Grading Policy

Grading System

The University uses a traditional grading system based on the four-point scale. Letter grades may carry plus and minus marks that are computed in the grade point average. The interpretation of letter grades is as follows:

Only courses for which grades of A to D and S are earned are granted credit, and only courses for which grades A to F are earned are awarded grade points and used in the calculation of grade point averages. The following scale is used in assigning grade points. Each credit hour earns the grade points shown.

The grade point average (GPA) is an index of academic achievement in work taken at Huntington and is computed as the average of grade points earned in courses for which grades A to F were given. Grade point averages are calculated to the nearest thousandth and are never rounded up.

Election of S/U Grades

To encourage students to explore challenging courses outside of their majors or Core Curriculum, the University permits a student to take limited elective courses on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. Such electives taken for S/U count toward graduation requirements but are not computed in the student’s GPA. Internships and practica are graded only S/U.

Students may elect up to five hours in a given semester to be taken as S/U. Not more than 22 hours may be counted toward graduation. Courses counted toward Core Curriculum requirements, major requirements, and teacher licensing requirements may not be taken S/U unless such courses are offered only on an S/U basis. Courses taken to fulfill requirements in a minor may be taken on an S/U basis. However, if students subsequently elect a major in a discipline in which a course had been graded Satisfactory, that course (but not more than one) may be counted in the major requirements.

Students on academic probation may not petition to take any course S/U during the probationary semester.

To elect S/U in qualifying courses, students must petition the registrar within the first ten days of the semester or the first three class days of summer session. No change in the grading type is permitted after the announced date.

Students selecting S/U grading are expected to participate in courses as though they were taking the courses normally. Professors are not advised that students are taking S/U in a graded course, and professors submit grades as usual. Grades of C- or higher are recorded as Satisfactory and lower grades as Unsatisfactory, and those become the only existing grades of record.

The Incomplete

A grade of Incomplete in regular courses is given only under the most compelling circumstances. Lack of adequate time to complete course requirements is ordinarily not sufficient cause to grant an I unless there has been serious illness or another extenuating circumstance that directly affects the completion of requirements and justifies additional time for students that others do not have.

Instructors are encouraged to determine a grade that reflects work done in the course by the end of the term, and work not completed within the time allotted for all students should not ordinarily be included in the grade evaluation. Internships and directed studies may not conform to the academic calendar; and, therefore, instructors may request that grades be reported at a later specified date.

Requests for Incompletes are to be initiated by the student and supported by the course instructor by petitioning the vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty. The extension of time agreed upon by the instructor and student may be days or weeks depending on the work to be completed.

Extensions are not permitted beyond midterm of the following semester unless the student is not in residence, in which case the work must be completed by the end of the following semester. Failure to complete work by the agreed date will result in a grade of F for the course unless the Academic Concerns Committee approves an additional extension of time.

The Incomplete (I) grade is replaced in the electronic permanent record when the new grade is reported. Incomplete credit does not count toward that semester’s work until the grade is recorded by the registrar. Student athletes must be alert to implications for NAIA eligibility based on successful completion of minimum credits.

Any Incomplete carried into a semester and completed in that semester becomes a part of the cumulative record reviewed at the end of that semester. If a grade is reported which replaces an I prior to the beginning of the semester, the registrar will compute the grade index and show the work as having been completed. The Academic Concerns Committee determines any change in a student’s probationary status resulting from such grades reported before the beginning of the semester. 

Repeating a Course

Students may repeat courses in which they have received an unsatisfactory grade of D, F or U. With the permission of the vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, they may also repeat courses in which they have received a grade of C or above.

The student registers for the course as a Repeat course and is charged tuition as with any other course. Should the student be unable to schedule a required course to be repeated before graduation, it may be necessary to arrange to take the course by tutorial instruction which will incur an additional charge.

Although both grade entries become part of the permanent record, only the Repeat course counts as credit toward graduation and is used in computing the cumulative grade point average.