Grading Policies and Procedures Download to print

The transcript is an accurate and complete historical record of work attempted at the university. Changes to transcript entries that alter the enrollment history of a student are not to be made.

ACADEMIC GRADES

The following grades are determined and assigned by faculty based upon appraisal and evaluation of student performance in completing requirements of a course:

* Please refer to the Pass/Fail Grade policy below for conditions governing the acceptability of pass/fail grades at Kent State.

ADMINISTRATIVE MARKS

The following administrative marks are assigned when a letter grade is not appropriate.

* A course receiving the AU, NF or SF mark is not applied toward a student’s course load for financial aid and other purposes.

** Please refer to the College of Podiatric Medicine section in the University Catalog for procedures for withdrawal.

PASS/FAIL GRADE POLICY

Students who wish to pursue an unfamiliar field or otherwise expand their educational boundaries beyond the requirements of any declared academic program may request to take certain undergraduate courses on a pass/fail basis. The purpose of this option is to foster experimentation by providing students with the opportunity to explore a broad range of coursework without affecting their grade point average.

Students may not request the pass/fail grading option for the following types of courses:

• Courses used to meet requirements in a student's major, minor, concentration or certificate program, or to meet college general requirements for the student's degree.
• Courses designated as Kent Core (general education requirement).
• Courses numbered 00000-09999 (developmental).
• Courses numbered 50000-89999 (graduate).
• Courses graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U).

Pass/fail grading is subject to the following conditions:

1. Students whose overall GPA is below 2.000 after their most recent graded term are not eligible to request the pass/fail grading option. Transfer students admitted on probation are not eligible to request the pass/fail grading option in their first term.
2. Students may take only one course per term on a pass/fail basis.
3. Instructors will not be informed of students’ selection of the pass/fail grading option. Regular passing letter grades (e.g., B, C, D) that are reported by the instructor will be converted to a Pass (Y) grade. Letter grades of F (Fail), NF (Never Attended–Fail) and SF (Stopped Attending–Fail) reported by the instructor will be converted to a Fail (Z) grade.
4. Under no circumstances will Pass (Y) or Fail (Z) grades be converted to regular grades.
5. Students who earn Pass (Y) grades and later declare a major, minor, concentration or certificate program may apply the pass/fail credit to program requirements, if applicable, but all subsequent required coursework must be completed with regular grading.
6. A maximum 12 hours of Pass credit may be applied toward a declared undergraduate program.
7. Pass (Y) and Fail (Z) grades are not used in computing grade point averages and do not satisfy specific required grades (other than the minimum D grade) in course prerequisites and program requirements.

In order to request the pass/fail grading option, students must submit a Pass/Fail Grade Request form to the Office of the University Registrar. Students may not change grading options, including pass/fail, after the final day of course registration. Information about schedule adjustment deadlines, which includes deadlines for changes to grading options, is located in the Registration policy in the University Catalog.

GRADE/MARK-TO-GRADE CHANGE POLICY

With the exception of the IN, IP and NR marks, once grades or marks are submitted, they are final and will not be changed except in cases of administrative error. Grades will not be changed by allowing the students to do additional work (e.g., retaking exams; redoing papers; submitting extra credit papers, reports) or by using criteria other than those applied to all students in the class.

In the event of a possible administrative error, the students must contact the instructor as soon as possible following the awarding of the grade. If the instructor is not available, the department/school chair/director should be contacted.

Grade appeals for reasons other than administrative error must follow established policy and procedures for student academic complaints, see policies 4-02.3 for Kent Campus and 8-01.4 for regional campuses in the University Policy Register (www.kent.edu/policyreg).

Approved grade change requests for reasons other than removal of the IN, IP and NR marks must be submitted no later than the end of three consecutive terms after the grade was submitted or before the student’s degree is posted officially to the permanent academic record, whichever comes first.* No challenge will be considered or adjustment made after that period. Deadline for removing the IN mark is noted in the Administrative Marks section above.

* Request for a grade change in the College of Podiatric Medicine for posted scores (e.g., didactic exams, quizzes, lab practicals), course or rotation grades or other forms of evaluation must be submitted within seven calendar days of posting or receipt. All grade change requests for reasons other than removal of an F grade or an IN mark must be submitted within the first two weeks of the succeeding academic term. No challenge will be considered or adjustment made after that period.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE

Quality points are awarded on the following scale:

• Each hour of A equals 4.000 points
• Each hour of A- equals 3.700 points
• Each hour of B+ equals 3.300 points
• Each hour of B equals 3.000 points
• Each hour of B- equals 2.700 points
• Each hour of C+ equals 2.300 points
• Each hour of C equals 2.000 points
• Each hour of C- equals 1.700 points
• Each hour of D+ equals 1.300 points
• Each hour of D equals 1.000 point
• Each hour of F equals 0.000 points
• Each hour of NF equals 0.000 points
• Each hour of SF equals 0.000 points
• Each hour of U equals 0.000 points

A grade point average is determined by dividing the total number of points earned by the number of quality hours taken. Totals are extended to three decimal points and are not rounded up.

As an example, assume a student has completed 30 credit hours with a grade distribution of 3 hours of A, 3 hours of B, 3 hours of B-, 15 hours of C, 4 hours of D and 2 hours of F.

Dividing 63.100 by 30, a grade point average of 2.103 is obtained, which is slightly above a C average. Cumulative averages are computed by dividing the total quality points by the total quality hours. Grades of S, Y and Z are not included in grade point average.

GRADE REPORTS

Final grades are reported at the close of each academic term and become a part of the students’ permanent records. Grades are available in FlashLine.

MIDTERM EVALUATION

A midterm evaluation grade is completed between the fourth and seventh week for all students in lower-division undergraduate courses (levels 00000, 10000, 20000). Midterm evaluation grades are not given for summer or flexible-scheduled courses due to the short duration of these offerings. Midterm results are available to academic advisors and college/school/campus deans for the purpose of intervening when achievement is considered unsatisfactory according to program or university requirements. Students will be able to view their midterm grades in FlashLine for the fall or spring semester in progress. Midterm grades are not included as part of the students’ academic transcript.

TRANSCRIPTS

The integrity of academic transcripts is fundamental to the validity of coursework and degrees certified by the university. Therefore, all student transcript entries (grades and other notations) are finalized when the degree is officially posted to the permanent academic record following the effective date of graduation (visit the University Registrar website for the degree-posting deadline).