Grading Policies

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Grade Assignment

Grades are awarded in courses in which students are officially enrolled after the last day to drop or withdraw from a course without receiving a grade. This date is indicated in the Academic Calendar  for each enrollment period.

Grade points are assigned as follows: four for each semester hour of A, three for B, two for C, one for D, and zero for F. Plus or minus grades may be assigned at the discretion of the instructor with corresponding grade points as follows:

In computing the grade point average, decimals beyond two places are truncated, not rounded. For example, a term with 3 hours of grade A and 3 hours of grade B- will display a GPA of 3.335 in the student center. But the GPA is truncated to 3.33 for scholastic requirements (see below).

Grade Explanations

1. Passing grades for which semester hours of credit are awarded are A, A-, B+, B, B-,C+, C, C-, and S. (Professional students in the colleges of Law, Optometry, and Pharmacy students should refer to those sections of the catalog for relevant grading policy variations.)
2. Although grades of D+ and lower are included in the computed grade point average,the university awards no credit toward the degree for courses in which the student receives a grade below C-. If such courses are required for the degree, the student will be required to take the courses again.
3. Certain graduate courses, as specified annually by the department, may be graded as S (satisfactory), U (unsatisfactory), or I (incomplete). In the catalog, these courses are referred to as S-U graded courses. Such grades will not be included in computing a grade point average as grades of S, U, I, and W are not assigned grade point values.
4. The temporary grade of I (incomplete) is a conditional and temporary grade assigned when students for non-academic reasons beyond their control have not completed a relatively small part of all requirements for a course. The student must:
   1. be currently passing the course or have a reasonable chance of passing the course, in the judgment of the instructor;

   2. contact the instructor immediately regarding the reasons that prevent the student from completing the course, final assignment and/or final examination, and initiate the request for an I grade as soon as possible, preferentially before the end of the term. However, students have 90 days from the posting of the course grade to request an I grade;

   3. not re-enroll (re-register) for the courses in which their grade is currently recorded as an I. Even when the conditions for fulfilling the course requirements include participation in all or part of the same course in another semester, the student must not re-enroll (re-register) for the course;

   4. make arrangements with the instructor to complete the course requirements, if assigned;

   5. understand that the only way to have an I grade changed to a passing grade is to fulfill course requirements in accordance with the conditions specified by the instructor;

   6. understand that the grade of I (incomplete) must be changed by fulfillment of course requirements within 12 months of the end of the term or session in which the I grade was received, or it will be converted automatically to an F or U (in S-U graded courses); and

   7. understand that the grade of I may be changed only to another letter grade. If the student does not complete the course requirements in the time allotted (see point f. above) the I grade will convert to an F grade and will be noted as a lapsed incomplete on the student’s transcript. An I grade, once lapsed to an F grade or changed to another letter grade, may not be changed back to an I grade or to a grade of W

After the course work is completed by the student, the instructor will submit an electronic grade change form to change the I grade to the grade earned. Incomplete grades must be resolved before graduation. In the case of a student enrolled in the graduating semester, a grade of I which has not been changed by the date of graduation will have the effect of an F or U.

5. The grade of W is assigned to a course only after the last day to drop or withdraw without receiving a grade by the official census date (see Academic Calendar ), and no later than the final day to drop or withdraw. Students are responsible for initiating action to drop or withdraw from classes. See the Dropping Courses  section for further details. Students who fail to do so will be retained on the class rolls even though they may be absent for the remainder of the semester. In such instances a grade of F (or U in S-U graded courses) will be awarded unless the conditions for a grade of I have been met.

6. Masters thesis and doctoral dissertation courses, or other capstone research projects, may be designated by the department as In-Progress (IP). For these courses, the instructor should enter the IP indicator rather than a grade on the student’s permanent record for each registration period until the term in which the final product is graded. An In-Progress designation in place of a grade indicates that the student is proceeding satisfactorily but must re-enroll to obtain a final grade. A grade of IP is not counted in the cumulative GPA. A final grade of B or better is required on the completed thesis/dissertation. 

7. Upon completion of coursework associated with an In Progress grade, the student is awarded a letter grade commensurate with performance in that course. This grade must be applied to at least the total required number of hours designated in the degree plan for that course, but not to more than the number of hours taken in the graduating term.

Cumulative Grade Point Average

The cumulative grade point average and the Low Grade Policy  are based upon all of the student’s work taken as a graduate student at the University of Houston, including repeated courses and undergraduate courses, for which grade point values are assigned.

Final Grade Reports

Instructors submit final grades through myUH. Students may view and/or print grades by logging into their myUH account at https://accessUH.uh.edu.

Scholastic Requirements and GPA Warning

Graduate students cannot graduate with a less than 3.00 cumulative grade point average (GPA) calculated as described above. Students whose cumulative GPA is below 3.00 will be classified as on GPA Warning.  Students on GPA Warning are not eligible for graduation.  When a GPA Warning student raises their cumulative GPA to 3.00 or above, they will return to Good Academic Standing.  Failure to maintain a 3.00 GPA may also result in academic probation, suspension, loss of financial support, or dismissal.according to college/departmental policy.  Student should review and be familiar with degree requirements and academic policies of their academic unit. 

Conditional Admission   

In order to be admitted unconditionally, students with a conditional admission status must earn a minimum GPA of 3.00 during the first 12 hours of graduate level course work attempted at the University of Houston, otherwise they are dismissed from their degree program.

(Also see information on Transfer Credit )