2022-2023 Cal Poly Humboldt Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Cal Poly Humboldt Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Grades and GPA


Return to: Academic Regulations & Enrollment   


Final Academic Record

After a student’s degree is awarded, the academic record (i.e. the transcript) is final and no further changes, additions, adjustments, or amendments will be considered other than corrections of data-entry errors. Students are advised to verify all appropriate grade changes, GPA adjustments, and petitions have been filed and processed prior to their final semester. 

Grade Appeals

Consistent with CSU Executive Order 1037, Cal Poly Humboldt has adopted policies that provide for the redress of student concerns about certain academic decisions made by faculty. The following procedures, which implement said policies, are established pursuant to authority assigned to the Grade Appeal Committee and are administered by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Students may elect to use these procedures when they are unable to resolve academic disputes with members of the faculty. The Grade Appeal Policy is available on the Cal Poly Humboldt Policies website. 

The purpose of this policy is to establish fair and equitable means by which students may appeal assigned course grades and other academic decisions. Complaints other than discrimination or unprofessional conduct against faculty, staff, or administrators by students should follow the procedures outlined in the Grievance Policy and Procedures for Students (University Management Letter 00-01). Charges of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation filed by students or applicants for admission to the University are addressed in a separate policy accessible on the University’s Title IX and Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation webpage.

Grade Processing

Grades may be viewed in Student Center. Grades for fall semester are available in January; spring grades are available at the end of May; summer grades are available in mid-August. Grades are not sent by mail or email.

Grading Symbols and GPA Calculation

Letter Grades

Grades of A and A- indicate outstanding achievement of course objectives. Grades of B+, B and B- indicate very good, commendable achievement of course objectives. Grades of C+, C and C-  indicate satisfactory achievement of course objectives. Grades of D+ and D indicate minimum performance. A grade of F indicates failure without credit.

AU (Audit) 

An AU grade refers to the student’s status as an auditor. See “Auditing a Course” under Academic Regulations in this catalog for further details. Auditing a course does not earn academic or degree credit.

CR (Credit)

A grade of CR indicates satisfactory achievement of course requirements. Does not affect GPA calculation.  

Credit Policy

A maximum of 24 semester units of credit graded (mandatory and/or optional) courses taken at Cal Poly Humboldt will be counted toward the bachelor’s degree. Courses used to fulfill major requirements may not be taken on an optional credit/no credit grade basis. Check with your academic advisor for more information. Students may take only one optional CR/NC course per semester at Cal Poly Humboldt. 

Evaluating Credit

For an undergraduate, unclassified post-baccalaureate, and second bachelor’s degree student, credit is equivalent to a passing grade (A, B, C, or C-). For a graduate student who is in a master’s degree program, or a credential-seeking student, credit is equivalent to a passing grade (A, B, or B-).

I (Incomplete)

The grade “I” indicates that a portion of required coursework has not been completed and evaluated in the prescribed time period due to unforeseen, but fully justified reasons, and that there is still a possibility of earning credit. It is the responsibility of the student to bring pertinent information to the attention of the instructor and to determine, from the instructor, the remaining course requirements which must be satisfied to remove the Incomplete. The instructor of the course will complete an Authorized Incomplete form, available online via the Faculty Center. Students accept the Incomplete Contract in their Student Center. The date by which the course is to be completed will be stated; however, no more than one year from the time the class ended will be allowed to complete the requirements (except due to special circumstances as approved by instructor and submission of an Extension of the One-Year Time Limit for Removal of an Incomplete Grade). Either the instructor will change the Incomplete to an appropriate grade or it will administratively be changed to either a letter grade of F (Failure) and will be included in the student’s grade point average or to a grade of NC (No Credit) depending on the grade mode of the course. An extension of the one-year time limit (maximum of one additional year) may be granted by petition for circumstances beyond a student’s control. The petition must be submitted by no later than the last Friday of classes during the semester the incomplete is set to expire. [Once a final grade is assigned to the course, students are NOT eligible for an extension; a student has the option of repeating the course, subject to the limits of the repeat policy.]

NC (No Credit) 

NC indicates unsatisfactory achievement of course requirements. For an undergraduate, unclassified post-baccalaureate, and second bachelor’s degree student, No credit is equivalent to a D+ or lower. For a graduate student who is in a master’s degree program, or a credential-seeking student, no credit is equivalent to a C+ or lower. This grade is not used in grade point calculation. Although NC does not affect GPA calculation, some universities and many graduate schools interpret an NC grade as an F.

Evaluating No Credit

For an undergraduate student no credit is equivalent to a D+ or lower. For a graduate student who is in a master’s degree program, or a credential-seeking student, no credit is equivalent to a C+ or lower.

RD (Report Delayed) 

RD is assigned by the Registrar and indicates that due to circumstances beyond the control of the student, a grade has not been reported to the Office of the Registrar.

RP (Report in Progress) 

RP is used in conjunction with thesis project and other courses where work assigned extends beyond one academic term. The RP indicates that work is in progress but that assignment of a final grade must await completion of additional work. RP is not included in the student’s grade point average. Work is to be completed in one year except for master’s thesis courses. Master’s thesis courses with an RP grade must be completed within seven years from the end of the term in which it was assigned. If an undergraduate student does not complete the coursework within one year, the RP grade will be administratively changed to a grade of F (Failure) and will be included in the student’s grade point average or to a grade of NC (No Credit) depending on the grade mode of the course. If a graduate student does not complete the coursework within seven years, the RP grade will be administratively changed to a grade of F (Failure) and will be included in the student’s grade point average or to a grade of NC (No Credit) depending on the grade mode of the course.

W (Official Withdrawal)

The grading symbol “W” on the transcript indicates the student was permitted to withdraw from the course after the deadline with an approved and documented reason. This grading symbol carries no connotation of quality of student performance and is not used in calculating grade point average. If a student withdraws completely from Cal Poly Humboldt, an instructor has the right to override a W with an F or NC, depending on the grade mode of the course. Effective fall 2009, students are only permitted to withdraw (serious and compelling reasons) from 18 semester units. Students who find it necessary to withdraw after enrolling must follow official withdrawal procedures by filing a request with the Office of the Registrar. For additional information, see Withdrawal from the Institution 

WU (Unauthorized Withdrawal) 

Unauthorized Withdrawal (WU): The grading symbol “WU” indicates that an enrolled student did not follow the procedures to officially withdraw from the course and also failed to complete course requirements. It is used when, in the opinion of the instructor, completed assignments or course activities or both were insufficient to make normal evaluation of academic performance possible. For purposes of grade point average and progress point computation this symbol is equivalent to an “F”.

Petition for Grade Forgiveness of First “WU” Grade(s)

In the first semester that an undergraduate student receives one or more “WU” grades at Cal Poly Humboldt, the student may petition the Office of the Registrar to apply grade forgiveness to the “WU” grade. With grade forgiveness, the “WU” grade remains on the student transcript, however the grade(s) are excluded from the GPA calculations.

  • The undergraduate student may petition the Office of the Registrar at any time prior to degree awarding. After the degree has been awarded, petitions will not be considered.
  • Petitions will only be considered for the first term a student receives one or more “WU” grades at Cal Poly Humboldt. Petitions will not be permitted in subsequent semesters and does not apply to grades received at other institutions.
  • These units will not be considered “repeat units” as specified in systemwide repeat policy (undergraduate students may still repeat up to 16 semester units with grade forgiveness, plus an additional 12 units with grade averaging).

# (No Academic or Degree Credit)

The # symbol following a grade on the student’s transcript or in the Degree Audit Report for Students (DARS) indicates courses that do not earn academic or degree credit.

Grade Point Values and GPA Calculation

Grade Point Values and GPA Calculation
Grade Grade Points Used in GPA Calculation
A 4.0 Yes
A- 3.7 Yes
B+ 3.3 Yes
B 3.0 Yes
B- 2.7 Yes
C+ 2.3 Yes
C 2.0 Yes
C- 1.7 Yes
D+ 1.3 Yes
D 1.0 Yes
F 0.0 Yes
AU 0.0 No
CR 0.0 No
I 0.0 No (see Incomplete for details)
NC 0.0 No
RD 0.0 No
RP 0.0 No (See Report in Progress for details) 
W 0.0 No
WU 0.0 Yes

Semester Honors

Dean’s List

An undergraduate student who completes at least 12 graded (A-F) units with a minimum term grade point average of 3.50 is designated on the Dean’s List. This designation appears on the student’s academic transcript.

Presidential Scholar

An undergraduate student who completes at least 12 letter graded units with a minimum term grade point average of 3.85 is designated a Presidential Scholar. This designation appears on the student’s academic transcript.