Grades, Honor Roll and Academic Standing

Grades

Academic Regulations 17–19 describe the OSU grading system. The available grades and their associated point values are explained. Here you can also learn about the alternative grading system and the rules associated with these systems.

Attendance

Instructors may consider attendance in the calculation of students’ grades. Refer to Academic Regulation 14 for more details.

Honor Roll

  • As stated in Academic Regulation 21 each term a list is published containing the names of undergraduate or post-baccalaureate students that completed at least 6 graded undergraduate credits hours with a 3.5 or higher GPA.
  • OSU News and Research Communications sends the Honor Roll to newspapers each term.
  • Term-by-term honor rolls are posted OSU Honor Roll by Term
  • Academic Regulation 21 was changed for the 2022-23 academic year to reduce the number of credits required from 12 to 6. The new regulation will be used to calculate honor roll beginning with the Summer 2022 term.

Academic Standing

OSU expects students to maintain satisfactory academic progress towards degree completion set out in Academic Regulation 22.  At the conclusion of each term, grade point averages are calculated and academic standings are determined for students seeking a baccalaureate degree. There are four possible academic standing statuses.

Satisfactory Academic Standing (AR 22) is defined as either: Good Standing, Academic Warning, Academic Probation, or Academic Suspension. Academic Standing is based on a student’s OSU cumulative and term GPA.

Academic standing is an end-of-term status, which means a student must complete at least one term of coursework before having an OSU-calculated academic standing. Academic standing is determined after final grades have been posted.

More detailed information is available on the Academic Suspension and Reinstatement page.

 

GOOD STANDING
Students with a term and cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above are in good academic standing.

ACADEMIC WARNING
Students with a term GPA below 2.0 will be placed on Academic Warning.

ACADEMIC PROBATION
Students who have attempted1 24 or more credits at OSU and have an OSU cumulative GPA below 2.0 will be placed on Academic Probation. Students who attain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better are removed from Academic Probation.

ACADEMIC SUSPENSION
Students on Academic Probation who have a subsequent term GPA of below 2.0.

1 An attempt comprises a final grade in a course where the grade is: A, A–, B+, B, B–, C+, C, C–, D+, D, D–, F, S, U, P, NP, I/Alternate Grade (where the Alternate Grade is one of these grades), W, or Y.

First-Year Experience Academic Standing and Advising
  • First-year students at Corvallis Campus (Cascades Campus and Ecampus students are excluded) that encounter academic difficulty during their first year at Oregon State University will be provided additional guidance from Academic Advisors in their respective college.
    • This guidance is to help students transition to the requirements of the Oregon State University academic standards.
  • Students in Academic Warning or Academic Probation within their first year will receive a registration hold placed on their account. The hold can be removed after meeting with an advisor in their respective college and developing a personalized plan for improving their academic success.
Changes to Academic Standing for Completed Terms
  • After each term concludes, academic standing for the prior three terms is recalculated to account for repeated courses and grade changes such as Change of Final Grade or Removal of Incomplete Grade.
  • Final grades may be changed by the instructor up to one year after the original grading deadline for the course or Petitions for Late Change of Registration (late drop, late withdrawal from term).
  • Student petitions for a late drop in a course(s) after the term concludes which alters their term GPA. This recalculation ensures that the academic standing for the current term is based on the most current, and the most accurate, academic standing. Current term academic standing runs after the prior three terms are recalculated.
P/N and S/U Grades in Academic Standing Calculations
  • Grades of P, N, S, and U are not counted in GPA calculations, and electing these alternate grading options will not impact a student’s GPA.
  • Although performance in these courses do not produce a GPA, students should be aware that taking any or all courses using Pass/No Credit (P/N) or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grade modes may have an impact on academic standing calculations and demonstration of academic improvement based on performance of an S vs U or P vs N.
Term Withdrawal and Alternative Grading in Academic Standing
  • Grades of W, P or S are not counted in GPA calculations.
  • Students who are placed on Academic Suspension with a term withdrawal for the current (same) term or completed classes for the term with grades of P or S have their academic standing manually adjusted as part of end of term processing because the student showed progression.
  • Withdrawal from the term or completing at least 50% or more credits with grades of P or S allows a student to continue on probation status.
  • There is no academic standing to calculate for the current term, therefore, it defaults to the previous term’s academic standing, which will be overridden by a manual review at the end of the term looking for progress or complete term withdrawal.

Review of Academic Standing for Students on Academic Suspension

  • Academic standing does not change automatically due to a grade change or approved petition.
  • Students who are placed on Academic Suspension at the end of a given term may have their academic standing reviewed and recalculated due to a grade change or petition for late change of registration in limited circumstances.
  • In the case of a student who is on academic suspension from the immediately preceding term and either has a grade change or there was an approved petition for late change of registration, this option will only be considered if a request is submitted prior to the add deadline for the immediately following term.

 

 

  • If a student qualifies, they (or advisor on behalf of the student) may email [email protected] to request, on an individual basis, to have their academic standing reviewed by the Office of the Registrar within the limited time listed above.
  • All other changes, such as a grade change for a prior term or change in academic status (e.g., Academic Warning to Good Standing) are handled during end of term processing and follow the academic standing calculation protocol.
Academic Fresh Start Policy

Students may petition once with the Registrar to exclude OSU courses from the calculation of institutional requirements, credits, and grade-point average, under the conditions defined in Academic Regulation 31 (Academic Fresh Start Policy).

Grades and Your GPA

OSU Grading System

Academic Regulations 17–19 describe the OSU grading system. Grades, their associated point values, and the alternative grading system are explained.

GPA Calculation

Academic Regulation 19 describes how GPA’s are calculated at OSU. Each grade is assigned a point value to be used in the student’s GPA calculation. A GPA calculator is available in this website and in MyDegrees.

Incomplete Grades

As stated in Academic Regulation 17, if circumstances exist which are acceptable to the instructor and the rest of the student's academic work is passing, an incomplete grade may be assigned and additional time granted for completion of course work. At the time the incomplete is submitted, an alternate grade representing the grade the student would receive in the course if no further course work is completed, will also be submitted. If the incomplete is not removed within the one year deadline, the alternate grade will become the grade of record.

Do not enroll again in a course for which you have received an incomplete grade.

FAQs: Assigning Incomplete Grades

Typically, it is within a time period established by the instructor. If the instructor has not established a deadline, then the student has until the last day of Dead Week before finals begin, to submit the required work to the faculty a year after the term in which the student received the incomplete. For example, if a student received an “I/Alternate Grade” in Fall 2016 without any specified deadline by an instructor, they have until the last day of Dead Week of Fall 2017 to turn in the completed work to the instructor to complete the “Incomplete”. The instructor has until the last day of term (normally Friday of Finals Week) to submit the removal of an incomplete to whatever grade the student earned to the Office of the Registrar.

The student should meet with the department chair who offered the course to reinstate the expectations of what would need to be completed (and by when it needs to be completed) for the incomplete to reflect the earned grade for that course.

The student should know whether the Alternate/Default Grade will impact their ability to graduate that same term. If it does, the student should withdraw the request to graduate at the Office of the Registrar before the last day of final exams for that term, until the incomplete has been resolved at some future date/term and an earned grade has been recorded. Subsequent to the earned grade replacing the incomplete, the student can then re-file to graduate.

No. Academic Regulation 17 specifically states: “Under no circumstances shall a student who earns an A–F grade or an N or U grade have their grade changed retroactively to an I grade.” Students need to pay careful attention to “I/Alternate Grades” that are clearly displayed on all unofficial (and official) transcripts and the “Grade Term Report” via the Student On-Line Services web site where a student’s grades can be accessed by the student. If the student suspects or is informed by their academic advisor or the Office of the Registrar that the “I/Alternate Grade” will negatively impact their ability to graduate, they should go to the Office of the Registrar to withdraw their application to graduate. This request to withdraw the application to graduate must be made before all grades are processed for the term in which the student wishes to graduate.

Yes. While 99.7% of all grades are turned in by the required deadline for each term, if the instructor misses the cutoff for turning in grades the Office of the Registrar will be able to process these late grades (including the “I/Alternate Grade”) and ensure they are correctly attributed to the students affected.

All students are held to the same grading systems. Academic Regulation 17 applies equally to undergraduates, post-baccalaureates, graduate, non-degree seeking students, etc.

No. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grade options are converted after the submission of the “I/Alternate Grade” is determined by the instructor. For example, if the student has requested an incomplete and has opted for an S/U grade, the instructor will submit an “I/Normal Grade” (i.e., I/B+) at the end of the term. The Office of the Registrar will subsequently convert the “I/Normal Grade” to an “I/S” or “I/U” in accordance with the grading option chosen by the student.

According to Academic Regulation 20 (Repeated Courses), both courses would appear on the student’s academic record (transcript), but only the second grade would be counted in the cumulative GPA and toward graduation requirements. Even if the “I/Alternate Grade” were to subsequently default to the Alternate Grade, the second taking of the course would be the one that counts.

Possibly. The instructor must be willing to provide an extension. However, if the instructor does not agree to extend the timeline, it is unlikely anyone else would supersede that decision. If the instructor is willing to extend the timeline, the student can complete the Petition Extension of Time to Remove Incomplete Grade. The petition requires the signatures of the course instructor and department chair, and potentially, the approval of the Academic Requirements Committee to gain approval of the extension.

Incomplete Grades

Requesting an Incomplete

A student may request an incomplete grade for a course that has not been completed if:

  • Reasons for the incomplete are acceptable to the instructor;
  • Student is passing the course at the time of the request.

It is highly recommended that when an agreement is made to issue an incomplete grade that the instructor and student complete a Contract for Completion of I Grade to define the terms under which the outstanding course work will be completed. One original copy of the contract should go to the student and one original copy should be on file with the instructor/department.

Academic Regulation 17 specifically states: “Under no circumstances shall a student who earns an A-F grade or an N or U grade have their grade changed retroactively to an I grade.”

Students should not enroll in the course again for which they have received an incomplete grade.

Incomplete/Alternate Grade

The incomplete grade that is filed by the instructor at the end of the term must include an alternate/default grade to which the incomplete grade defaults, if the student does not make an effort to resolve the incomplete course work within one year of recording the incomplete. Examples of incomplete grades are (I/A, I/A-, I/B+, I/B, I/B-, I/C+, I/C, I/C-, I/D+, I/D, I/D-, I/F, I/P, and I/N). Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grade options are converted after the “I/Alternate Grade” is determined by the instructor. For example, if the student has requested an incomplete and has opted for an S/U grade, the instructor will submit an “I/Normal Grade” (e.g., I/B+) at the end of the term. The Office of the Registrar will subsequently convert the “I/Normal Grade” to an “I/S” or “I/U” in accordance with the grading option chosen by the student.

Extension of Time to Remove Incomplete Grade

A student may petition via the Office of the Registrar for an extension of the one calendar year deadline with the agreement of the instructor. An approved petition will grant an extension of a single additional term, with a maximum of three total extensions being possible. An approved petition for an extension of time to remove an incomplete will be voided at the time of degree conferral. The petition must be submitted before the one year deadline is reached.

To request an extension, complete and submit the Extension of Time to Remove Incomplete Grade Petition to the Office of the Registrar.

If the instructor and department approve, and the student is eligible, an extension of a single term will be granted. To request an additional term extension, the process must be repeated.

Incomplete Grade & Degree Conferral

All pending applications for graduation will include a review of any incomplete grades with an alternate/default grade. If an “I/Alternate Grade” is currently outstanding at the time a pending graduate’s file is being reviewed for graduation (which happens after grades are processed for the term in which the student is graduating), that review will take into account the automatic default of the incomplete to the Alternate/Default Grade. This automatic default may impact a student’s ability to graduate, if by its inclusion, the student’s GPA (major GPA or institutional GPA) or other major/institutional requirements are altered. Students are encouraged to ensure that all “I/Alternate Grades” are resolved with their instructor prior to the last day of Dead Week for the term in which they are graduating.

For additional information visit the Grades and Grading FAQs.