Grading System

Calculation of Grade Point Average

Grades A, B, C, D, and F and the associated semester credit hours will be used to calculate grade point averages. The designations I, Q, W, CR, NC, and AU and the associated semester credit hours will not be used.

If a student repeats a course and requests grade forgiveness, only the last grade earned and the last semester credit hours attempted are used to compute the grade point average. If grade forgiveness is not requested, then both grades will be calculated and used to compute the grade point average (See Repeating Courses and Grade Forgiveness Policy). If the student receives a Q, W or I in the repeated course, then the previous grade continues to be used to compute the grade point average.

Hours and grade points earned at other institutions are not used in computing the grade point average.

Credit/No-Credit Option

Students may elect to enroll in some courses on a credit/no-credit basis. Certain courses in the curriculum may be taken only on a credit/no-credit basis. The following provisions apply to courses taken on a credit/no-credit basis:

1. Registration Form requiring the signature of the student’s advisor.
2. The designation CR will not be changed to a grade of A, B, C, or D.
3. The designation of CR and NC will not be used in calculating the grade point average.
4. The designation CR will be counted toward the total number of hours passed.

NOTE: Students intending to apply to law school should not take courses using the CR/NC option as most law schools interpret a CR as a "C" and an NC as an "F."

Incomplete Policy

If a student, because of extenuating circumstances, is unable to complete all of the requirements for a course by the end of the semester, then the instructor may recommend an Incomplete (I) for the course. The "I" may be assigned in lieu of a grade only when all of the following conditions are met: (a) the student has been making satisfactory progress in the course; (b) the student is unable to complete all course work or final exam due to unusual circumstances that are beyond personal control and are acceptable to the instructor; and (c) the student presents these reasons prior to the time that the final grade roster is due. The semester credit hours for an Incomplete will not be used to calculate the grade point average for a student.

The student and the instructor must submit an Incomplete Form detailing the work required and the time by which the work must be completed to their respective department chair or college dean for approval. The time limit established must not exceed one year. Should the student fail to complete all of the work for the course within the time limit, then the instructor may assign zeros to the unfinished work, compute the course average for the student, and assign the appropriate grade. If a grade has not been assigned within one year, then the Incomplete will be changed to an F.

IP Grade

The IP “in progress” grade is used for pre-defined courses such as internship or supervised practice in a public school setting that normally extend past the grading period deadline. It may also be used for a sequence of courses such as thesis and dissertation where a final grade is not recorded until the sequence is completed.

Courses that use the “IP” grade are designated as such during the course approval process or grandfathered in on approval of the Office of Academic Affairs. The “IP” grade can only be applied to such courses and does not substitute for the “I” grade. An IP grade remains on the transcript until the final grade is changed via the Change of Grade Form.

Courses graded IP are not used in calculating a student’s grade point average until graduation. At that time, courses still on the record as IP will be treated as courses attempted, but the IP will remain.

Pass/Fail Policy

To register for a class on a Pass/Fail basis, a student must have the signatures of his/her advisor and the instructor for the course on a Registration Form.

1. Students may take only one course per semester for P/F credit. Students may take only three courses on a P/F basis during their undergraduate career at UT Tyler.
2. The P/F option is not permitted to be used in the Core Curriculum.
3. The P/F option may not be used for any course that fulfills a student's major or minor requirements, including those courses which are required by, but offered outside of, the major or minor department.
4. Students on academic probation may not enroll in a course on a P/F basis.
5. A course cannot be changed from a P/F basis to letter grade or vice versa after the first five class days.
6. A final grade of P will not be changed to a grade of A, B, C, or D.
7. A final grade of P will be counted in the total number of hours passed.
8. To be eligible for the President’s or Dean’s List, a student must take a minimum of 12 semester hours of graded credit; thus 9 graded credits and 3 P/F credits do not qualify for consideration. A student who earns an “F” in a pass/fail course is not eligible for President’s or Dean’s List in the term in which the grade is assigned, regardless of the number of credits taken or GPA earned.

NOTE: Students intending to apply to law school should not take courses using the P/F option as most law schools interpret a "P" (passing) as a "D" or "C."

Repeating Courses

A student may repeat any undergraduate course previously taken at UT Tyler if the last grade received in the course was a D or F. Repeated courses may not be taken on a CR/NC or P/F basis. Students repeating a single course more than two times may be billed at a higher tuition rate. All grades will appear on the student’s official transcript. Once the baccalaureate degree has been awarded by UT Tyler, a student may repeat a course taken prior to graduation, but the repeated course will not be used to recalculate the grade point average.

Grade Forgiveness

A student will receive grade forgiveness (grade replacement) only for three course repeats during his/her undergraduate career at UT Tyler. Grade forgiveness means that only the last grade earned is used to compute the grade point average. However, all grades will appear on the student’s official transcript.

A student must file a Grade Replacement Contract with the Enrollment Services Center by the Census Date (see Academic Calendar for date) of the semester in which the course will be repeated. Failure to file a Grade Replacement Contract will result in both the original and repeated grade being used to calculate overall grade point average. In instances where a course with an original grade of D is repeated without a Grade Replacement Contract, and the repeat results in a grade of D or higher, only the credit hours from one attempt may be counted toward the 120 unique credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree (See General Baccalaureate Degree Requirements).

If a student repeats a course for grade forgiveness within two academic years of the original attempt, their academic standing for the term in which the original grade was awarded and each subsequent term will be reassessed to account for the exclusion of the original grade from the grade point average. This reassessment will not be conducted for repeats more than two years after the original grade was awarded.

If a student attempts to repeat a course but withdraws and receives an automatic “Q” or “W,” the attempt counts against the grade forgiveness limit and the original grade remains. Students may, on or prior to the Census Date, request in writing to withdraw a Grade Replacement Contract by contacting the Enrollment Services Center.

A student may not exercise grade forgiveness for courses taken at UT Tyler and repeated at another college or university, nor may grade forgiveness be used when a course taken elsewhere is repeated at UT Tyler. The grade forgiveness option may not be exercised to remove a grade awarded in a case of academic dishonesty.

Once the baccalaureate degree has been awarded by UT Tyler, grade forgiveness may not be used to replace a grade taken before graduation.

Implementation

The policy affects all students repeating courses Fall 2006 and thereafter, no matter when the course being repeated was originally taken. The grade forgiveness limit is not applicable to courses repeated before Fall 2006. Academic standing reassessment for courses repeated within two academic years is effective beginning with the Fall 2015 term, with academic standing reassessments effective only for terms Fall 2013 and more recent.

6-Drop Rule

Any student who began college for the first time as a freshman in Fall 2007 or thereafter may not drop more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career. This includes courses dropped at another 2-year or 4-year Texas public college or university. For purposes of this rule, a dropped course is any course that is dropped after the published Census Date (See Academic Calendar located at http://www.uttyler.edu/calendar/ for the date).

Exceptions to the 6-drop rule include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. totally withdrawing from the university;
2. being administratively dropped from a course by an instructor or the university;
3. dropping a course for a provable illness or disability, for care for a sick or injured person, or for a death in the immediate family or a person who has a sufficiently close relationship to the student;
4. dropping a course for documented change of work schedule;
5. dropping a course for active duty service with the U.S. armed forces or Texas National Guard;
6. dropping a course that does not carry college-level credit such as a developmental course or a zero-credit course; or
7. dropping courses taken as required co-requisites such as a lecture class with a required laboratory. In such cases the lecture and lab are counted as one drop when dropped at the same time.

Petitions for exemptions must be submitted to the Enrollment Services Center and accompanied by documentation of the extenuating circumstances beyond performance in the course. Please contact the Enrollment Services Center if you have any questions.

A grade of “Q” will appear on the official transcripts of any student who has dropped a course where an exemption or exception was granted; this takes the place of the standard “W” grade. All Texas institutions are required to honor the exemptions and exceptions granted by a transferring institution. Procedures for implementing the law vary among institutions. Therefore, students have an obligation to keep track of the number of non-exempted dropped courses across all institutions to ensure that they do not exceed the six dropped courses limit.

How to Withdraw

All students should meet with their advisor and instructor prior to withdrawing from a course. In addition, students should review the Academic Calendar located on the University home page for “W” withdrawal dates. Students are eligible to withdraw from class(es) through the 60 percent period, the final day of which is noted as the "last day to withdraw from one or more courses" on the Academic Calendar, of each semester. For more information regarding refunds, please see the Schedule of Refunds in this catalog.

Students may not officially withdraw from a course after the 60 percent period, and will receive an official grade based on their completed work in each course. Appeals to have the official grade(s) for one or more courses changed to a "W" must be submitted in writing to the Enrollment Services Center and include documentation of non-academic circumstances (e.g., family emergency, work transfer, etc.) that prevented timely withdrawal from the course. Each such appeal will be reviewed and ruled on by the Student Appeals Committee. Students will be notified of the results of their appeal via their student email accounts.

The drop form must be signed by the course instructor, the department chair, or the major college Dean. All drops at this time should be for urgent, serious, and compelling reasons. Proper documentation is required. The drop process is not complete until the signed drop form is returned to the Enrollment Services Center. Students are encouraged to keep a copy of their drop form. Students completely withdrawing from the University are not required to obtain instructor, department chair, or Dean signatures.

Dropping or withdrawing from classes may affect financial aid eligibility, veteran’s benefits, athletic eligibility, or international student status. Students may be required to consult with those departments prior to dropping or withdrawing.

Students may also withdraw by submitting a request from their Patriot email to Enroll@uttyler.edu, which must include all course information, the reason for withdrawal, and the student’s ID number. Requests from non-Patriot email accounts will not be honored. Students using this method are responsible for obtaining and forwarding instructor, department chair, or major college Dean permissions as described for standard withdrawal requests. If these permissions are obtained via emails, the permissions must originate from those individuals’ official UT Tyler email account. Student responses to one or more follow-up emails, which may include consultation regarding financial aid eligibility, veteran’s benefits, athletic eligibility, or international student status, will be required before such drop requests are finalized.

Withdrawal for Active Military Service

If a student withdraws because of a call to active military service, the university, at the student’s option, shall:

1. refund the tuition and fees paid by the student for the semester in which the student withdraws;
2. grant a student, who is eligible under the institution’s guidelines, an incomplete grade in all courses by designating “withdrawn-military” on the student’s transcript; or
3. as determined by the instructor, assign an appropriate final grade or credit to a student who has satisfactorily completed a substantial amount of coursework and who has demonstrated sufficient mastery of the course material. (See Excused Absences for Active Military Service)

Students must provide a copy of their official orders, or a statement from their commanding officer, to the Enrollment Services Center as part of exercising a withdrawal under this policy.