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Grading Scales
GPA | Grading Scales | Changing Grades | Repeating Courses
Grades are important to you for a number of reasons. You should know how they are determined and what they mean.
(Registrar's Office information on grading)
A-F Grading Scale
Students ordinarily enroll in classes for which they will receive a letter grade of A+, A, A-, B+…F. How a given instructor determines grades will ordinarily be described on the class syllabus. Grades may be based on performance on examinations, quality of papers or projects, classroom attendance, classroom participation and/or group contributions. Higher grades reflect greater achievement. A-F grading is considered to be "normal" grading and no special steps are needed to enroll in this way.
S/U Grading
The "S" in S/U grading stands for "satisfactory" work. The "U" stands for "unsatisfactory" work. (Some other schools call this type of grading option "pass/fail.") Beginning students and students on probation may not choose to enroll in courses on an S/U basis (unless the course is only available S/U). All other students are eligible to enroll in one, but no more than one, course on an S/U grading option each semester.
Instructors do not know who in their classes is enrolled with A-F grading and who with S/U grading. They submit to the University Registrar at the end of a semester a standard A-F grade. If the student is enrolled S/U the grade will be converted to "S" if a grade of "C-" or higher is submitted. The grade will be converted to "U" if the grade reported is a "D" or "F". Neither grades of "S" or "U" contribute to the grade point average. Only grades of "S" earn credit toward graduation.
There are complex issues to consider when enrolling S/U. For example, some departments require some specific courses to be graded A-F; some awarded honors for high grades require that academic work be graded A-F; some requirements may be satisfied with a grade of "D" but if the course is taken "S/U" a "D" is "unsatisfactory" and carries no credit.
Because of these and other issues, the University requires that students speak with and receive approval from their advisor and academic advising unit before enrolling in a course S/U. Once approved, student must enroll in S/U courses (or change the grading option of an already-registered class to S/U) in person at 130 Jesse Hall. This cannot be done using myZou. This may only be done within the first two weeks of a regular 16-week semester.
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Auditing Classes
Occasionally a student decides to take a class for which neither credit nor a grade is earned. To do this the student audits the class or, in other words, signs up as a "Hearer." Students enrolled as Hearers have full rights and full responsibilities in the class. Upon completion, the course appears on the student's transcript with a grade of "H" (hearer). This grade does not affect the student's grade point average. To enroll as a Hearer, you must do so within the time allowed and by following the same procedures outlined for changing grading option.
Incomplete Grades
A grade of Incomplete ("I") is assigned, as the name implies, that the work in a course has, for good reason, not yet been completed. Assigning an Incomplete, just like assigning any other grade, is the prerogative of the instructor. However, faculty regulations permit an "I" to be assigned only if the student is passing the course (that is, earning a grade of "D" or higher) and provides convincing evidence of reasons for postponing the assignment of a grade.
When an instructor assigns an incomplete grade he/she will inform the student of what needs to be done to complete the course and when that work needs to be done. When the required work is completed the instructor will change the grade from "I" to whatever grade the student earned. The Incomplete grade is not calculated in the student's grade point average. Once replaced, however, the new grade is retroactively calculated into the grade point average.
Students must, unless the instructor specifies a shorter time period, remove the incomplete grade within one calendar year of the date it was assigned. Failure to complete the work will result in the "I" changing automatically to an "F", with the "F" calculated into that semester's grade point average.
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Grades Assigned Following Withdrawal
Students are allowed to drop courses through the first third of a semester with no record of enrollment in a specific course appearing on the transcript.
Between the first third and the second third of the semester a student may withdraw from individual courses. However, the instructor will assign a grade assigned to the course from which the student has withdrawn. The grade assigned will be a "W" if the student was passing the course at the time of withdrawal; that is, if the grade was somewhere between "D-" and "A+". A grade of "W" appears on the transcript, but does not affect the student's grade point average. If a student is failing a class at the time of withdrawal, the instructor will submit a grade of "F". There is no difference on the transcript between an "F" in a completed course and an "F" in a withdrawn course. Both are averaged into the student's GPA.
During the last third of a semester students must either keep all their classes or withdraw from all their classes. For students who withdraw grades, either "W" or "F" as described above, will be entered for each class. There is no "medical withdrawal" at MU that allows students to withdraw late in the semester for medical reasons without grades being assigned. There is, however, an exception made for students called up for active military duty during a semester. Specifics of this policy can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.
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Midterm Grades
MU does not officially post mid-term grades, but faculty will be able to regularly update you on how well you are doing in their courses. You should always check to see what grade you earned on a paper, quiz or exam. You should always review what you did right and what you did wrong on an assignment. You should always ask for your instructor's or teaching assistant's help if you are confused. If you fail to monitor how well you are doing and what you can do to modify that performance, it is unlikely that the results will change in the future.
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