Grades

Grades, with numerical values corresponding to these letters, are recorded as follows:

Grade Description
A Excellent, 90-100
B Good, 80-89
C Average, 70-79
D Passing, 60-69
F Failure, below 60
FN Failure, (Non-attendance) below 60
I Incomplete. Assigned at the discretion of the instructor.
P Pass. Assigned when a student has selected the pass/fail grading option. Equivalent to a “D” or higher.
W/WX Withdrawal. Indicates that the student has officially dropped or withdrawn from the University.
NG No grade posted by instructor. Indicates that no grade was posted by the instructor teaching the course.
CR Credit. Indicates successful credit by examination or credit received in courses that do not meet the normal or traditional framework of course scheduling and do not lend themselves to letter grading.
NC No Credit. Indicates unsuccessful credit by examination or no credit received in courses that do not meet the normal or traditional framework of course scheduling and do not lend themselves to letter grading.
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Students enrolled in the following courses must abide by the requirements below to be considered for financial aid on a full-time basis.

  1. Students enrolled in the 5305 classes or in EDED 5329 Educational Research, or in MGMT 5335 Advanced Business Policy are required to be continuously enrolled every semester in the class until they receive a grade in the class. For each semester they are enrolled but do not complete the requirements, the student is given an IP (In Progress). Students will be allowed two IPs (long semester enrollments). If at the end of the second enrollment in the class, the student still has not completed the requirements, the student will be placed on FAS (Financial Aid Suspension).
  2. Students enrolled in the 5306 Proposal stage of the thesis are required to be continuously enrolled every semester in the class until they receive a grade in the class. For each semester they are enrolled but do not complete the requirements, the student is given an IP (In Progress). Students will be allowed two IPs (long semester enrollments). If at the end of the second enrollment in the class, the student still has not completed the requirements, the student will be placed on FAS (Financial Aid Suspension).
  3. Students enrolled in the 5306 Thesis stage of the thesis are required to be continuously enrolled every semester in the class until they receive a grade in the class. For each semester they are enrolled but do not complete the requirements, the student is given an IP (In Progress). Students will be allowed two IPs (long semester enrollments). If at the end of the second enrollment in the class, the student still has not completed the requirements, the student will be placed on FAS (Financial Aid Suspension).

Since summer sessions are considered by the Financial Aid Office to be used for clearing any deficiencies, IPs received during summer sessions will not be counted against the allowable number of IPs for Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.

Students, who are placed on FAS because of the IPs, will have to submit an IP Appeal which will be evaluated by a committee made up of the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies, Dean of the respective college, and the respective department chair.

In Progress (IP) 

If a student does not make satisfactory progress in the 5305/5306 courses or in EDED 5329 Educational Research, EDCG 5333 Research in Counseling or MGMT 5335 Advanced Business Policy during a given semester or term, the notation In Progress (IP) is given as a grade. The student must register for the same course again in a subsequent semester or term until the course is successfully completed. An In Progress notation in the 5305/5306 courses or in EDED 5329 Educational Research, EDCG 5333 Research in Counseling or MGMT 5335 Advanced Business Policy will remain indefinitely as IP on the student's transcript should the student's committee approve the student for a non-thesis degree program at some later date, or should the student not complete the degree. Upon completion of the thesis/ dissertation, the In-progress (IP) grades will be changed to a letter grade (A,B,C, or F)  with a change-of-grade card submitted to the Registrar’s Office. This change-of-grade card must be submitted by the thesis/ dissertation committee chair before the end of the semester/ summer term when the student successfully completes all the thesis/ dissertation requirements.

Continuous Enrollment for Graduate Thesis

If the thesis, comprehensive examination, or specialist project is not completed during the initial period of registration/ completion for this credit, the student must maintain matriculation by enrolling in a minimum of (1) credit hour of a 5000 course or higher until the thesis or project or comprehensive examination is submitted and approved by the Department and/or the Office of Graduate Studies. In addition, students must enroll in a minimum of one (1) credit hour of Graduate Continuous Enrollment during the term in which the thesis defense is held/ comprehensive examination is taken/ specialist project is completed. Enrollment in Graduate Continuous Enrollment does not result in a grade or credit toward any degree or non-degree program.

Change of Grade 

After being reported to the Registrar, grades may not be changed unless an error has been made by the instructor. Students should review their end of semester final grades closely to ensure their accuracy. If an error or discrepancy should occur, the student should contact the appropriate professor and/or the Office of the Registrar immediately for resolution. It is recommended that those changes occur no later than the beginning of the next semester. Under no circumstances will grades be changed after one calendar year.

Repetition of a Course 

If a student repeats a course at any institution that may not be taken for additional credit, it is the policy of the University that only the last grade received in the course will count as part of a student's cumulative grade point average, whether passing or failing, other than a grade of W. However, for purposes of grade point average calculation on course work for graduation, grades stand as recorded unless the same course is repeated at this University.

Students who have received their first bachelor’s degree from this institution cannot repeat courses that were used to earn the first degree for purposes of grade point average calculation.

It is the responsibility of the student, after repeating a course, to file a special request form in the Office of the Registrar, so that the adjustment in the grade point average, when applicable, can be entered on the permanent record.

Repeated Grade Notation 

Repeated course(s) and grade(s) are not removed from the official or unofficial transcript. The repeated grade and grade points will be removed from the cumulative grade point average only. The repeated course will be identified with the letter ‘E’ next to the quality points on the transcript. Repeating a course after graduation will not change the student‘s graduation grade point average.

Scholastic Probation 

A graduate student pursuing a specific program is placed on scholastic probation if, at the end of either long semester or the second summer session, the cumulative grade point average of the student falls below 3.0. Students placed on scholastic probation are required to seek academic advising before registering for classes for the following term. Students placed on scholastic/ academic probation are not eligible for graduate assistantship appointments. If the student's cumulative grade point average is not restored to a 3.0 or better by the end of the next full semester that the student enrolls (combined summer terms count as one full semester), the student will be placed on academic dismissal and will be dropped from any courses they are registered for in any following semesters.

Academic Dismissal

The graduate student placed on academic dismissal for the first time must sit out for one complete semester (combined summer terms count as one full semester) before being permitted to petition for reinstatement to the program they were pursuing. An appeal packet for reinstatement must be submitted for review by the dean of the college for the program of study they were pursuing. The appeal deadlines are as follows:

  • Fall: June 15th
  • Spring: October 15th
  • Summer: March 15th

All appeal paperwork and documentation must be submitted before the deadline(s) listed above in order for the appeal packet to be reviewed. Appeal decisions are made by the Academic Suspension committee of each College and are final.

As part of an approved re-admission appeal packet, all students are required to develop, in consultation with their assigned graduate advisor, a student success plan. Once reinstated from academic dismissal, the graduate student must demonstrate that they successfully restored their academic standing to a 3.0 grade point average or better within one semester in order to continue towards degree program completion at the university.

If the student fails to restore their GPA to a 3.0 or better during their probation semester, the student will be academically dismissed from Graduate Studies at A&M-SA. Individual academic programs may also apply more restrictive criteria regarding probation and dismissal. Also, students will be dismissed from their graduate program for having failed twice the comprehensive examination for their graduate degree. Dismissal from an academic program will result in dismissal from A&M-SA.

Students dismissed from the university due to scholastic probation and subsequent academic dismissal have to wait for a period of three years before they can apply to any graduate programs at A&M-SA.

Satisfactory Rate of Progress 

A graduate student must exhibit a normal and reasonable rate of scholastic progress towards degree completion. If, in the opinion of the student's program/department, a graduate student doesn’t make a satisfactory rate of progress due to any reason, the student should consult with their academic/ faculty advisor to create a corrective action plan. In spite of such remedial actions, if the graduate student continues to fail to exhibit adequate scholastic progress, they may be dismissed by their graduate program/ department.

Graduation with Honors 

Only students completing undergraduate degrees with superior overall academic records will be graduated with honors.

Graduate Credit for 3000 or 4000 Level Courses

Graduate students may use a limited number of undergraduate courses to satisfy graduate degree requirements.  Graduate students must request approval to receive graduate credit for a 3000 or 4000 level course in advance of registering for course by completing the “Request to Enroll in a 3000 or 4000 Level Course for Graduate Credit From” and submitting all required documentation.  The instructor of the 3000 or 4000 level course must hold Graduate Faculty status.

The following limitations apply to all requests to receive graduate credit for 3000 or 4000 level courses:

  1. Undergraduate course credits may not be used toward a graduate degree if they were taken by the student while still an undergraduate.
  2. Undergraduate course credits must involve additional work to justify their use toward a graduate degree.  The instructor must submit a course syllabus which includes information regarding additional course requirements and enhanced student learning outcomes for graduate credit in the 3000 or 4000 level course. No more than two (2) 3000 or 4000 level courses (six hours) may be applied to a master’s/specialist degree. 
  3. Undergraduate course credits will only be awarded with a passing grade of “B” or better.
  4. Only undergraduate courses completed at A&M-San Antonio will be considered for graduate credit.

After completing the “Request to Enroll in a 3000 or 4000 Level Course for Graduate Credit” form, the student must submit it to their faculty graduate advisor in the college of their major to be routed for review.

Grade Appeals

Instructors are responsible for determining the curriculum of a course, for developing appropriate methods of evaluating student learning, for evaluating fairly, for upholding academic standards, and for enforcing policies concerning academic honesty. Decisions made by instructors regarding the quality or honesty of student work – especially decisions about course grades – are, as a matter of routine, accepted as authoritative and cannot be overturned by administrative officers. Students, however, have a right to expect instructors to have defensible course policies and to implement them in a reasonable, equitable manner.

Students who believe that they have grounds for challenging an instructor's decision regarding academic issues – excepting those pertaining to matters of academic freedom – may appeal using the procedure outlined below. Please note, if a student wishes to dispute a course grade due to violations of academic misconduct, they must go through the Academic Misconduct Process only.

Except under unusual circumstances, the entire process outlined below should be completed within 30 days from the student's request for an explanation of the grade or, for final grades, within 30 days from the date the grade was posted to the student's transcript. Grade changes will not be accepted after one academic year. The process is as follows:

  1. The student should first write an email to the instructor to request an explanation of their reasons for assigning the grade. This begins the 30 day period for the entire process to be completed.
  2. If the student is not satisfied with that explanation and wants to move forward with an appeal, the student must write letter of appeal to the instructor stating clearly their objection to the grade received and requesting a different grade. This letter should be submitted via email as soon as possible after the decision has been made.
  3. If the instructor refuses to alter their decision or grade, the student may then submit a written letter outlining their objections to the instructor’s Department Chair or immediate academic supervisor (hereafter, “Chair” will be used to mean either the Department Chair or the immediate academic supervisor). This letter should be submitted via email as soon as possible after the response from the instructor. If the Chair believes that the student’s claims may have merit, the Chair would discuss the matter with the instructor.
  4. If the student is not satisfied with the Chair’s assessment of the issue, the student may then request a review of the decision by writing to the Dean. The decision of the Dean is final.