Special Academic Regulations

Grading System

Grades carry the following weights in the computation of grade-point averages.

Incomplete Grade

An incomplete grade in a course may be granted only with permission from the Academic Standing Board. The student shall petition the Board, giving the reasons for the desired extension of time. The statement must be signed by the instructor of the course and the student's advisor.  A grade of Incomplete will be awarded only under exceptional conditions, including cases of illness, death in the family, or other extraordinary circumstances.  A student will not be granted an incomplete simply because additional time is needed to complete the assigned work.  Incomplete petitions normally should be submitted prior to the last day of the semester’s scheduled classes, though in exceptional circumstances petitions may be reviewed through the last day of finals. Should a request for an incomplete grade be granted, completion of the work must be accomplished by the end of the sixth week of the following semester, or any time previous, as prescribed by the instructor.

Satisfactory (S/Grade) Evaluation

Courses graded on an S/Grade basis result in an S on the transcript if the grade reported is C or above, and the grade earned if it is C- or below. The grade of Satisfactory (S) does not affect the student’s GPA.  Letter grades of C- or lower in an S/Grade graded course are included in the student’s grade point average. Sophomores, juniors and seniors may elect to take one course per semester on the S/Grade basis.  There is a limit of one course per semester which may be taken on the S/Grade basis. This option may not be exercised for courses within a student's major, minor, or concentration fields, including required cognate courses, and it is not an option for any General Education requirement. Via the appropriate form at the Registrar's office, students must request S/Grade grading, or request to switch back from S/Grade grading to a letter grade, by the end of week nine. Neither the instructor’s approval nor the instructor's signature is required for a student to opt to take a class S/Grade, nor are instructors notified that a student has elected this option.  A few courses are offered to everyone utilizing a "satisfactory" grading format, and such courses are not included in the option described above.

Note regarding Spring 2020 Temporary S/U Policy: In spring semester 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the mid-term shift to remote learning, the Denison faculty voted to suspend the Satisfactory/Grade Policy and issued a temporary replacement Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Policy. The terms of the spring 2020 S/U policy included: (a) students in all class years could opt to take any course in which they were enrolled on the S/U basis; (b) no limit to the number of courses a student could take on the S/U basis during spring 2020; (c) courses taken on the S/U basis in spring 2020 are eligible to fulfill GE requirements and requirements in the major, minor, or concentration; (d) courses graded on the S/U basis in spring 2020 resulted in a Satisfactory/S mark on the transcript if the grade reported was D- or above, and a mark of Unsatisfactory/U if the grade reported was below a D- (i.e., equivalent of an F); (e) spring 2020 S/U grades were not computed into the student’s grade point average; a spring 2020 grade of U resulted in no credits being awarded for the course; (f) all spring 2020 courses from all academic programs were eligible for S/U grading.

Repeating Courses

Students may repeat courses in order to develop greater mastery of the subject matter. However, second efforts do not erase original efforts, including failed first attempts, and both grades will be included in the GPA calculations. Should students take and successfully complete a course twice, they must be aware that both grades will be included in the GPA calculations but the credit hours cannot be included twice. You may wish to discuss all potential ramifications with the Registrar if this scenario is a factor for you. Students who want to re-enroll for a course for which they have already received a passing mark must receive permission from the chairperson of that department and the instructor of the course in question. Repeating a previously passed course may present Financial Aid implications.

Academic Standing, Warning, Suspension, and Reinstatement

Students' academic performance can be negatively impacted by a variety of factors. In order to alert students, their advisors, and other relevant parties when academic performance falls below expectations and students do not hold Academic Good Standing, the university relies on the following designations: Academic Warning, Continued Academic Warning, Academic Suspension and Reinstatement.

Academic Good Standing applies to all students who meet or exceed a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.00.  Any student with a cumulative GPA below 2.00 at any time will be enrolled in the Academic Resource Center’s programming for academic success.

Academic Warning occurs when a student's cumulative GPA is below 2.00.  Students placed on Academic Warning are expected to raise their cumulative GPA to a 2.00 or better within two semesters; if a student earns a semester GPA at or below 2.00 while on Academic Warning, the student will be placed on Academic Suspension. Any semester GPA below 1.00 will automatically result in Academic Suspension, unless this occurs in the student’s final semester prior to graduation.  Thus, a student may bypass Academic Warning and be placed on Academic Suspension if the semester GPA is below a 1.00.

Continued Academic Warning is designated when a student who is on Academic Warning is successful in achieving a semester GPA above a 2.00, but did not raise the cumulative GPA to a 2.00. Students on Continued Academic Warning are expected to achieve or exceed a 2.00 cumulative GPA at the conclusion of their next semester.

Academic Suspension occurs when a student earns a semester GPA at or below 2.00 while on Academic Warning. A student may also be suspended when the student does not attain a 2.00 cumulative GPA after being on Continued Academic Warning.  Performance of less than 1.00 GPA for any semester will result in suspension regardless of the student's cumulative GPA, unless this occurs in the student's final semester prior to graduation.

Reinstatement occurs when an academically suspended student once again becomes eligible for enrollment. Students on Reinstatement will be given conditions by the Academic Standing Board that must be fully met during the subsequent semester(s) in order to remain eligible for enrollment. The procedures for seeking Reinstatement are found below in “Eligibility for Reinstatement.”