5.6          Credit Hours, Grades, Grade Point Average, and Examinations

The basic unit of credit at UT Martin is the semester hour. This normally represents one hour of lecture or recitation or two hours of laboratory work per week. Each course at the university carries a number of semester hours of credit specified in the course description. At the completion of each course, a student will be assigned a grade reflecting the student’s performance in the course. Passing grades normally carry with them a certain number of quality points per semester hour of credit in the course. A student’s grade point average is obtained by dividing the total number of quality points the student has accumulated by the total number of quality hours the student has attempted, not including hours for which grades of W, I, P, SP and S have been received. (See Sections 5.6.4 and 5.6.6 for explanation of I, P, SP and S grades and grade calculation when repeating courses.)

5.6.2               Failures

A student whose work is wholly unsatisfactory shall be marked “failed” (F). To receive credit for a course in which he/she has made an F, a student will be required to take the work again, provided, however, that a senior who fails one subject during the semester of his/her intended graduation shall have the privilege of standing examination at the opening of or during the next semester. If he/she passes the examination, he/she will receive his/her degree at the next commencement.

5.6.3               Conditions

A student whose work is unsatisfactory, but who, in the judgment of the instructor, is capable of removing the deficiency without repeating the work in class, shall be “conditioned” (E). If a student is reported conditioned in any subject, the condition will be allowed to stand, but will be counted as a failure in computing the average until the condition has been removed. It is expected that the student will remove the condition during the next semester in which he/she is in residence, but not later than two years after he/she receives the E. The student need not be enrolled to remove the condition. After two years, the work must be repeated in class if credit is to be gained. A senior conditioned in any subject may be given the opportunity to remove the deficiency before the close of the semester, but not later than the last day before commencement, provided that successfully passing these courses will make him/her eligible for graduation.

5.6.4               Incompletes

The work of a student who is passing a course satisfactorily but cannot complete all of the requirements due to illness, accident or unavoidable circumstances shall be reported as “Incomplete” (I). Any faculty member may give an “Incomplete” (I) in any course to a student whom the faculty member regards as deficient in English in that course, but who is otherwise passing. The "Incomplete" (I) will be removed when the Department of English certifies to the instructor that the student has made the necessary improvement. It is expected that the student will remove the Incomplete during the next regular semester after it is received. The student granted a bona fide I by his/her instructor may have the first five weeks of the next regular semester to erase the “Incomplete” before it is computed as an F. Thereafter, it shall be computed as an F until changed by student action within one calendar year when the I shall become a permanent F. The student need not be enrolled to remove the "Incomplete."

5.6.5               Auditor

Students may audit courses subject to the approval of the advisor and of the instructor whose class is visited. Instructors have the authority to drop a student who is auditing if the student does not satisfy the requirements as outlined by the instructor when permission is granted to audit a course. Auditors may take part in laboratory or field work only by permission of the instructor, consistent with departmental policy. Students not registered for credit courses may be admitted as auditors only with the consent of the dean of the college in which the course is offered. Auditors are required to register, process appropriate paperwork, and pay the regular fees prior to the end of the add period.

5.6.6               Other Grades

P (pass) designates a passing grade without further indication of performance level. The grade of P is also used to indicate satisfactory progress on graduate thesis and problems courses in lieu of thesis. When the Faculty Senate has approved extension of a one-semester course beyond one semester and the college cannot assign proportional credit and grades, the grade of SP (Self-Paced) may be recorded. The SP grade will be assigned to students not completing all required coursework for the semester, but satisfactorily completing a specified minimum percentage of the coursework. The minimum for each course will be determined by the department offering the course but will not be less than 50 percent of the work required for the full semester. A student receiving an SP grade will reregister for the same course and will be required to finish the remaining coursework during the second semester, at the end of which he/she will receive grades of A, B, C, D or F. If a student receives an F after the second semester, he/she may register for the course a third time but must finish all work during that semester. If a student does not reregister for the course in which he/she received an SP grade, or if he/she does not return to UT Martin the next semester, he/she will receive an F at the end of that semester. The SP grade will not compute in the cumulative average. An S (satisfactory) grade will be assigned at the end of the first semester for a course, which requires two semesters to complete. The hours credit will be counted in the course load but will not be counted in computing the grade point average for the first semester. To receive credit in a course for which an S grade has been assigned, the student must reregister for the same course during the next semester. At the end of the second semester, the student will receive a grade of P (Pass) or F (Failure). Use of the S grade is limited to HONR 108-208-308-408 (Honors Seminar).

5.6.7               Repeating Courses

A student may repeat a course in which he/she had earned a grade of D or F. Effective for courses taken beginning summer 1999, when a course is repeated, only the last grade earned will be counted in computing the grade point average and in fulfilling requirements for a degree. A student who had earned A or B in a course will be allowed to re-enroll in that course only as an auditor; any exception to this policy will require approval by the vice chancellor for academic affairs. A student earning C in a course may repeat the course with the approval of his/her advisor. Courses with an earned grade of A, B or C that are repeated with approval will be evaluated by the same procedure as given for repeated courses with the grade of D or F.