Grade Information

The policy approved by UCC in the Fall 2002 concerns the period of time to complete "Q" grades. The policy states, "the maximum time that 'Q' grades will be allowed to stay on a record, without conversion to a grade of 'F', will be three (3) years."

The grade of I (incomplete) should only be requested if you have successfully completed a majority of the work for the course and due to overwhelming and unavoidable circumstances that are beyond your control (e.g., serious illness, death in the family), you are unable to complete all the requirements of the course. Being awarded an I is a privilege not a right of the student and the decision to grant an incomplete grade rests solely with the course instructor. When permission is granted by a faculty member, the approval signature affirms that the remaining assignments/requirements will be communicated to the student.

Stipulations regarding incomplete grades:

• Students should rarely request an incomplete grade.
• You must be passing the course and be able to complete the remaining course assignments without attending additional classes or needing additional instruction from the faculty member. Incomplete grades are typically awarded near the end of the semester when only a small amount of graded materials is required of the student.
• If you do not complete the work for a course in which you received a grade of I by the last day of classes (before final exam week) of the next full semester, you will receive a grade of F for that course.
• If the student is failing a course, an I cannot be awarded in place of the failing grade.
• If you repeat a course in which you have been awarded an I grade, the I grade will convert to a grade of F.

Incompletes can be extremely problematic:

• You cannot graduate from the university with a temporary grade on your record.
• An incomplete grade does not prevent academic action for dismissal.
• Incomplete grades affect the number of credits earned in the short term and may have an impact on financial aid eligibility, athletic eligibility, or visa status for international students.

• The first day attendance policy allows faculty to remove students from a course if they do not attend the first class session and do not provide notice to the faculty or the department secretary. This also applies to the first class after a student adds a course during schedule adjustment. This policy is not enforced during the summer sessions.
• If students are dropped from a course this way, they may only reschedule if it is still open during schedule adjustment.
• Even if students do not attend the first class, they are still responsible for officially dropping the course during schedule adjustment. Otherwise, they may remain scheduled for the course, which can result in fees being charged to them and a grade of "F" on their academic record.
• For more information on grading policies, please refer to the College Catalog under "Academic Policies and Procedures".

Alternate Grade Modes

Spring 2020

The university's regular letter grading scale for undergraduates is A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, and F, and for graduate students it is A, A-, B+, B, B-, C, and F. Because of the change in how instruction was delivered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty used the regular letter grades with the exception that the F grade was replaced with NC. NC stands for no credit. Unlike a grade of F, the NC grade will not impact the QPA because it has no quality points, whereas the F grade has zero quality points. 

Both graduate and undergraduate students were able to choose which courses (none, one, two, three, etc., up to all courses) they wanted to apply the alternate grade mode. For any course where the alternate grade mode was selected, letter grades of A-D were replaced with a grade of PASS. NC grades remained NC grades regardless of grade mode selected. This option was not made available to students seeking teacher certification and those enrolled in ROTC program at the time grades were processed. 

Fall 2020 and Spring 2021

The university's regular grading scale for undergraduate students is A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, and F. Faculty will use the regular letter grade as normal. 

Undergraduate students only were able to choose which courses (none, one, two, three, etc., up to all courses) that they wanted to apply the alternate grade mode. For any course where the alternate grade mode was selected, letter grades of A-C were replaced with a grade of PASS, and letter grades of D were replaced with a PASS*. F grades remained as F grades. This option was not available to students seeking teacher certification. 

To access the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory request form, click here

A request to change an undergraduate course to the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option may be made only during the first 2 weeks of the fall/spring semester and only during the first 4 days of the winter/summer semester. After the deadline, no changes will be made.

Under the satisfactory/unsatisfactory option grades received from courses will not be used in determining the cumulative grade point average. If you receive grades of “C” or better, an “S” will be recorded on your transcript and credits will be counted toward graduation. However, grades of “D” or “F” will result in a “U” and no credit will be given.

The following policies apply to the satisfactory/unsatisfactory option:

• Only full-time undergraduate students who have completed one academic year (30 credits) with a QPA of 2.5 or better are eligible.
• You may only elect 3 credits (or one four credit course) per semester using the satisfactory/unsatisfactory option, for a maximum of 10 credits during your time at Shippensburg University.
• Courses required by your major/minor may not be taken under this option.
• The five required courses in general education may not be taken under the satisfactory/unsatisfactory option.
• You may not schedule more than 1 course using this option in a given department or in a required sequence of course offerings within a major.