Grading System
Grading and quality point averages will be based on completed courses using the following graduated four-point scale:
| A | 4.00 |
| A- | 3.67 |
| B+ | 3.33 |
| B | 3.00 |
| B- | 2.67 |
| C+ | 2.33 |
| C | 2.00 |
| C- | 1.67 |
| D | 1.00 |
| F | 0.00 |
| CC | 0.00 |
| CON | 0.00 |
| CR | 0.00 |
| NC | 0.00 |
Grades
Grades are posted online to the student’s Student Planning account each semester. The quality of a student’s work is designated by the following grades: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, F, Incomplete, and Condition. Courses dropped by the student after the last official course drop date will receive a W.
Once grades are submitted, the instructor's deadline for reporting grade changes is four weeks following the due date for submission. A grade change beyond this time period will require a written request to be filed with the Dean of the College.
The grades of A through D are passing grades and earn a student credit in that course. Grades of Incomplete and Condition are not passing but may be made so by procedures described below. No credit is given for F work; the student must repeat the course with a passing grade to receive credit.
The grade of Condition (CON) indicates that the student has less than a passing grade; it may be removed by any method prescribed by the instructor. The highest grade that may be assigned following the removal of a Condition is D. The grade of CON is computed as an F in the GPA until replaced by a D.
The grade of Incomplete (INC) indicates that the student has not met all course requirements. It may be removed by completing the work, and the grade then assigned may be any grade. The grade of INC is not computed in the GPA except for calculating the Dean’s List where it carries the weight of a C.
The grades of Condition and Incomplete, if not removed by 4:00 PM on the first Monday of classes after Mid-semester following the semester for which they were assigned, will be converted to F on the student’s transcript. There will be no modification of the grade of F unless approved by petition through the Curriculum Appeals Committee and Dean of the College. Faculty or the Dean of Students (after consultation with the instructor, if possible) may set any due date that does not extend beyond 4:00 PM on the first Monday of classes after Mid-semester of the following semester.
Official withdrawal from the College through the Dean of Students results in the grade of WD.
Credit/No Credit Option (Pass/Fail)
A student may take any course on a Credit/No Credit (i.e. Pass/Fail) basis for which he is eligible. Credits earned when a student opts to use the CR/NC grading option for a course taught at Wabash College do not count toward the minimum 34 course credits required for graduation. (Exception: Credits earned via Course Share in courses taught by CIC partner institutions will receive a grade of CR and will count toward the 34 credits required for graduation.)
Credit for any course graded on a CR/NC basis will be awarded if the earned letter grade is a C- or better, and recorded with a CR on the student’s transcript. No credit will be awarded if the earned letter grade is less than C-, and the course will be recorded with an NC on the student’s transcript. Citations may be used to recognize any exceptional work.
Courses needed to fulfill distribution requirements, or the minimum requirements of a major or minor, may not be taken on a Credit/No Credit basis. Courses taken on a Credit/No Credit basis during the Fall or Spring semester do not count in determining enrollment status. However, courses taken during the Summer Semester via the Course Share program, which are also graded on a Credit/No Credit basis, do count in determining enrollment status.
Change in the status of courses to or from Credit/No Credit must be completed during the first four weeks of a full semester course or the first two weeks of a half-semester course. Students may not petition for a grade for courses being taken on a Credit/No Credit basis after these deadlines.
Conversion to Credit Option
Students with fewer than 15 earned credits (including all awarded transfer credits, credit by exam, etc.) toward a Wabash degree have the option of converting as many as two courses total, and no more than one course in any semester, to grading on a Conversion to Credit basis. Students with fewer than eight (8) credits may use this option in any course other than FRT-101 Freshman Tutorial, FRC-101 Enduring Questions, and ENG-101 Composition. Students with at least eight (8) but fewer than fifteen (15) earned credits may only use this option for courses numbered at the 200-level or higher.
A student exercising this option will receive a grade of CC for a course in which a grade of D or higher would normally be received; a grade of NC will be recorded in cases when an F would have been received. A grade of CC will earn credit toward graduation for a student and can be used in a course that meets distribution requirements. Neither the grade of CC nor the grade of NC will carry a point value in computing the student’s GPA.
A student may exercise the Conversion to Credit grading option for a full credit course after the start of the 7th week of the Fall or Spring semester and until the deadline for withdrawing from the course with a W. A student may exercise the Conversion to Credit grading option for a half-credit course in the Fall or Spring semester after the start of the 4th week of the course and until the deadline for withdrawing from the course with a W. Deadlines for exercising the Conversion to Credit grading option for a Summer semester course may vary. For all semesters, these deadlines will be identified on the Academic Calendar. To exercise the Conversion to Credit grading option, the student files a request form which includes his academic advisor’s approval in the Registrar's Office by the stated deadline.
A course grade of CC does not fulfill prerequisite requirements for other courses and does not meet requirements for a major or a minor. Grades of CC may be accepted as fulfillment of co-requisite or collateral requirements for a major or minor at the discretion of academic departments or program committees. A grade of CC is not sufficient to earn credit for a prior dual credit course in a subject area (i.e. "back credit") for which the student received both high school and college credit, or in any other instances where back credit can be awarded on the basis of earning a certain grade in a Wabash course. A student can only apply one course with a grade of CC to a single distribution requirement area.
The decision to exercise the CC/NC grading option in a course is final and irreversible. The signature of the student’s advisor is required to exercise the CC/NC grading option.
Repeated Courses and Transcription of Grades
Any course at Wabash may be repeated at any time (with the exceptions of Freshman Tutorial and Freshman Colloquium/Enduring Questions) with the understanding that:
- The course must be repeated at Wabash.
- Course credits toward graduation are to be counted only once.
- When a student withdraws from the College, all currently registered courses will receive a mark of WD. This will remain permanently on the student’s record.
- The grade and credit of a repeated course will be counted in the grade point average of the semester in which it is repeated.
The previous grade, unless it is a WD, will be replaced by the word “Repeat” when the Registrar records the second final course grade. All WD grades will remain permanently on the student’s record.
If a course is being repeated and is dropped with a W, the grade originally earned is restored to the academic record. However, if the original grade of the repeated course was a W, then both the original W and any subsequent W will be recorded on the academic record.
Any course work taken at Wabash after the student has graduated will appear as a separate entry in the transcript, and will in no way be reflected in the student’s undergraduate record.
Grade Changes
It is Wabash’s policy that when there are program or course concerns, students should first communicate directly with personnel in the appropriate department. The assessment of student performance, including the assignment of grades, is the responsibility and prerogative of the Wabash faculty member instructing the course. A student with questions about evaluation in a course is expected to consult with the faculty member instructing the course. If further consultation is necessary, the student may address the matter with the chair of the academic department or program in which the course is offered.
Changes to final course grades are only allowed in cases where a faculty member determines that an error has been made in calculating or entering a grade. Faculty discovering such errors may submit corrections to the Registrar’s Office within four weeks of the due date for submission; after four weeks have passed, corrections to final grades require the approval of the Dean of the College.