Grades and Grading System on My Citadel Portal
Final and midterm grades are not mailed to students. End-of-the-semester grade reports and midterm progress reports are made available electronically through the My Citadel Portal and BANNER Self-Service. For information about releasing grade information to parents or other recipients, please consult our FERPA information web page.
Undergraduate Grading System
The following letter grades are given to evaluate a student’s progress. For purposes of ascertaining a grade point average, grades are defined and weighted as follows:
| Grade | Evaluation | Quality Pts Per Semester Hour |
| A | Superior | 4 |
| B | Good | 3 |
| C | Average | 2 |
| D | Marginal, Passing | 1 |
| F | Failure | 0 |
| I | Incomplete | 0 |
| P | Passing | 0 |
| IP | In Progress | 0 |
| W | Withdrawal | 0 |
| S | Satisfactory | 0 |
| U | Unsatisfactory | 0 |
- P – Grade assigned in pass/fail courses that do not carry credit hours to designate passing performance.
- S – Grade assigned in pass/fail courses that carry credit hours to designate that a grade of A, B or C has been earned and credit has been awarded.
- U – Grade assigned in pass/fail courses and in ENGL 101 to designate that a grade of D or F has been earned and no credit has been awarded.
- W – Withdrawal from a course prior to the official deadline. After that time, students will receive the grade of F should they fail to complete the course or complete it unsuccessfully. Under extenuating circumstances, the grade of “W” may be awarded after the official deadline with the recommendation of the instructor and the concurrence of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. Supporting evidence is the responsibility of the student and must be submitted in writing to the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.
- I – Grade is assigned when course requirements have been very nearly met but for authorized reasons (illness, injury, family emergency, etc.) cannot be completed during the current semester. To be eligible for the grade of I, students must be passing at the time they are forced to terminate their participation in the course. Students who are not passing at the time they are forced to terminate their participation will receive the grade of F in the course. The grade of I must be removed within the first 30 class days of the next full semester, or the I becomes an F. The summer session will not be considered a semester in this case. Under extenuating circumstances, an extension may be awarded by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs with the recommendation of the instructor. The removal of the Incomplete is the responsibility of the student. Students may not enroll in a course in which they currently have an I. A student is not eligible for Dean’s List or Gold Star awards until Incompletes are removed.
- IP – Grade is assigned for courses in which requirements are not expected to be met in one academic term. The grade of IP must be removed in the next full semester, or the IP becomes an F. The summer session will not be considered a semester in this case. Under extenuating circumstances, an extension may be awarded by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs with the recommendation of the instructor. The removal of the IP is the responsibility of the student. Students may not enroll in a course in which they currently have an IP.
- Should a student fail to complete a semester or summer session for any reason, the grade in each course in which the student is then enrolled shall be F, I, or W as determined by the individual faculty member in consultation with the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.
- No numerical symbol, bracket, or percentage is assigned the equivalent of any grade.
- Arbitrary distribution of grades according to some formula or curve is not permitted.
- However, by means of departmental supervision and consultation among instructors, every effort is made to obtain consistent grading standards within the department.
Grade-Point Average Computation*
For purposes of ascertaining a grade-point average, grades are weighted as follows:
| Grade | Quality Points Per Semester Hour |
| A | 4 |
| B | 3 |
| C | 2 |
| D | 1 |
| F, I, IP, W, P, S, U | 0 |
- The grade-point average for any semester is determined by dividing the total number of quality points earned by the total number of hours for which grades of A, B, C, D, or F were received.
- The cumulative grade-point average on which Graduation, Academic Probation, and Academic Discharge are based is determined by dividing the number of quality points earned at The Citadel by the number of quality hours attempted at The Citadel.
- For this purpose, the number of quality hours includes all credit hours attempted at The Citadel for which grades of A, B, C, D, or F were received. The number of quality points earned includes all quality points associated with quality hours earned at The Citadel.
- The Citadel does not recognize plus or minus grades in undergraduate courses.
*How do you compute a grade-point average?
You multiply the number of hours of the course times a student’s grade in the course. For example, English is a 3-hour course, and if a student earned an “A” which is worth 4 points, then the quality points for English would be 12. Then you divide the total number of quality points earned in a semester by the total number of hours attempted to compute the GPA for that semester
Pass/Fail
- Academic juniors and seniors with cumulative grade-point averages of 2.00 or higher may take elective courses on a Pass/Fail option.
- Normally, no more than one course may be taken under this option each semester, and no more than four courses taken under this option may be used to meet graduation requirements.
- Students may not change their decision to take a course on the Pass/Fail basis after the first two weeks of the term.
- Courses taken Pass/Fail carry graduation credit, but no quality points are awarded. Such courses are not included in GPA computations except in determining the First and Second Honor Graduates of the graduating class.
- Instructors report grades as usual, A through F. The Registrar’s Office translates an A, B, or C as an S (meaning “satisfactory, credit awarded”). Grades of D or F are translated as U (meaning “unsatisfactory, no credit awarded”).
- Students who are taking a course under the Pass/Fail option and who wish to be considered for Dean’s List or Gold Star honors must satisfactorily complete the Pass/Fail course and must earn the appropriate GPA on 12 or more semester hours in addition to the Pass/Fail course.
- In determining the GPA for the position of First and Second Honor Graduates, courses taken under the Pass/Fail option will be included.
Students desiring to take a course on the Pass/Fail option should contact the Registrar’s Office.
Students with Documented Disabilities
The Director of the Student Success Center is responsible for determining if a student has a documented disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and for determining appropriate accommodations and services. Students with disabilities are encouraged to self-identify to the Director upon admission to The Citadel. If the Director determines that a disability warrants substitutions for courses required in the areas of foreign language and/or mathematics, all grades of F earned in previously completed courses in that discipline will be changed to U and will not be included in computing the student’s GPA. Grades of A, B, C, or D made by students in previously completed courses in that discipline will not be altered.
Audit Status
Any student who is eligible to enroll in a particular course may, with the approval of the Professor and the Registrar, audit that course for no credit. There will be no additional charge if the student is enrolled for credit in courses totaling 12 or more hours. For students taking fewer than 12 credit hours, registration fees and 100% of the tuition for the course will be assessed. The student may not change the decision to take the course on the audit basis rather than for credit after the first two weeks of the term. Grades will not be given for courses taken in Audit status.
Change of Grade
After grades in a course have been submitted to the Registrar’s Office, a change of grade will be considered only in cases of Professor error. The change of grade must be made within one month after the beginning of the next semester following the recording of the grade and must be approved by the head of the professor’s department/school and by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. A grade change may not be based on work submitted after final grades have been submitted.
Grade Replacement: Taking or Repeating Courses to Improve the GPA
A student may not take or repeat a course which is taught at a lower level than or serves as a prerequisite for a course which the student has already completed.
Courses may be repeated under the following conditions:
1. No course may be repeated once a grade of “B” or higher has been earned.
2. If a course is repeated, the last grade of record is used to determine whether course requirements for graduation have been met.
3.If a previously passed course is repeated, the hours may be used only once toward meeting requirements for total hours passed.
4.When courses are repeated under the conditions described above, the original course grade may be replaced by the newer grade when calculating students’ grade-point averages (GPAs), quality hours, and earned credit hours. Both the old and new grades will appear on students’ transcripts, but only the newer grade will be used in calculating GPAs. It is the student’s responsibility to complete Grade Replacement Request forms in the Office of the Registrar in order to have the new grade replace the older grade(s).
5. The maximum number of hours for which Grade Replacement will be allowed over the course of a student’s undergraduate career is 16. If a student repeats more than 16 hours of credit, both the old and the new grade will be used to calculate the student’s grade-point average (GPA), quality hours, and earned credit hours. Grades of “S” earned when a student elects to take a course on a Pass-Fail basis may not be used to replace older grades(s).
6. For the purpose of determining graduation honors (e.g., cum laude, etc.), both the old grade and the new grade will be used in making the GPA calculation to determine honors eligibility.
7. Once grade replacement has been requested and applied, it cannot be reversed.
Statute of Limitations on Grade Replacement:
Students are not eligible for grade replacement after they have completed their degree program