Grades

TRADITIONAL LETTER GRADES

It is assumed that the student wishes to earn traditional letter grades for courses unless another option is selected (see below) at registration. Traditional letter grades are: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F

A student failing to complete all course requirements and failing to officially withdraw from a class by the established deadline will receive a grade of F. Please refer to the Drop/Add Policy for a complete statement on withdrawal policies and procedures.

Final grade reports are not sent to students at the end of the semester. Students may access grade reports, including official copies of their transcripts, via MyBLUE.

Audit Grading

Audit grading does not result in the accumulation of credit hours applicable to a program of study. No audited course may be subsequently granted credit unless it is repeated as a re-registered course under the traditional grading option.

Auditing is generally limited to one course per semester, but is not specifically limited to a cumulative total. Auditing may be opted without regard for the student's classification. The student must adhere to the following conditions in order to audit a course.

  1. The AUDIT grading option must be declared at the Registrar's Office by the end of the first week of the semester (Fall and Spring) or by the end of the first day of class (Summer).
  2. Full tuition will be charged for an AUDITED Class.
  3. The AUDIT grading option cannot be changed after the first week of the semester (Fall and Spring) or after the end of the first class day (Summer).

Credit/No Credit

A student may elect one course each semester (a summer session is considered a semester) for which they choose to be graded on the basis of credit/no credit. A student must declare the grading option by the midpoint of the course. Credit/no credit refers only to a final grade in the course, as recorded by the Registrar. Nothing will change in the content of the course or the course examinations. When a student completes the course, they will receive a letter grade. If that grade is at least a "C," the student will receive credit for the course. If the letter grade is "C-" or lower, the student will receive no credit for the course. In either case, the student's GPA will not be affected. Students may elect this grading option, subject to the following restrictions:

  1. The student must have met all of the prerequisites required for enrollment in the course chosen.
  2. The CR/NC grading option cannot be designated for courses required in a major, comprehensive major, minor, or endorsement area of study.
  3. The student may choose only one course per semester, unless it is an established function of the course, to be taken on a credit/no credit basis.
  4. A maximum of 24 credit hours may be taken on a credit/no credit basis.
  5. Students wishing to declare a course CR/NC must do so by the midpoint of the course.
    1. Graduate Students: At the graduate level, credit/no-credit grading must be a function of the course and may not be the choice of the student.

The responsibility for assuring that the student satisfies the above restrictions lies with the student and their advisor. 

Incomplete

The mark of "I" (Incomplete) is reserved for conditions in which the student is unable to complete the course by the end of the term due to highly unusual circumstances beyond their control (e.g., serious illness, etc). Under these circumstances, the instructor should be notified as soon as possible, during the semester. In such cases, the instructor may award the student an "I" (incomplete) instead of a final grade at the end of the semester. The "I" is recorded on the student's grade report and transcript.

Unless an extension of time is granted, by the Registrar's Office, an incomplete must be removed within twelve calendar months from the end of the semester in which the "I" was recorded by completion of course requirements established by the instructor. If the coursework is not completed and a change of grade is not filed with the Registrar's Office within twelve calendar months from the time it was awarded, or an extension has not been granted by the Registrar's office, the "I" will convert to a grade of "F" on the student's transcript. Some courses are eligible to be repeated, in which case the "F" will be marked as a repeated course on the student's transcript.

Public Posting of Grades by Instructors

Instructors who wish to post grades in a public area (outside their office, on the classroom door, or in an advising area) must be aware of the limitations placed on such practices by the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974. No grades may be posted by any means that allow the identity of the student to be known. For example, social security numbers cannot be used to post grades. Faculty members should assign codes or alternate identification numbers known only to the students if they wish to post grades in a public area. Any questions regarding the FERPA regulations can be directed to the Registrar's Office.

Repeated Courses

In order to improve a competency level and/or grade point average, a student may register for and repeat a course(s) he/she previously completed at UNK. The most recent grade earned must be used as the official grade for the course, even when that grade is lower than the previous grade in the same course. A grade of "NC" (No Credit) cannot be used to replace a letter grade previously earned.

A student who re-registers/repeats a course(s) must notify the Registrar's Office so the appropriate transcript notations will be made and his/her cumulative grade point average will be recalculated to reflect the most recent grade(s) earned.

Courses designed to be repeated, where additional hours may be earned, are not eligible for the re-registration option. Such courses include, but are not limited to, Independent Study, Practicum and Internships. Courses assigned a subtitle can only be considered for re-registration if the student enrolls in the course under the same subtitle.

Grades earned in equivalent courses taken at another campus of the University (UNL, UNO, UNMC) may be used to replace a grade earned at UNK. Only those courses identified as University equivalents by the academic departments and listed in the UN Equivalency Guide may be considered under this policy. No other substitutions will be allowed. Courses taken outside the University of Nebraska system cannot be used to replace a grade earned at UNK.