GRADES

A student’s academic achievement is recorded on the academic record in terms of the following grades:

Grades

Grade	Description
A, A-	Excellent comprehension of the material and exceptional performance.
B+, B, B-	Better than average comprehension and above average performance.
C+, C, C-	Adequate comprehension of the material and acceptable performance.
D+, D	Marginal comprehension of the material and below average performance.
F	Inadequate comprehension and/or unacceptable performance. Counts as zero quality points in GPA calculation and no credit is earned.
M	“Mastery.” Student has mastered the goals set forth in a course in which the instructor has opted to use mastery grading procedures. There is no GPA calculation for this grade.
S	“Satisfactory.” Adequate comprehension of the material and acceptable performance. Used to denote C or higher in a course that has S/U grading. There is no GPA calculation for this grade.
U	“Unsatisfactory.” Inadequate comprehension of the material and/or unacceptable performance. Used to denote C- or lower in a course that has S/U grading. Counts as zero quality points in GPA calculation and no credit is earned.
I	Work incomplete. An incomplete is given at the discretion of the instructor when the quality of work is satisfactory but the course requirements have not been completed for reasons of health or other circumstances beyond the student’s control, as determined by the instructor. An incomplete must be completed before graduation. Each incomplete assigned must be accompanied by a contract statement agreed to by both the instructor and the student and must include the following: 1. What work remains to be completed. 2. How the work is to be evaluated. 3. A deadline for completion of the work, which can be no later than the following for standard semester classes: (a) April 15 for an incomplete given in a course taken the previous fall semester or January term, and (b) November 15 for an incomplete given in a course taken the previous spring semester or summer term; or for accelerated semesters: no later than the end of the following semester. 4. Each incomplete must be accompanied by a contingency grade, in the computation of which the instructor has assigned zero points to the work not completed. This contingency grade will be the grade finally recorded for the course if the Office of the Registrar does not receive another grade by the contract deadline.
IP	In progress. An in progress designation is used for thesis, research, independent study, internships, and community service when a continuing project must be extended for legitimate reasons beyond the semester or term. The extension may not exceed an additional semester without approval of the Curriculum Committee. If the work is not completed within the stipulated time, as noted by the instructor, the instructor may report a grade in lieu of the F that will otherwise automatically be assigned with failure to complete the course.
AUD	Audit signals regular attendance and participation in the course. No credits are earned for auditing courses.
CE	Credit earned by examination.
W	Withdrawal. This designation is given when prior to a published deadline the student so requests. There is no GPA calculation for this grade.
AW	Administrative withdrawal. This designation is entered on the record by the Office of the Registrar in the case of a student who is officially registered in a course but who has not attended the class and not requested to withdraw. It may also be used for students who are auditing a course but fail to attend regularly. There is no GPA calculation for this grade.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)

For purposes of computing the grade point average (GPA), quality points are awarded as follows:

GPA

Grade	Quality Points
A	4.000
A-	3.700
B+	3.300
B	3.000
B-	2.700
C+	2.300
C	2.000
C-	1.700
D+	1.300
D	1.000
F	0.000
M	NA
S	NA
U	0.000

Only grades earned at Linfield are computed in the GPA. The GPA is computed as follows: the number of credits earned in any Linfield class for which a letter grade is awarded is multiplied by the number of quality points assigned to the grade earned. The total number of points thus calculated for all graded Linfield courses is divided by the total number of credits attempted in those courses. The resulting figure is the GPA.

CHANGING OF GRADES

Once recorded on the academic record, a grade may be changed only at the request of the faculty member, by the Vice President of Academic Affairs as a result of a formal grievance process, or by the Office of the Registrar in order to correct a clerical error.

When a course is repeated, both grades appear on the transcript, but only the highest grade earned is used to calculate the cumulative GPA. If credit was already earned for the course, no additional credit will be earned. The cumulative GPA is recalculated and posted for the semester the course is repeated. Any lower grades are placed in parentheses ( ), and the course title is replaced with the repeat indicator as in the following example: course repeated: mm/dd/yyyy.

GRADE REPORTS

Grades are available to students online mid-semester and at the end of each grading period. Mid-semester grades will not appear on student transcripts, nor will they impact student academic standing. Mid-semester grades are intended to be used to help students understand their academic progress in their courses.

TRANSCRIPTS

Students may order a transcript of their Linfield academic record any time they are in good financial standing with the university. Official transcripts are ordered through the National Student Clearinghouse. Unofficial transcripts can be ordered through the Office of the Registrar or accessed through the student portal. 

DEAN’S LIST

Dean’s List honors are awarded to those students who have earned a GPA at least equivalent to cum laude (at least 3.650 GPA) in a given semester or Summer Term. To be eligible, a student must have earned at least 12 credits in courses with differentiated grades (A-F) and have received no incomplete (I) or in progress (IP) designations. Eligibility is computed following the posting of grades at the end of each semester.