no claim on the time or service of the instructor. Students must meet minimum levels of performance set by the instructor at the time of registration in order to receive an audit grade. Tuition is charged at the applicable rate. Under no circumstances will changes be made after the add/drop period to allow credit for courses audited. Graduate College tuition scholarships do not cover courses taken for Audit.
INC: This grade may be assigned when course work is not completed for reasons beyond the student's control. Incompletes require the approval of the Graduate College dean. The incomplete course requirement will be satisfied at the earliest possible date, but not longer than the beginning of the corresponding semester of the next academic year. In cases of laboratory assignments, the student must complete all work the first time that the laboratory experience is offered again. Instructors will fill out an electronic incomplete grade exception request to the Graduate College dean and include the reason for the incomplete as well as the completion date agreed to by the student and instructor. It is the student's responsibility to learn from the Graduate College dean whether the request has been approved, the expected date of completion, and, from the instructor, the nature of all outstanding requirements.
Incompletes may be approved due to extenuating medical, academic, or personal circumstances beyond the student’s control. An incomplete can only be issued with the agreement of the Dean’s Office, the faculty member, and the student. The student’s Dean’s Office is responsible for deciding whether a student’s circumstances meet the criteria for an incomplete, after which the faculty member determines whether to offer the incomplete based on established guidelines (link to RO page https://www.uvm.edu/registrar/grades). The faculty member will also establish the timeline for completion.
S/U: These grades are used in courses where the A-F grade is inappropriate, such as in seminars, internships, practica, etc. For graduate students, S and U are used to indicate levels of performance for credits received in research and may be used to indicate levels of performance in a Seminar. There are no quality points associated with the letter grades of S and U.
SP/UP: These grades are used in courses with a linkage in credits to multiple semesters such as thesis and dissertation research. Neither SP nor UP will be included in the student’s GPA. The grade of SP will be assigned when a student has made satisfactory progress during a semester prior to the final semester of the linked courses; credit will be awarded with the grade of SP. The grade of UP will be assigned when the student’s progress has been unsatisfactory and no credit will be awarded. For course work, the faculty member may change the grade of SP to a letter grade once the final grade for the multiple semester work is completed; the change must occur for all students in the course. A grade of SP cannot be changed to a UP or F based on a student not completing the final semester’s work satisfactorily. UP is a final grade. It can stand as it is, or it can be changed to an F. Grades of SP or UP for thesis or dissertation credits may not be changed to letter grades.
Grade Reporting
Grades must be reported to the Registrar’s office as soon as possible after the course is completed but not later than 72 hours after the final examination for that course. If the final exam is on the Friday of exam week, grades are due by noon on the following Tuesday.