Grading System

After each semester or session, a grade report will be available to each student by signing in to MyIUP (my.iup.edu).

Grades and Quality Points

In the grading system, the following grades are used in reporting the standing of students at the end of each semester or session:

#NOTE: Students admitted Fall 2017 and after earn P or F for graduate thesis/dissertation only.
Students admitted prior to Fall 2017 follow previous grading system for thesis/dissertation.

Grades followed by the following designations indicate the application of a policy that has amended the student’s cumulative grade point average:

No “D” grade is recognized in IUP graduate work but may be earned by a graduate student enrolled in an undergraduate course.

The designation of “I” is used to record work, which so far as covered, is of passing grade but is incomplete because of personal illness or other unavoidable reason. Changes of grade to convert designations of “I” must be received in the Office of the Registrar no later than the final day of classes in the next regular (fall/spring) semester after the designation was assigned. If the faculty member does not change the “I” designation using a Change of Grade Form, it will be converted to an F.

In rare circumstances, the student and/or faculty member may ask for an extension of the deadline. In this event, the dean of the college in which the course is taught may approve the extension, providing the faculty member concurs. To monitor designations, the registrar shall submit to department chairs routine semester reports of outstanding “I” designations.

A faculty member assigning the “I” designation must complete an Incomplete Grade Form, indicating the work to be completed, deadlines for completion (it is not necessary to permit the maximum allowable time), and guidelines to establish a final grade. Copies of the completed form will be sent to the department chairperson, the dean of the college in which the course was taught, and the student receiving the “I” designation.

Upon completion of the course work, or notification by the student that the course work will not be completed, the faculty member must submit a Change of Grade Form to indicate the final course grade.

The “R” notation pertains only to thesis and dissertation research credits when such research is in progress as a semester or summer session ends. All “R” grades are replaced by the grade eventually assigned when the research is completed. The “W” notation applies to certain withdrawals from courses. Withdrawals from the university and discrete course withdrawals are discussed in other sections of this catalog. Note that an “F” is entered in the student’s permanent academic record if a withdrawal of either type has not been processed in accordance with established procedures.

The grade of “L” is appropriate for cases in which the student’s work is expected to extend beyond a given semester/session. “L” grades may be used for an internship, practicum, field experience course, workshops, and independent studies that, by design, extend beyond the normal end of the grading period. Unless an exemption is obtained from the dean of the college in which the grade was given, an “L” grade unresolved at the end of one year will be converted to an “F.” If a student withdraws from the university before the year has elapsed, outstanding “L” grades will be converted to “W” grades. If, for a graduate student, the maximum number of years allotted to complete the graduate degree runs out before the year has elapsed, outstanding “L” grades will be converted to “W” grades.