Grades

Grading System

Meaning of Letter Grades
Grade
Description
A
Excellent, superior achievement
A-

B+

B
Good, exceeding all requirements
B-

C+

C
Average, satisfactorily meeting all requirements
C-

D+

D
Poor, passing
D-

F
Failing or withdrawal while doing failing work
I
Incomplete
NR
Not reported
S
Satisfactory
U
Unsatisfactory
W
Withdrawal

In the case of Foundations courses (ENGL 1300, MATH 1300, READ 1300), and Senior Honors Theses, an "in progress" grade may be awarded. (See Grade Explanations below for information about "in progress" grades).

Grade Assignment

Grades are awarded in courses in which students are officially enrolled after the last day to drop or withdraw from a course without receiving a grade. This date is indicated in the academic calendar for each enrollment period. The academic calendar is available on the Web at www.uh.edu/calendars.html.

Grade Explanations

  1. Passing grades for which semester hours of credit are awarded are A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, and S. (Pharmacy students should refer to the College of Pharmacy section.)
  2. The grades of S (satisfactory) and U (unsatisfactory) may be awarded in certain specified courses.
  3. The temporary grade of I (incomplete) is a conditional and temporary grade given when students (a) are currently passing a course or (b) still have a reasonable chance of passing in the judgment of the instructor, but for non-academic reasons beyond their control have not completed a relatively small part of all requirements.

    Students are responsible for informing the instructor immediately of the reasons for not submitting an assignment on time or not taking an examination. Students should understand that the only way to have an I changed to a passing grade is to fulfill course requirements in accordance with the conditions specified by the instructor. Students must contact the instructor of the course in which they receive an I grade to make arrangements to complete the course requirements. Students must not reenroll (reregister) for the courses in which their grade is currently recorded as an I. Even when the conditions for fulfilling the course requirements include participation in all or part of the same course in another semester, the student must not reenroll (reregister) for the course. After the course work is completed, the instructor will submit a change of grade form to change the I grade to the grade earned. Both grades, the original I and the earned grade, will appear on the transcript

    The grade of I may not be changed to a grade of W, but may be changed only to another letter grade. As stated under Fulfillment of Grade Requirements for a Degree, all grades of I shall be computed as grades of F for purposes of calculating a student's cumulative grade point average for graduation.

    Should the student not complete the course in the time allotted (a maximum of one year), a grade of F will be assigned and used for purposes of calculating a student's cumulative grade point average for graduation and also for determining eligibility for graduation with honors (i.e., an I grade that becomes an F, even if associated with a course taken during the freshman or sophomore year, will be counted as part of the student's last sixty-six hours).
  4. The grade of W is assigned to a course only after the last day to drop or withdraw without receiving a grade (four weeks after the first day of classes in a fall or spring semester), and before the final day to drop or withdraw (generally four weeks prior to the last day of classes in a fall or spring semester). Students are responsible for initiating action to drop or withdraw from classes. Students who fail to do so will be retained on the class rolls even though they may be absent for the remainder of the semester. In such instances a grade of F (or U in S/U graded courses) will be awarded unless the conditions for a grade of I have been met.
  5. An in progress designation in place of a grade indicates that the student is proceeding satisfactorily but must re-enroll to obtain a final grade.

Grade Point Average

Grade points are awarded as follows for each semester hour in which students receive a grade.

Grade Points Awarded for Each Grade
GradePoints
A 4.00
A- 3.67
B+ 3.33
B 3.00
B- 2.67
C+ 2.33
C 2.00
C- 1.67
D+ 1.33
D 1.00
D- 0.67
F 0.00

The grade point average is the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the number of semester hours in which students receive a letter grade. Grades of S, U, I, and W are not assigned grade point values and are not used in the computation of the grade point average.

A change in grade (other than I, incomplete) will affect the academic status of the semester in which the grade was earned and all subsequent semesters. A change of grade from I will affect only the cumulative grade point average effective the semester the I is completed (or changed to F or U).

Decimals beyond two places are truncated, not rounded, in computing the grade point average.

Cumulative Grade Point Average

The cumulative grade point average is based upon all work taken at the University of Houston, including courses that are repeated, for which grade point values are assigned.

A repeated course, including courses repeated during a summer session, is equivalent to a new course both in the determination of classification and in computing the cumulative grade point average.

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Fulfillment of Grade Requirements for a Degree

The cumulative grade point average shall be used to determine the fulfillment of grade requirements with the following differences:

  1. The grade of I shall be computed as F.
  2. Upon approval by the dean of the college of the student's major, a maximum of six semester hours, eight in the case of laboratory courses, taken during the first 30 semester hours of undergraduate course work at the university may be eliminated from the computation. The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will not eliminate any semester hours of undergraduate course work from the computation of the graduation grade point average for a bachelor's degree.
    1. Neither these grades nor the courses for which they were awarded are removed from the student's official academic record.
    2. These eliminated courses shall not be used to fulfill any degree requirement.
    3. Grades may not be eliminated for courses subsequently repeated.
    4. These exceptions shall be used only to allow a student to achieve the minimum grade point average for graduation.
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Final Grade Reports

Grades are now available through myUH account at https://my.uh.edu. Service is available for students to request a paper copy which will be sent to the student's mailing address as reflected in university records or students can print out a copy at the Web site.

Following final exams, students can use the Web site to check if their grades have been posted for the semester. Upon submission by instructor,grades are posted on a nightly basis.

Students are encouraged to contact the instructor of record or submit written requests to the department chair whenever questions arise concerning a grade received in a course. Students have 90 days after the posting of a grade to appeal.

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Scholastic Requirements

Law, optometry, and pharmacy students should refer to the scholastic requirements specified in the appropriate college section of this catalog.

Undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students are expected to maintain a 2.00 (C) minimum cumulative grade point average, which is the minimum permitted for graduation. They are subject to scholastic action any semester or summer session in which one or more semester hours are attempted. The summer sessions are considered a unit equivalent to a semester.

 

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Catalog Publish Date: August 22, 2012
This Page Last Updated: August 24, 2011