Grades and Examinations

The following grades may appear on a University of Nevada, Reno transcript.

GRADES AND MARKS

• “A” the highest grade, is given for work of exceptional quality. Each credit earned with a grade of “A” carries 4.0 grade points.
• “A-” carries 3.7 grade points for each credit earned.
• “B+” carries 3.3 grade points for each credit earned.
• “B” is awarded for better-than-average work. Each credit earned with a grade of “B” carries 3.0 grade points.
• “B-“ carries 2.7 grade points for each credit earned.
• “C+” carries 2.3 grade points for each credit earned.
• “C” represents average work. Each credit earned with a grade of “C” carries 2.0 grade points.
• “C-“ carries 1.7 grade points for each credit earned.
• “D+” carries 1.3 grade points for each credit earned.
• “D” carries 1.0 grade point for each credit earned.
• “D-“ carries 0.7 grade points for each credit earned.”D-” is the lowest passing grade for which undergraduate credit is allowed.
• “F” represents failure. No credit or grade points are earned with a grade of “F.” Failed courses count as credits attempted.
• “S” and “U” indicate satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance in courses offered with this grading option, noncredit courses and completed graduate courses involving a thesis or dissertation. A grade of “S” indicates achievement equivalent to a “C” or above for undergraduate courses. A grade of “U” represents performance equivalent to a “C-” or below. For graduate courses, a grade of “S” indicates achievement equivalent to a “B” or above. The grade of “U” represents performance equivalent to a “B-” or below. Neither the “S” nor “U” grades are assigned a grade-point value.
• “AD” indicates audit and is given when a student registers in a course for no credit and no grade.
• “W” signifies that a course has been dropped or that a student has withdrawn from the university with passing grades. The grade of “W” is not included in the grade-point average. After the first eight weeks of the semester, an “F” is given to students who are failing when they withdraw from the university.
• “I” is a neutral mark and represents incomplete. An “I” is given when a student is performing passing work, but for reasons beyond the student’s control is unable to complete the course requirements during the instructional period. An “I” mark is excluded from grade-point average computation. Non-attendance, poor performance or requests to repeat the course are unacceptable reasons for issuance of the “I” mark. When the student’s request for an incomplete mark is deemed acceptable, the instructor is required to indicate the specific work that is necessary to complete the course. Students should not re-register for the course to complete an incomplete. Marks of “I” are automatically changed to “F” if they are not made up by the last day of the next regular semester (Summer Session excluded) or if the student re-registers for the course. Students may make up incomplete marks by completing outstanding course requirements before the end of the next regular semester. The requirements must be submitted to the student’s instructor, who is responsible for reporting the final grade and acquiring the approval of the department chair and college dean. The written approvals must appear on the Grade Report for Incomplete form before the form can be filed in the Office of Admissions and Records. The extension of an incomplete mark for one semester may be requested. A completed and approved Request for Incomplete Extension form must be filed by the instructor in the Office of Admissions and Records at least two weeks before the end of the semester in which the approved “I” mark expires. Students are not permitted to graduate with an outstanding incomplete mark issued under this policy.
• “X” signifies a course that is in progress. Students cannot graduate with X’s or incompletes.
• “NR” signifies that an instructor has failed to assign a grade to a student’s course work. This grade is assigned by the registrar until the proper grade is determined. Students may not graduate with grades of “NR” on their record. All grades of “NR” must be resolved by the last day of the following semester. Unresolved grades of “NR” become grades of “F.”
• “FN” signifies a failing grade due to non-attendance. This grade assists the Financial Aid Office in identifying students who fail because they stop attending classes and meeting federal regulatory requirements. An “F” grade will appear on the student’s transcripts.
• “H/HP/P/F” indicates the grades of honors/high pass/pass/or fail for selected medical school courses.
• “R” signifies Replaced. An individual course grad replaced under academic forgivemess (will not calculate into GPA).
• “AR” signifies Academic Renewal. All course grades within a term removed according to institutional academic renewal policy (will not calculate into GPA).

Grade Replacement Policy: Students may repeat a maximum of 15 lower-division credits (100-200 level) to replace original University of Nevada, Reno grades. The course(s) must be repeated and completed at the University within the next two regular semesters in which the student is enrolled. If the course is not offered within the next two regular semesters, the student must take the course the next time it is offered. The most recent grade earned in the course will be used in the grade-point calculation. Students who wish to utilize the grade replacement policy must file an application in the Office of Admissions and Records. Students may not apply for grade replacement for courses in which credit was earned by departmental exam or for courses in which they received a sanction for academic dishonesty. Special case: A  MATH 128  grade may be replaced by the grades earned in MATH 126R  and MATH 127R , as long as they are both completed at UNR and within the two regular semester time limit. Replacement of MATH 126R  and MATH 127R  grades by a later MATH 128  grade is not allowed.

Other Repeats: Other university courses may be repeated to gain additional grade points. The number of credits repeated are added to those attempted, but no additional credits are earned.

Graduate students may repeat a course for which they received a grade which does not permit that course to be applied to an advanced degree (i.e. “C-” or below or “U”). The course may be repeated one time with the approval of the student’s advisor and the director of graduate studies for the student’s graduate program. The grade received for the repeated course does not replace the original grade received but is calculated into the student’s overall grade point average as if it were any other course.

IMPORTANT! Repeating a course may impact a student’s financial aid. Please contact Student Financial Services at (775) 784-4666 prior to repeating a course to assess the possible consequences.

GRADES AND GRADE-POINT AVERAGE

Examinations: Instructors are responsible for the proper evaluation of enrolled students throughout the instructional period.

Final Grades: Instructors are responsible for determining and submitting final grades to the department chair concerned who, in turn, files the grades in the Office of Admissions and Records, where they become official records of the university. The grades shown on the student’s grade report are considered final unless the student notifies the registrar within six months of the date of issuance that an error has occurred. Appeals to this policy will not be considered after a degree has been conferred.

Grade-point Average: The grade-point average (GPA) is determined by dividing the sum of the earned grade points by the total number of credits attempted for a regular letter grade. The “I,” “AD,” “W,” “NR,” “X,” “S” and “U” marks are excluded in computing the GPA.

Grade Changes and Appeals

Changing a Final Grade: After the final grades are filed in the Office of Admissions and Records, a grade may normally be changed only to correct a clerical error. For these changes, the instructor must file a completed Change of Grade Form in the Office of Admissions and Records. The form must be approved by the department chair and the dean of the college.

Appealing a Final Grade: A grade assigned by an instructor is only subject to the appeals procedure if:

• There was a clerical/administrative error in the calculation and /or assignment of the grade;
• The grade assignment was based on factors other than the student’s performance in the course and/or completion of course requirements; or
• The grade assignment meant that the student was held to more demanding standards than other students in the same section of the course.

The burden on proof of these conditions rests on the student.

The student should not follow this procedure in situations of academic dishonesty. If a student wishes to appeal a grade received as a sanction for an instance of academic dishonesty, the student must follow the Academic Dishonesty procedure.

There are four possible processes in the grade appeal procedure:

1. Student consults with instructor before filing Grade Appeal Form;
2. Student files a Grade Appeal Form with department chair;
3. Student meets with the department chair or with both the department chair and instructor; and
4. Department chair appoints a grade appeal review committee.

1. Student consults with instructor
In the event that a student disagrees with a final grade received in a course, the student shall discuss the basis for the grade with the instructor. This allows clerical/administrative grade errors that are discovered to be corrected by the instructor by means of the Change of Grade Form without the necessity of filing an appeal. If the grade is still in dispute after consultation, then the student may complete the Grade Appeal Form. The consultation step can be skipped only if the instructor is unavailable or fails to respond within 10 working days. (For the purpose of this policy, working days refers to faculty academic contract days.)

2. Student files a Grade Appeal Form with Department Chair
If after consulting the instructor, the student still feels the grade assignment meets one of the three bulleted criteria above, and/or the student was unable to consult with the instructor, the student may complete a Grade Appeal Form and file it with the chair of the department offering the course. (In this document, the term ‘chair’ may also refer to the director of a program offering the course, or a designee for the chair or program director.)

The Grade Appeal Form must be filed no later than 10 working days after the start of the next spring or fall semester (whichever comes first) after the grade is assigned.

3. Student meets with the Department Chair or with both the Department Chair and Instructor
The chair has a total of 30 working days after receipt of the Grade Appeal Form to contact the student, request a written response from the instructor, meet with the student or the student and the instructor to attempt to facilitate a resolution between the student and the instructor, and provide a written summary of the results of the process. A recommended schedule is as follows:

Within 5 days of the receipt of the Grade Appeal form, the Department chair should contact the instructor and the student to begin investigation of the situation.
The department chair requests a written response from the instructor.
The instructor has 5 working days to provide a written response to the chair concerning the appeal.
The chair should arrange a meeting with the student within 5 days of receiving the written response from the instructor.
The chair should complete the written summary of the results of that meeting within 5 days of meeting with the student and student and instructor.

If the chair is able to facilitate an agreement between the student and the instructor on the final grade within 30 working days after the receipt of the Grade Appeal Form, the agreed upon grade is considered final. If this grade is different from the original grade assigned by the instructor, a Change of Grade form will be filed by the instructor.

4. Department Chair appoints a Grade Appeal Review Committee
If the chair is unable to reach a resolution between the student and the instructor within 30 working days of receiving the Grade Appeal Form, the chair will appoint a Grade Appeal Review Committee and forward the Grade Appeal Form, along with the instructor’s response, to the Committee. The committee will consist of the following four members: one student currently enrolled at the institution, one faculty member from within the department, one faculty member from outside the department, and a committee chair (from within or outside the department). The student on the Grade Appeal Review Committee should have the same status as the student requesting a grade appeal. For example, an undergraduate student filing a grade appeal should have an undergraduate student on the Grade Appeal Review Committee while a graduate student should have a graduate student on the Grade Appeal Review Committee. The department chair should not serve on or chair the Grade Appeal Review Committee. The Grade Appeal Review Committee chair will chair the Committee and act as a non-voting member. While the instructor and the student may comment on the composition of the committee within 2 days of its appointment, the final decision on the committee’s composition rests with the department chair.

The Grade Appeal Review Committee does not have subpoena power. The principals (i.e., the student and the instructor) may not be represented by counsel. The hearing of the grade appeal by the committee is a closed meeting to be attended only by the Grade Appeal Committee, the student, and the instructor. The student or the instructor may waive his or her right to attend.

The Grade Appeal Review Committee may request additional materials from the student or instructor within 10 working days of the appointment of the committee, and those materials shall be provided to the Committee within 5 additional working days.

The Grade Appeal Review Committee will convene no later than 20 working days after it is appointed and receives the grade appeal materials, and will make a recommendation of grade assignment with in 5 more working days.

The decision of the Grade Appeal Review Committee is determined by vote and a majority decision rules. The decision does not have to be unanimous. This decision is not subject to appeal. The dean, department chair, instructor, and student will be notified of the decision, and in case the decision involves a change from the original grade, the Registrar’s Office will be notified. A Change of Grade form will be filed by the department chair if the committee recommends a change of grade.

Appealing Grades Received for Improper Withdrawal: Under certain circumstances, students who do not withdraw from the university in accordance with official procedures may appeal the grades they have received that semester. The appeal procedure applies only to emergency or hardship situations, defined as follows:

1. Personal illness or accident involving extended hospitalization.
2. Sudden and unexpected departure from the area resulting in the student’s inability to return to the university, e.g., death in the immediate family, induction to military service.

The appeal must be made for all course work in the semester in question. It is the student’s responsibility to support the appeal with written, documented evidence, such as an official hospital record, to substantiate the claimed hardship.

Students who meet the specified criteria and elect to file an appeal must submit a written statement with supporting documentation to the registrar.

Appealing Grade Received for Improper Withdrawal from an Individual Course: Under extraordinary conditions a student who does not withdraw from an individual course in accordance with official procedures may appeal the grade received in that course. The appeal procedure applies only to emergency or hardship situations. Specifically, the appeal must be supported by documented evidence that explains the extenuating circumstances and states the reasons the student is applying for a withdrawal from only one course. A student who meets the specified criteria and elects to file an appeal must submit a written statement, official documentation, and a departmental memorandum of support signed by the instructor of the course, the chair of the department, and the dean of the college. The appeal and supporting documents should be submitted to the registrar. All properly documented cases that satisfy the above criteria will be forwarded to the Student Appeals Board for final review and recommendation. This appeal procedure is not meant to relieve the student of grades received simply for poor performance in the class at issue. Students may not apply for improper withdrawal from courses in which they receive a sanction for academic dishonesty.

Academic Renewal: This policy applies only to coursework attempted at the University of Nevada, Reno. Under certain circumstances, undergraduate students may petition the registrar for academic renewal. If the petition qualifies, students may have a maximum of two consecutive semesters of course work disregarded in all calculations regarding academic standing, grade-point average and graduation eligibility. If summer work is to be included in the disregarded course work, then a five-week summer term shall count as one-half semester.

Eligibility for academic renewal is subject to the following conditions:

1. At the time the petition is filed, at least five years must have elapsed since the most recent course work to be disregarded was completed.
2. In the interval between the completion of the most recent course work to be disregarded and the filing of the petition, students shall have completed at least 15 acceptable credits of course work at a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a grade-point average of at least 2.50 on all work completed during that interval. Courses taken during the interval may be repeats of previously attempted college work.

The student’s filed petition will specify the semester(s) or term(s) to be disregarded. If more than one semester or term is to be disregarded, the semester(s)/term(s) must be consecutive, be completed within two calendar years and include no intervening enrollments at the university.

If the petition qualifies under this policy, the student’s permanent academic record will be suitably marked to indicate that no work taken during the disregarded semester(s), even if satisfactory, may apply toward graduation requirements. However, all course work will remain on the academic record, ensuring a true and accurate academic history.

Academic renewal can only be applied prior to graduation from the first undergraduate degree. Once a student graduates, academic renewal cannot be retroactively applied. Students may not apply for academic renewal from courses in which they received a sanction for academic dishonesty.