Grades

The letter grades used in the calculation of grade-point average (GPA) are as follows:

Grades

Letter Grade	Explanation
A	Excellent. Four quality points.
B	Good. Three quality points.
C	Satisfactory. Two quality points.
D	Passing. One quality point.
F	Failure. No quality points. If the course is required, the student must repeat it.

Guiding principles for the determination of grades:

• The grading system an instructor uses, including relative weighting of different types of grading instruments (e.g., _% for homework, _% for quizzes) must be communicated to students in the course syllabus and aligned with the course objectives, teaching activities, assignments, and assessments. For guidance on specific approaches to grading, see the Center for Teaching and Learning website (https://ctl.gatech.edu/grading-and-assessment-resources).
• Students should be able to easily translate their scores on assignments to their course letter grade.  The criteria for final grades should be clearly indicated on the syllabus.  For example, A grade of “A” corresponds to a percentage grade of __% or above on graded assignments, a grade of “B” corresponds to a percentage grade of __%-__% , etc.  
• Students must be graded against a set of standards, not solely on their performance relative to their classmates.
• The grading process and scoring methods should be clear and provide students with meaningful feedback throughout the term, allowing students to reasonably predict progress towards their final grade as the semester advances.
• It is the responsibility of the instructor to design assignments and scoring criteria that are consistent with the published grading scheme. Grade adjustments may be made to increase, not lower, students' grades.

The following grades are used under special conditions and are not included in the calculation of grade-point average (GPA):

Grades

Letter Grade	Explanation
S	Satisfactory
U	Unsatisfactory
V	No credit earned. The "V" grade is used when a student audits a course.

The following grades are used in the cases indicated and are not be included in the calculation of grade-point average (GPA):

Grades

Letter Grade	Explanation
I	The "I" grade is used when, for non-academic reasons beyond the student’s control and deemed eligible by the instructor, a student becomes unable to fulfill a course's requirements and the following criteria have been met: • The student’s academic performance has been satisfactory. • The student has made significant progress in completing course assignments. • The remaining assignment(s) must be appropriate for the issuance of an I grade (see the Registrar’s website for more information). Instructors should refer students to their academic advisors for further guidance on the issuance of the “I” grade or for other options. If the student's academic performance had been so poor as to preclude passing the course, the instructor shall assign the grade of "F." See Regulation VII for information on removal of the Incomplete grade. https://catalog.gatech.edu/rules/7/
W	Withdrawal without Penalty. Withdrawals from individual courses without penalty are not permitted after 60 percent of the academic term has passed, as specified by the official Academic Calendar, except in cases of hardship, as determined by the Undergraduate Institute Curriculum Committee or Graduate Institute Curriculum Committee, as appropriate. Withdrawal from the Institute is not permitted after 60 percent of the academic term has passed, except in cases of hardship, as determined by the Undergraduate Institute Curriculum Committee or Graduate Institute Curriculum Committee, as appropriate. With the exception of part-time graduate students, those who withdraw from the Institute and receive all grades of "W" customarily will not be permitted to enroll in courses in the next succeeding academic term. Regulation VII., "Withdrawal and Readmission," outlines the Institue's policies on readmission. Faculty are expected to return to students a graded assignment or other meaningful performance feedback prior to the deadline for withdrawing from classes so that students can make informed decisions about withdrawing.
NR	Not Reported. The "NR" grade is used when, by no fault of the student, the instructors fails to submit grades before the deadline.
IJ	Incomplete Judicial. The “IJ” is used when academic misconduct has been reported in a class and the investigation is being conducted. It is a placeholder grade that is changed to a permanent grade as determined by the outcome of the investigation. It remains in place until the charges are adjudicated and a proper final grade is determined and assigned.

• Final grades are reported to the Office of the Registrar at the end of each academic term.
• Progress report grades are submitted to the Office of the Registrar for all classes numbered 1000 and 2000 in the Fall Semester and Spring Semester. These grades are used for advising students, not for calculating any grade-point average (GPA) at Georgia Tech. Progress report grades are "S" or "U." A grade of "U" indicates that, based on the work completed to that point in the academic term, the student's standing is in the "D" or lower range. Progress report grades must be submitted once 40 percent of the academic term has passed, as specified by the official Academic Calendar. The due date for reporting will be noon on Monday and the grades will be available to students that afternoon.
• If a final course grade is believed to be erroneous, the student should contact the professor as soon as possible to discuss whether a change of grade may be warranted. A change of grade is a grade correction and is not a matter of a student making up work from the course or doing extra work to improve the grade after the course has ended. Changes of grade should be corrections of errors in the grade calculation or data entry errors.
• A change of final course grade will not be permitted after the end of the next academic term. Exceptions may be made for summer terms where instructional faculty are not available.

Academic Average

The "academic average," or grade-point average (GPA), is the ratio of total quality points earned to total credit hours attempted.

When a student passes a course, she/he receives the designated number of credit hours; at the same time, she/he receives a certain number of quality points, based on the letter grade earned. Multiply the number of credit hours designated to the specific course by the numerical value of the letter grade earned to determine the number of quality points earned. Letter grades carry the following numerical values:

• "A" = 4
• "B" = 3
• "C" = 2
• "D" = 1

For example, when a student earns a letter grade of "C" in a 3-credit-hour course, she/he receives 6 quality points.

Grade-point averages are truncated after two decimal places.

A student who repeats a course for which the student has previously received credit (either by class work at the Institute, through AP/IB credit, or credit transferred from another school) forfeits the original credit in the event the student should fail the course on a subsequent attempt. Where a course has been repeated, both the original and subsequent grades are included in the average, but the credit is counted only once. The academic average includes all subsequent attempts, unless a grade substitution request has been approved and processed.

If a student takes the same course more than once, any later grade does not replace any earlier one. The academic average includes both attempts, unless a grade substitution has been approved and processed.

If a student takes a course on a Pass/Fail basis, the course is not included in their academic average.

For undergraduate students, the academic average is calculated by summing the number of quality points earned by the student for all courses in which they have enrolled as an undergraduate and dividing this sum by the number of credit hours designated to all courses in which they have enrolled as an undergraduate.

For graduate students, the academic average includes only the courses in which the student has enrolled after her/his entrance into the graduate division.