Grades, Grading & GPA

In this section

Only the credits accumulated and grade points earned at Morgan Community College are used in computation of semester (GPA) and cumulative Grade Point Averages (CGPA). A cumulative GPA (CGPA) of 2.0 is required for graduation.

Students can view final grades and transcripts on MyMCC.

Grading System

Courses are graded using either type A- F or S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory). The grading type and grading scale for each course is listed in the course syllabus. Other grade options are explained below.

CCCS ES 9-83

INVENTORY OF COMMON GRADING SYMBOLS
GRADE	DESCRIPTION	QUALITY POINTS
A	Excellent or Superior	4.00
B	Good	3.00
C	Average	2.00
D	Deficient	1.00
F	Failure	0.00
I	Incomplete	None
S	Satisfactory	None
U	Unsatisfactory	None
W	Withdrawal	None
AW	Administrative Withdrawal	None
AU	Audit	None

DEVELOPMENTAL COURSE GRADES
GRADE	DESCRIPTION	QUALITY POINTS
S/A	Satisfactory (A-level work)	None
S/B	Satisfactory (B-level work)	None
S/C	Satisfactory (C-level work)	None
U/D	Unsatisfactory (D-level work)	None
U/F	Unsatisfactory (F-level work)	None

TRANSFER COURSE GRADES (Not computed into GPA)
GRADE	DESCRIPTION	QUALITY POINTS
A*	Transfer Grade	None
B*	Transfer Grade	None
C*	Transfer Grade	None
D*	Transfer Grade	None
S*	Transfer Grade	None
TR	No Transfer Grade Listed	None

OTHER COURSE GRADES (Not computed into GPA)
GRADE	DESCRIPTION	QUALITY POINTS
CA	Grade Change Thru Appeal	None
CPL	Credit for Prior Learning	None
CNG	Conversion-No Grade	None

PLACEHOLDERS
GRADE	DESCRIPTION	QUALITY POINTS
R	Repeat Field	None
Z	Grade Not Yet Reported	None
SP	Satisfactory Progress	None

Calculation of GPA

Grades awarded for developmental courses [as defined by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) as Basic Skills courses] will not be included in a student's grade point average (GPA). Grading for developmental courses will utilize the Developmental grade mode (S/A, S/B, S/C, U/D, U/F). The credits will count toward earned and attempted credits. GPA's for term recognition such as President's List and Vice President's List will not include developmental courses in the calculation.

Course credits for which an Audit (AU) is earned will not count in Attempted Hours (AHRS) and Earned Hours (EHRS). No Quality Points (QPTS) will be assigned, and there will be no impact on either the Term GPA or Cumulative (CGPA).

CCCS Educational Services ES 9-81

Grade Changes

All grades reported to the Registrar by an instructor are entered upon the student's academic record. These grades are permanent and will be changed only in the case of a grading or reporting error by the instructor. Grade Change Authorization forms are available to instructors from the Student Services Office and must contain the instructor signature and Vice President of Instruction or Dean of Instruction approval along with a listed reason for the grade change. Students who feel a grade has been computed incorrectly should contact the instructor of record. Grade changes are only accepted until the 4th week of the following term. Students may not grieve a course grade.

Repeated Courses

Students may retake any course taken at MCC to improve their grade. After completing the repeated course, an automatic program will code the class as a "repeat course". The highest grade will be used in calculation of the GPA. Students should check with financial aid before repeating a course. Federal laws prohibit financial aid from paying for some repeat courses.

CCCS ES9-87

Repeat Course Limits

In order to increase retention and student success, the state system of community colleges has the following limits with regard to repeated courses.

The Following Guidelines Apply To All Students Taking Courses:

Student will be limited in the number of times that they can take the same course.
Certain courses are exempted from the repeat course procedure.
If a student has taken a course twice or more and attempts to register for the course an additional time, the student will not be able to register for other courses without needing an action plan or approval.
If an advisor does not feel that the registration is warranted, the student may appeal.
If a student has taken a course three times and wants to register for the course a fourth time, the student must appeal.

Repeated Courses and Financial Aid

Please check with financial aid before repeating a course. Federal laws prohibit financial aid from paying for some repeat courses. See the Financial Aid Section of the MCC Catalog for additional important information.

Repeated Courses on Academic Records/Transcripts and GPA

Each registration for the course and each grade received will be listed on the transcript. On the transcript, a notation will follow the course indicating that the course was repeated and designating whether the course will be included in the GPA. The highest grade will be used in the GPA calculation. In the event that the same grade is earned two or more times for a repeated course, the most recent instance of the duplicate grade will be included in the term and cumulative GPA. All other duplicate grades will be excluded from the term and cumulative GPA.

Repeated Courses and COF

All credit hours earned for initial and repeated courses will be deducted from a student's remaining College Opportunity Fund (COF) stipend eligible hours.

Repeated Courses and Application toward Certificates and Degrees

"Repeated" courses may be applied only one time to a certificate or degree, except for variable credit courses and designated courses that may be repeated for professional or personal development. Each institution will designate courses that may be "repeated" within program requirements.

Repeating Developmental Courses

Developmental courses are eligible to be repeated. All developmental courses will appear on the transcript. Individual colleges may choose to specify a limit for the number of times a developmental course may be repeated.

Repeated Courses Taken Prior To 2006

For courses taken prior to fall of 2006, the student or student's advisor will need to complete a 'Repeated Course form' for the GPA computation of the repeated course to be activated. For courses taken after fall of 2006, no form is necessary.

Repeated Courses and Degree Works

If the initial course received a grade that does not 'count' toward the student's program in the audit, the repeated course will not show in the audit until it is actually successfully completed and marked as a 'repeat course' at the end of the term. The advisor can make manual notations to the audit indicating a repeated course is being attempted.

View the full ES 4-87 Repeat Course Limit at: https://www.cccs.edu/wp-content/uploads/documents/ES487RepeatCourseLimits.pdf

Audit (AU)

By auditing a course, a student may participate in course activities, but does not receive a formal transcript grade. Students must indicate intent to audit a course at registration or by the deadline listed in the MCC Schedule of Classes for that semester. Audited courses are not eligible for the College Opportunity Fund (COF) stipend. Students will be responsible for the full in-state or out-of-state tuition. Audited courses do not meet the credit hour requirements for financial aid or veteran benefits and may not be applied to certificates or degrees.

-CCCS Education Services Council 11/28/2006

-CCCS Education Services Council 11/28/2006

The "AU" grade will continue to be included in the grading policy. Audit is a registration status in Banner. "AU" is automatically posted as the grade.

Students must choose the audit option by census date so that colleges can reconcile the COF file. Students need to be informed that the COF stipend cannot be used for "audit' courses. If students change to the audit status following initial enrollment they will be responsible for the entire in-state tuition, not just the student portion. Colleges may wish to consider suggesting the S/U grading option rather than audit because the COF stipend will be eligible for S/U courses but not for audit courses.

CCCS ES 4-83 https://www.cccs.edu/wp-content/uploads/documents/ES4-83_Audits.pdf

Satisfactory Developmental Course Grades (S/A, S/B, S/C)

These are satisfactory grades awarded only for developmental courses. The A, B, and C, indicate the level of satisfactory performance. These grades are not included in the GPA calculation. The course will count for attempted and earned hours.

Unsatisfactory Developmental Course Grades (U/D, U/F)

These are unsatisfactory grades awarded only for developmental courses. The "D" and "F" indicate the level of unsatisfactory performance. These grades are not included in the GPA calculation. The course will count for attempted credits, but will not carry earned credits.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grades (S/U)

The grades "S" (Satisfactory) and "U" (Unsatisfactory) will be assigned in the following courses:

Physical Education
Agriculture and Business Management program courses
Other selected courses if approved by an MCC Vice President of Instruction or Dean of Instruction

The satisfactory grade "S" is equivalent to a grade of "C" or better. The course will count in attempted and earned credits, but will not carry quality points. The unsatisfactory grade "U" is equivalent to a "D" or "F" grade. The course will count in attempted credits, but will not carry earned credits or quality points.

S/U Grading

Individual students will not be able to select the S/U grading option for a course that has been identified as a traditionally graded course when using the self-service features of Banner. A request for the S/U option may be submitted to the registration office. NOTE: If individual students are permitted by college procedure to choose an S/U option for a course, the college will build two sections of the course - one for the graded section and one for the S/U option.

College catalogs should identify the number of S/U credits that may be applied to a degree or certificate. No S/U course may be applied to the AA/AS degree with the exception of physical education courses. An "S" grade will indicate that the quality of student work in the course is equivalent to "C or better." "S" and "U" will count in attempted and earned credits, but ill not carry any quality points. Therefore, S/U grades will not be included in GPA calculations.

-CCCS Education Services Council Procedure ES 9-88 https://www.cccs.edu/wp-content/uploads/documents/ES-9-88-SU-and-PF-Grading-FINAL-APPROVED-093013.pdf

Transfer Grades

A grade of "C," "P," "S," or better is required for transfer. Transfer credit will not be awarded for courses with "D," "F," or "U" grades. Individual colleges may choose to grant an exception to this rule and accept transfer courses with a grade of "D" on a case-by-case basis. Transfer grades will be recorded with an "*" (asterisk) before the grade to indicate a transfer grade. TR is also a recording option for a transfer course grade. Transfer courses are not computed into the student's GPA.

CCCS ES 9-84 "D" Grades (Transfer and Applicability to Program Requirements) https://www.cccs.edu/wp-content/uploads/documents/ES9-84_Dgrades.pdf

Withdrawal Grades (Dropping a Course after the Refund Deadline/Census)

Withdrawal occurs when a student requests dropping a courses after the refund deadline (also referred to as census) for the term/course. The course will count in Attempted Hours (AHRS). Faculty is required to provide the last date of attendance for each student who is assigned this grade.

Withdrawal Grades (Student Initiated)

Students may initiate an official withdrawal from a course or courses at any time within the first eighty percent (80%) of the course length by dropping online after the refund deadline listed for the course in their MyMCC account or by completing a paper form.

Students who initiate a drop from a course or courses during the first 15% of a course will not have grades entered on a permanent academic record.
Students withdrawing from a course or courses after the first 15% of the course (refund deadline for a course), but within the first 80% of a course, will have a grade of "W" Withdrawal paced on their academic records.
Students can initiate their own withdrawal by requesting a withdrawal online on their MyMCC account or by completing a form in-person at the MCC Student Services office or MCC Centers.

Faculty Initiated Withdrawal of a Student/Last Date of Attendance

Faculty is required to provide the last date of attendance for each student who is awarded an "F" or "U/F" grade. In addition, if faculty assign a "W" Withdrawal grade, then last date of attendance is also required.

Administrative Withdrawal (AW)

An "AW" grade is assigned by the college when a student has been withdrawn administratively. No academic credit is awarded. The course will count in attempted hours.

Placeholders

SP - SATISFACTORY PROGRESS

This symbol is limited to certain approved courses that extend beyond the end of a normal 15-week semester. No academic credit is awarded until the course is completed.

Z - NO GRADE SUBMITTED

The symbol "Z" is a temporary grade entered by the Registrar when a grade is not received from the course instructor. This "Z" grade is replaced and credit is awarded upon the Registrar's receipt of the grade.

CPL - CREDIT FOR PRIOR LEARNING

A symbol of "CPL" indicates that the course and credits to which it is attached were awarded according to BP 9-42, Credit for Prior Learning.

CNG - CONVERSION NO GRADE

In the Legacy System, courses could exist on a transcript with no grade posted. The courses have been migrated to Banner with a symbol of "CNG" defined as "Converted-No Grade."

REPEAT FIELD

The Repeat Field on the transcript will be marked I-Include in hours and GPA calculation, E-Exclude from earned hours and GPA calculation, or A-Exclude from earned hours but count in GPA calculation.

Incomplete Grade (I)

The "Incomplete" grade is a temporary grade and is designed for students who because of documented illness or circumstances beyond their control are unable to complete their course work within the semester, but have completed a majority of the course work (defined as at least 75% of all course assignments and tests) in a satisfactory manner (grade "C" or better). If circumstances beyond the student's control prevent the student from completing a test or assignments at the end of the term, then it is the student's responsibility to initiate the request for an "Incomplete" grade from the instructor. The instructor will determine whether the student has a reasonable chance of satisfactorily completing the remaining course activities in a timely manner. In requesting an "incomplete" grade, the student must present to the instructor the documentation of circumstances justifying an "Incomplete" grade. The instructor will fill out the "Incomplete Grade Contract" which outlines the remaining requirements, deadlines, and other arrangements made between the instructor and student to complete the coursework. The instructor and student both sign the contract and the instructor submits the form to the Student Services Office. Student Services will send a copy of the signed "Incomplete Grade Contract" to the student. The instructor must then assign an Incomplete Grade on the regular grade roster in a timely fashion.

Incomplete Grade Contract must include the following information:

Student Name (F, MI, L);
Student ID#;
Course Number and Section;
Reason for assigning a grade of incomplete (statement of extenuating circumstances);
Work to be completed for removal of incomplete grade (instructor should be very specific including the work to be done and how the final grade is to be calculated);
What, when, and how assignments and tests will be submitted to complete the course;
The time period in which the work must be completed;
Evidence of completion of 75% of the semester coursework;
Instructor Signature and Date;
Student Signature and Date;

Students are encouraged to let instructors know, as soon as possible, if they are having difficulties with any part of the course. In the event that a student and instructor cannot reach resolution concerning an Incomplete, then the student should contact the Instructional Officer of the college, Vice President of Instruction or Dean of Instruction. Military personnel and emergency management officials who are required to go TDY in the middle of a term should contact their instructor for special consideration. Documentation of official TDY assignment is required and must be approved by the Chief Instruction Officer.

Incomplete grades which are not converted to a letter grade by the instructor after one subsequent semester (not including summer semester) will revert to an "F" grade. If the student would have earned a letter grade higher than an "F" grade without completing the work, faculty may submit that higher grade before the automatic conversion to an "F."

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GRADES, STUDENT RECORDS & TRANSCRIPTS