Policy
Grades
Final course grades are recorded and preserved in the Office of the University Registrar. The following grades and grade point values are used in the college:
| Grade | Denotation | Grade Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | Outstanding | 4 |
| B | Above Average | 3 |
| C | Satisfactory | 2 |
| D | Poor | 1 |
| F | Failure | 0 |
The grade of “A” is given for outstanding achievement to excellent scholars. “B” represents above average achievement. “C” represents satisfactory achievement. “D” (poor achievement) is considered the minimum passing grade; while academic credit is awarded for a D grade, some College of Health Professions departments do not accept D grades for progression into subsequent semesters. (Note that a minimum of a 2.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average is required in order to qualify for graduation, and similar standards described in the following pages apply to progression as well. Departments reserve the right to establish higher standards.) The grade of “F” denotes failure and is given for unsatisfactory performance. No credit is earned for courses in which the grade of F is recorded.
GPA: Grade-point Average
Grade-point Average refers to the average grade point value achieved in graded courses in a given semester. Only courses in which regular letter grades (see above) are earned are used in GPA calculations. To calculate the GPA for a semester, the number of grade points for each letter grade earned is multiplied by the number of credit hours for that course, and the products are summed for all graded courses in the given semester. This sum of weighted grade points is then divided by the total number of graded credit hours for which the student was registered, and the subsequent quotient is the GPA.
CGPA: Cumulative Grade-point Average
Cumulative Grade-point Average refers to the average grade point value achieved in all graded courses appearing on the College of Health Professions transcript. Only courses in which regular letter grades (see above) are earned are used in CGPA calculations. CGPA is calculated similarly to the calculation of GPA (above), except that all graded courses on the transcript are used in the calculation.
PGPA: Program Grade-point Average
Program Grade-point Average refers to the average grade point value achieved for the College of Health Professions courses taken in a given program. Only courses in which regular letter grades (see above) are earned are used in PGPA calculations. PGPA is calculated similarly to the calculation of GPA (see above) except that only graded courses taken in the program at UAMS/CHP are used in the calculation.
Marks
The following marks are used in the college:
| Mark | Denotation |
|---|---|
| I | Incomplete |
| IP | In-Progress |
| AU | Audit |
| CR | Credit |
| P | Pass |
| NP | No Pass |
| W | Withdrawal |
| WP | Withdrawal Passing |
| WF | Withdrawal Failing |
A Mark of “I” (Incomplete)
A mark of “I” may be assigned to a student who has not completed all course requirements, but has participated in the class throughout the term/session and has demonstrated work of passing quality but needs additional time to complete as determined by the instructor. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange completion of the course requirements with the instructor and the instructor must inform the student, in writing, of the expected completion date.
An “I” grade may not be assigned if a student stops participating in the class and intends to restart classwork at a later date beyond the published class end date. A student who ceases class participation in this manner must drop/withdraw from the class. If a student must stop participating in all coursework during a term, a term withdrawal and leave of absence may be required (See UAMS Academic Policy 2.2.10).
See Completion of “I” and “IP” Coursework and Financial Aid Impact notes below.
A Mark of “IP” (In-Progress)
An “IP” grade is applied in consultation with the Office of the University Registrar and is generally available when an extension is required for an entire class of students for reasons beyond the students’ control. If an entire class experiences an unavoidable interruption in class content or progression (e.g., a class module/clinical experience is delayed), the instructor must contact the OUR immediately (prior to the scheduled class end date) to determine an appropriate course of action. This may include updates to the official class end date, or the assignment of In-Progress grades for all students in the class.
See Completion of “I” and “IP” Coursework and Financial Aid Impact notes below.
A Mark of “AU” (Audit)
The mark of “AU” denotes participation in a course for which no grades are assigned nor credit given. Students auditing a course pay full semester credit fees. Entry into an audited course and scoring of examinations while enrolled are at the discretion of the instructor. Neither grade points nor credits are assigned upon completion of audited course work.
A Mark of “CR” (Credit)
The mark of “CR” is used in denoting successful challenge of a course by examination. Marks of “CR” are not computed in a student’s GPA.
Marks of “P” (Pass) and “NP” (No Pass)
A mark of “P” is given for a course in which the student did work of passing quality. A mark of “NP” indicates the student did not do work of passing quality. A mark of “NP” in a required course may preclude progression to the next semester. Refer to the individual departments’ policies to determine if a student may progress with a “NP” mark.
When a student is progressing in a course graded with P/NP but has not had the opportunity to demonstrate all competencies by the end of the semester, the student shall be given an “I” mark for the course. A grade change form will be submitted by the course director by the end of the next semester that the student is enrolled (or at the end of the approved extension time period approved by the college) indicating P or NP for the course. Marks of P/NP are not computed in a student’s GPA.
Marks of “W” (Withdrawal), “WP” (Withdrawal Passing) and “WF” (Withdrawal Failing)
The marks of “W,” “WP,” or “WF” will be assigned upon official withdrawal from a course. A “W” mark is assigned up to the midpoint of a course (refer to the College of Health Professions Academic Calendar for the deadline for assigning “W” marks). After the midpoint date and up until five business days before the end of the semester, either a “WP” or “WF” mark must be assigned when a student withdraws from a course. A mark of “WF” is computed into the student’s GPA as a grade of “F”, while a mark of “WP” is not computed into the GPA. If a student stops participating in a course and official withdrawal procedures have not been completed within 5 business days before the semester ends, the student will receive an “F” grade for the course. If a student re-enrolls and completes a course in which they received a “W”, “WP” or “WF”, the last grade received for the course will be used in computing the GPA and CGPA.
Completion of “I” and “IP” Coursework and Financial Aid Impact
A student is required to complete all requirements for a class in which they earned a grade of “I” or “IP” by the last day of the next regular term in which the student is enrolled. Any “I” or “IP” mark for which an extension was not approved by the college must then be converted into a regular grade based on the course’s grading scheme. A student may request an extension of time to complete class requirements from their academic college, or the college may request an extension to the standard deadline on the student’s behalf. If approved, the college must provide written notification of the extension to the Office of the University Registrar.
The OUR will review outstanding “I” and “IP” marks after the grades submission deadline for each term, and will notify the college when such grades have not been resolved within the standard required time period. The college may also request an Incomplete/In-Progress grades status report from the OUR at anytime to accommodate college-level policies or non-standard timelines. The college will determine the grade into which the I/IP will be converted. The grade may be converted into a failing grade or to the grade that was earned based on the student’s actual progress in the course. The college will notify the OUR of the final grade into which the I/IP will be converted.
“I” and “IP” marks may have implications for Student Financial Aid and Veteran benefits. Marks of “I” and “IP” may negatively impact a student’s financial aid satisfactory academic progress. Please refer to the UAMS Student Financial Services Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for details.
Approval
Information about the original approval of this policy is not available.
Revision Dates
- May 28, 2021
- June 10, 2024