Grading System
6.1 Letter Grades for Graduate Students
The following grades are given to graduate students and count in calculating a student’s cumulative GPA as noted by quality hours. GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the total number of graded semester or quarter hours. Courses not taken at Illinois Institute of Technology are not included in computing the GPA. Students may access their grades online in the MyIIT portal (my.iit.edu), under the Academics tab.
| Grade | Grade Description | Instructor Assigned | Performance Evaluation | Attempted Hours | Earned Hours | Quality Points | Quality Hours | GPA Hours | FinAid Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | excellent | x | x | x | x | 4.00 | x | x | x |
| B | above average | x | x | x | x | 3.00 | x | x | x |
| C | average | x | x | x | x | 2.00 | x | x | x |
| E | fail | x | x | x | 0.00 | x | x | x | |
| I | incomplete | x | x | 0.00 | x | ||||
| R | research | x | x | 0.00 | x | ||||
| NA | non-attendance | x | x | 0.00 | x | x | x | ||
| NG | non-graded | 0.00 | |||||||
| P | pass | x | x | x | x | 0.00 | |||
| F | fail | x | x | x | 0.00 | ||||
| S | satisfactory | x | x | x | x | 0.00 | x | ||
| U | unsatisfactory | x | x | x | 0.00 | x | |||
| AU | audit | 0.00 | |||||||
| W | withdrawal | x | 0.00 | x | |||||
| X | no grade submitted | x | 0.00 | x |
Note: The grades of "E", "X", "I", "W" and "U" cannot be used to fulfill any degree requirements in a graduate program.
More information about graduate grades may be found in the Grades and Transcripts section of the Graduate Catalog.
6.2 Incomplete and Research Pending
The "I" grade is to be used only when for some unusual or compelling reasons a student is unable to complete the course requirements by the end of the semester. It is not to be given as a substitute for a low or failing grade or to allow a student to submit extra work after the end of the semester to improve the grade. It is not to be given when a student stops attending class without officially withdrawing through the Office of the Registrar. A student with an "I" grade should not attempt to register for the same course, otherwise two grades will appear on the record; the original "I" will become an "E", plus there will be a second completed letter grade. The student should also have a substantial equity in the course, with no more than four weeks of classroom work remaining to be completed. The work to remove the "I" grade must be completed no later than the end of the sixth week of classes of the following regular (fall or spring) semester. Failure to do so will result in "I" being replaced by an "E".
The "R" grade designates research completion is in-progress for courses numbered 591, 594, and 691. The "R" grade will be changed by the research adviser from "R" to "S" satisfactory in the semester in which the research is satisfactorily completed. An approved master's thesis defense or doctoral oral defense result (filed on Form G303 and G309 respectively) indicates research requirements are satisfactory.
6.3 Grade Point Average
The grade point average (GPA) is calculated by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the total number of graded semester hours. Note that the graded semester hours do not include grades of "W", "I", "X", "P", "WP", "R", "S", or "U". Only courses taken at Illinois Institute of Technology are used to calculate the GPA and all courses taken at Illinois Institute of Technology, including those not applied to graduation requirements, are used in calculating the GPA. If a student attends Illinois Institute of Technology as an undergraduate student and subsequently as a graduate student, a separate GPA is calculated for each of the two levels. The exception is for approved shared courses that are used in co-terminal or accelerated master's study.
6.4 GPA Requirement for Graduation
Courses that appear in the Graduate Degree Works Worksheet that explicitly meet the degree requirements are used to calculate the graduation GPA, including any failed courses that appear in the Fallthrough block. This GPA must be at least 3.0 for the student to graduate. A student who has completed the articulated courses for their degree program, without meeting the minimum GPA requirement, must take additional graduate level courses, with adviser approval, to raise the GPA. Once a program course has been completed, it cannot be removed from the student's major GPA calculation, subject to course repeat limits (see the Repeating a Course section of the Graduate Catalog).
6.5 Academic Probation
A student who is no longer in good standing must contact their academic adviser and academic unit head. It is imperative for such students to discuss an academic plan with the academic unit for improving the situation. If the student's plan is acceptable, then the academic unit head will forward their recommendation in the “Probation form” for approval to the VP For Academic Affairs who will permit the student's registration for one additional semester. If a student is allowed to continue, they will be on a probationary status and will not be allowed to receive grades below "B". Probationary students who receive additional "C" or "E" grades may otherwise be permanently dropped without prior notice.
Under certain circumstances, the academic unit head may submit a written remediation plan and recommendation for a student's continued enrollment when the probation plan requires additional semesters (because of course availability) and/or other steps to resolve the probationary academic standing. The written plan is submitted to the VP For Academic Affairs. If the remediation plan is accepted and registration is approved, continued registration each semester will be based on the student's strict adherence to the plan and requisite progress toward degree completion. The student may be dismissed, without recourse, for failure to comply, as determined by the VP For Academic Affairs.
6.6 Repetition of Courses
Any course appearing in the Graduate Degree Works Worksheet or failed courses in the Fallthrough block for which the student has not received a passing grade ("A", "B", "C") must be repeated. A student may, with academic unit approval, repeat up to two courses for grade point average recalculation. The “course repeat section” of the G702 Academic Probation Contract will be completed by the student and filed with the Graduate College before the student may attempt to repeat the course for grade point average recalculation. When a course is repeated the new grade will replace the old grade in the calculation of the cumulative GPA and that required for graduation. However, the original course and grade earned will appear on the student transcript along with the repeated course and grade earned.
Students must not register for a course in which they have received an "I" grade, as doing so will cause the "I" to be changed to an "E".
6.7 Transfer Credits
Policies and procedures regarding transfer credit and credential evaluation are found in the Transfer Credit section of the Graduate Catalog.
6.8 Proficiency Examination
A student who believes that they have learned the substantive equivalent of the content of a specific course, may request an examination for credit by proficiency. This can be through self-study, prior experience, or coursework at another institution that was not transferred. The student must have prior approval from their respective adviser(s), academic unit head, and the VP for Academic Affairs (or their designee). Proficiency examinations are not allowed for courses in which the student has previously enrolled at Illinois Tech. This is a graded exam and the letter grade (A, B, C, E) will be entered on the permanent record. Credit by examination is limited to nine credit hours total. Students who fail the exam may repeat the exam after 30 days (for the same cost), or take an equivalent course at the university. The Credit by Examination Form may be obtained in the Office of the Registrar and a per- credit-hour fee is charged for each examination. The fee must be paid prior to taking the exam, with no exceptions. A student must be registered for at least 1 credit in a semester in which a credit-by-proficiency exam is taken.
