The Grading System

Grade Points
Each letter graded course carries grade point value computed as: the total credit hours earned in the course times the point value of the letter grade earned. For example: a student earning an A (point value of 4) in a 3 credit-hour course would earn 12 grade points for the course.

Semester (or Term) Grade Point Average
The semester grade point average (GPA) is the sum of all grade points earned in a semester or term divided by all credit hours attempted for letter grade. Credit hours in courses in which marks of I, W, S or U were assigned, as well as developmental courses, are excluded.

Cumulative Grade Point Average
The average of all grades earned by a student as outlined below is termed the cumulative grade point average. It is used for determining activity, eligibility, honors, probation, suspension, graduation and for all comparisons or purposes requiring measurement of academic standing.

The cumulative grade point average is defined as the sum of all grade points earned in University of Wyoming residence, correspondence, or the Outreach School, divided by all credit hours attempted for letter grade, with the following exceptions:

1. The credit hours shall not be counted in courses in which marks of W, S or U were assigned, or in which marks of  I (for incomplete) are still in effect.
   

2. For repeated courses:
   a. First repeat: only the second credit and grade is used to calculate the cumulative grade point average.
   b. If repeated more than once, only the last credit and grade earned is used to calculate the cumulative grade point average.
   c. A student is limited to a maximum of three (3) attempts in any course at the University of Wyoming.
   d. If a mark of W, S, or U is assigned in a repeated course, the previous grade assigned will stand except when an S or U is earned repeating a previous S or U.
   e. Courses applied towards one completed degree may be repeated as part of a second degree; however, the grade and grade point average in the original degree will not be changed.
   

3. Transfer grades are not counted in the UW grade point average. If a course taken at UW is repeated for the first time at another institution, the credits and grade earned at UW will be deleted from computation of the UW cumulative grade point average if credit for the repeated course is transferred to UW.
   
4. Courses numbered below 4000 are not added in to the semester and cumulative totals, or computed into the GPA, for graduate students.

Incompletes (I)
A grade of "I" (incomplete) is a temporary grade assigned in those rare instances when no other mark will insure justice to the student. It may be awarded only if the class instructor has approved a petition to be filed prior to grade submission by the instructor to the Registrar at the end of the term in which the student was enrolled in the class. (UW Regulation  6-720)

Time allowed for completing course requirements will normally not exceed 120 calendar days beyond the end of the semester in which the I was given. The dean of a college may designate certain research courses where the 120-day limit may be extended by the instructor; however, the completion date even in these courses should not be later than the time of graduation for the student unless the student is reserving the particular course for graduate credit (with the approval of the Graduate School dean).

If the final grade for the course is not received in the Office of the Registrar by the date indicated on the authorization, the I will revert to an F. Should graduation occur in the interim, the I can stand permanently or it can still be completed within the specified deadline, but the student’s GPA at graduation with all associated honors will stand as computed.

General Information on S/U Grading
The grade of S (satisfactory) is interpreted to include grades A-C and the grade of U (unsatisfactory) to include grades D-F on the conventional grade scale for courses numbered less than 5000 (for courses 5000 or above, the grade of S is interpreted to included grades A and B). Credit hours of S/U courses are counted as hours attempted toward graduation. However, neither the S nor U grade carries grade points and neither will be included in the calculation of the cumulative grade point average.

Students may not take a course for S/U credit to satisfy University Studies Program requirements, unless the course is offered for S/U only; (e.g., POLS 1000, or the equivalent history or economics courses, may not be taken for S/U).

If a mark of S or U is assigned in a repeated course, the previous grade assigned will stand except when an S or U is earned repeating a previous S or U.

Students must signify at the time of registration or schedule modification whether they are taking any course for S/U grades. Faculty will be notified of the student’s decision.

The faculties of the various colleges and of the Graduate School shall determine the number of credit hours of S that may be used to satisfy degree requirements in their programs. They may also place restrictions upon the use of S credits to satisfy college or major requirements. In addition, they may designate particular courses in their colleges as courses to be offered for S/U only.

A student who changes majors within a college or who transfers to a different college may petition for the acceptance of S credits previously earned if such credits are in conflict with faculty-established regulations for the new major or college.

Mid-Term Grades
Mid-term grades for all courses numbered below 5000 are submitted by instructors on WyoWeb the week following midsemester. Grades which can be assigned by faculty are:

The UK may be assigned if, due to lack of performance assessments such as exams, papers, homework, etc., a faculty member is unable to make a determination of a midterm grade.

Please note that the mid-semester grade received in any particular class reflects the assessment of student performance during the first portion of the semester only.

Mid-term grades are available on WyoWeb.  Any schedule discrepancies should be reported to the registrar's office immediately.

End of Semester Grade Reports
Final grades are available on WyoWeb as soon as possible (usually five working days) after the close of the semester or term. 

Definitions

1. Cumulative semester hours attempted shall be the total of all credit hours attempted through the University of Wyoming, except for credit hours attempted in repeating a course, those in which marks of W were assigned, and those accepted in transfer from other institutions.

2. The cumulative grade point average is defined as the sum of all grade points earned through the University of Wyoming divided by the sum of all credit hours attempted through the university, except for credit hours in which marks of W, S, U, or I are assigned or those of an initial course which has been repeated. When a course has been repeated, only the last grade points and credit hours assigned for repeats of the course shall be entered in the computation of the cumulative grade point average.

Academic Transcripts
Official transcripts of individual academic records at UW are sent from the Office of the Registrar upon written authorization signed by the individual. Individuals may also authorize the release of their academic transcripts through WyoWeb. All financial obligations to the university must be cleared before a transcript may be released or viewed on WyoWeb.

Transcripts are produced on a first-come, first-served basis and one to two business days must be allowed. Individuals are asked to anticipate transcript needs and submit requests to the Office of the Registrar as far in advance as possible. Usually, 10-15 days are needed at the close of a semester to record semester grades and issue transcripts. For fax service, there is a charge of $10.00 per transcript; please allow 3-5 business days. Same-day transcript service is available for a $10 charge (limit 2 transcripts).

Partial transcripts are not issued. Each transcript includes the complete academic record at the University of Wyoming and the number of credits from other institutions accepted by UW.

Official transcripts of credit earned at other institutions which have been presented for admission or evaluation of credit become the property of the University of Wyoming and are not reissued or copied for distribution. This includes high school records and any other type of supporting documents. Transcripts of work completed at other institutions should be obtained directly from the issuing institution.

Applicability of transfer credit toward any degree is dependent on the curriculum pursued by the student.

In preparing transcripts for graduate students or second bachelor’s degree candidates whose undergraduate work was taken elsewhere, the University of Wyoming includes on its transcripts no detailed reference to that undergraduate work, mention being limited to designation of the degree and date received and the name of the institution granting the degree.

Honor Roll
Undergraduate and law students who achieve high academic grades are honored by being placed on either the President's Honor Roll, the academic Dean's Honor Roll, or the Vice President for Academic Affairs Honor Roll.

The requirements to be met to attain these honors are:
For President's or Dean's Honor Roll:

1. Undergraduate students must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours on a basis of A, B, C, D or F. Exception: if a student is student teaching, the student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours, at least 7 of which must be graded on the basis of A, B, C, D or F with no semester grade of I. Courses taken for audit do not count for honor roll purposes.
   
2. A grade point average of 4.0 for the President's Honor Roll.
   
3. A grade point average of 3.25 or better for the academic Dean's Freshman Honor Roll.
   
4. A grade point average of 3.4 or better for the academic Dean's Honor Roll for undergraduates above freshman standing.
   
5. In the College of Law, students are eligible for the President's Honor Roll and the academic Dean's Honor Roll when enrolled in a minimum of 13 semester hours of law courses. In the College of Law, a grade point average of 3.25 or better is required for first year students and a grade point average of 3.4 or better is required for second and third-year students for the academic Dean's Honor Roll.

For the Vice President for Academic Affairs Honor Roll:

1. Undergraduate students must complete a minimum of 6 semester hours, but fewer than 12 semester hours, of which at least 6 semester hours must be graded on the basis of A, B, C, D or F with no semester grade of I. Courses taken for audit do not count for honor roll purposes.
   
2. A grade point average of 3.5 or better.

Graduate Students
Students in the Graduate School are not eligible for the President's Honor Roll, the academic Dean's Honor Roll, or the Vice President for Academic Affairs Honor Roll.

Academic Probation and Suspension
Undergraduate Students
Academic Status
In order to graduate, every student is expected to maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) which is based on scholastic performance.  Current academic status will be indicated on internal documents and grade reports as:

• good standing
  
• on probation
  
• academic suspension:
  normally not eligible to petition for reinstatement until four months have elapsed. The dean of the college in which a suspended person wishes to continue may waive the four-month delay if the dean is assured that the person has made suitable progress toward resolving the academic deficiencies

Undergraduate Academic Probation

1. Academic probation shall constitute notice that a student is not progressing satisfactorily toward the bachelor’s degree or Pharm.D.

2. A student enrolled at the University shall be placed on academic probation at the end of the semester or summer term when his/her cumulative grade point average at UW falls below a 2.00.
3. A student placed on scholastic probation will be so notified by letter.  This information is also available on WyoWeb.
4. A student shall be removed from scholastic probation at the end of the semester or summer term in which his/her cumulative grade point average is 2.00 or above.
   
5. Students who fail to remove themselves from probation or earn a semester grade point average below 2.0 in the next semester or summer term attempted will be suspended from the university for not maintaining the criteria for satisfactory academic progress. Students on probation who register for a semester or summer term and then withdraw from that semester or term will be suspended, as it is considered an attempted semester or term.

Undergraduate Academic Suspension

1. 1. Academic suspension shall constitute the status of a person whose enrollment in the University of Wyoming has been terminated because of unsatisfactory progress toward the bachelor's degree.
   
2. A student who is suspended for unsatisfactory academic performance should not be permitted to petition for reinstatement until one full semester, exclusive of summer term, has elapsed. Students may petition once per semester for reinstatement, and, if denied by any college or the Center for Advising and Career Services, cannot petition for reinstatement until the next fall or spring semester, unless there are documented extenuating circumstances justifying immediate reinstatement.
   
3. A suspended student may not enroll for any University of Wyoming credit classes (including on-campus, online, correspondence, and outreach).
4. Credit earned at another accredited college or university while a student is suspended from the University may be accepted under the usual regulations governing the transfer of credit after the student has been reinstated.
5. A student placed on academic suspension will be so notified by letter.

Undergraduate Academic Reinstatement

1. A college may have an academic reinstatement policy that is more restrictive than the general university policy.

2. Academic reinstatement shall constitute notice that a suspended student has been reinstated to the University, and is eligible to be considered for readmission.  The reinstated student shall be on scholastic probation during his/her first semester or summer term of reinstatement after which he/she may be removed from this probation.

3. A petition for reinstatement must be submitted no later than 15 days before the beginning of the semester or summer term in which the student wishes to register.  A petition received after this deadline may not be processed until after the regular registration period and the petitioner shall then be subject to the late registration fee.

4. The decision on a petition for reinstatement shall be made by the dean (or designee) of the college in which the student wishes to enroll.  Undeclared students should contact the Director of the Center for Advising and Career Services. A student who has been reinstated must remain in the college in which he/she has been reinstated for that semester.

5. Students placed on academic suspension are eligible for a maximum of three reinstatements. Any student placed on academic suspension for the fourth time is not eligible for reinstatement for a minimum of five years from the end of the last term of attendance.

6. Students who are suspended as a result of spring semester grades will have the suspension invoked at the beginning of the summer term, excluding any course(s) which had begun prior to the determination of the academic suspension.

Upon the request of a person placed on academic suspension or denied reinstatement, the vice president for academic affairs may review the circumstances and reverse the decision of the dean if the vice president for academic affairs deems it necessary to prevent a gross injustice.

An undergraduate student who returns to the university (UW) and who has not completed or withdrawn from a college course at UW (excluding correspondence study courses) during the previous five years will have the option of continuing his or her earlier UW cumulative GPA or commencing a new cumulative GPA under the Academic Renewal policy. An interested student must submit the Academic Renewal Application Form (which may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar) to the registrar no later than ten class days before the last day of classes of the semester in which the student returns to UW.

The entire UW transcript will remain intact. A note indicating the policy will precede the new part of the UW transcript if the student opts for academic renewal. At the discretion of the academic department in which the student is enrolled, credit hours for which the student earned the grade of C or better may be applied toward the completion of the degree requirements. The list of any departmentally-approved courses must be indicated on the Academic Renewal Application Form when initially submitted to the registrar. No further changes may be requested.

A student’s GPA and completed courses that were applied to a baccalaureate degree are not eligible for academic renewal.

A graduate student enrolled at the university shall be placed on academic probation at the end of a semester or summer session when his or her graduate cumulative UW grade point average in 4000-level or higher courses is below 3.0. Students who fail to bring their graduate GPA to 3.0 and remove themselves from probation after one semester or summer session will be suspended from the university. A suspended student may petition the dean of the Graduate School for reinstatement to the same degree program or to another degree program. The dean will consult with the appropriate department head prior to all petition decisions. A reinstated student will be on probation and may be subject to other performance criteria as specified by the dean of the Graduate School in consultation with the department head.

The above GPA requirement is considered to be a minimum requirement. Departments may recommend suspension of students from their degree program based on other performance criteria.

Regulations governing academic probation, suspension, and reinstatement do not apply to students enrolled in the College of Law.

top of page

Please send comments or questions to registrar@uwyo.edu

Last Change: 03/31/08