Quality of Work

All graduate students are expected to maintain a consistently high quality of academic performance.  Satisfaction of degree and program requirements includes an overall grade average of B or better (3.00) on all work attempted.  No more than two courses with a C grade may be applied towards the degree.  No grade below C may be applied towards the degree; however, all grades are included in the calculation of the cumulative GPA.

Some graduate programs may have more stringent requirements than university policy, and students should refer to their program for specific requirements.

Grades and Academic Progress

Grades on graduate courses at the University of North Alabama are reported as A, B, C, D, F, I, S, SP, U, and UP. Graduate students must maintain a grade average of B or better (3.00) on work attempted.

• Any student who earns three grades of C will be dismissed; this dismissal can occur at any point in their program of study, including the last semester.
• Any student who earns two grades below C will be dismissed.
• No grade below C may be applied towards the degree. However, it will be used in the GPA calculation.

Some graduate programs may have more stringent requirements than university policy, and students should refer to their program for specific requirements.

For a student whose progress in a course has been satisfactory, but who is unable to receive a final grade because of circumstances beyond control, such as illness or similar contingency, a grade of I (Incomplete) may be reported.  An I grade which is not removed within the term (fall, spring) immediately following will automatically be changed to a grade of F.  Students who receive a grade of I at the end of the spring semester will have until the end of the following fall semester to remove it. It is the student’s responsibility to follow up with the appropriate instructor to complete the required work.  No quality or quantity credits are earned with a grade of I.

Scholastic ratios are determined on the 4.0 scale with each semester hour of credit attempted producing four quality points on a grade of A, three quality points on a grade of B, two quality points on a grade of C, one quality point on a grade of D, and no quality points on grades other than these.

Repetition of Courses

A student may repeat any course in which a grade of C, D or F was received. For each course repeated, the highest grade will be used in determining progress, but the previous grade(s) will remain on the transcript record and all grades will be counted as work attempted in determining the grade point average (GPA). Additionally, all grades are counted as far as the number of grades of C or below as specified in the Grades and Academic Progress policy. 

Credit in a repeated course may be used only one time toward meeting the graduation requirements (except where specified higher). Also, all courses attempted at UNA will be counted in determining a student’s eligibility for Federal Student Aid. (See Student Financial Aid section for more details.)

Repeat/Recompute

At the approval of the respective graduate program, a student who has repeated graduate courses in which a grade of C, D or F was earned may identify one course for the purpose of recomputing the GPA.  The most recent grade must be a B or above, and only the most recent grade will be used towards degree requirements and in recomputing the GPA.  However, the original grade will remain on the transcript and is still counted as far as the number of grades of C or below as specified in the Grades and Academic Progress policy.

The student must initiate the request with their respective Graduate Program.  Some programs may not allow repeat/recompute for their courses, and students should refer to their program for specific requirements.  If the request is approved by the Graduate Program, the Department Chair will forward the approved repeat/recompute request to the Office of the University Registrar for processing.