UB Undergraduate Catalog 2006-2007

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The current grading system provides the following alternatives.

* See Incomplete Grades section for explanation.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grading

S/U grading is an option of the student, not the instructor.

Students wishing to select the S/U grading option must do so before the end of the drop/add period.

Students cannot select S/U grading for any course that is required for, or is a prerequisite for, their major(s) or general education requirements.

No more than 25 percent of a student's UB credit can be graded S/U.

Instructors are not be informed when students have selected the S/U option. They must submit the letter grades the students earn on the Web Grading Web site. Students may recover the letter grade earned in a course graded S/U if (a) that course is required for, or is a prerequisite for, a major(s) to which they have changed; or (b) they can document that a graduate or professional school to which they have applied demands the letter grade earned. (Once recovered, the letter grade will stand; that is, the student will not be able to change back to S/U grading.)

The letter grades equivalent to "U" (unsatisfactory) are "F," "D," and "D+". Students opting for S/U grading who earn a "D" or "D+" may petition their advisor to recover the letter grade if they wish to use the course toward degree requirements.

For S/U Grading Procedures, see the Student Academic Records and Financial Services website at http://src.buffalo.edu/pdf/s-u-grade.pdf.

Pass/Fail Grading

Pass/Fail is an instructor-designated option for courses that do not lend themselves to letter grades. Failure in the course (grade of "F") results in the grade being calculated in the GPA.

Incomplete Grades

A grade of incomplete ("I") may be given to students who have not completed all of the assigned work in a course if they have a passing average and there exists a well-defined means by which the course requirements can be completed. The grade of "I" must be removed within a period of fifteen months. Students may not re-register for a course in which they have a grade of Incomplete.

At the time an "I" is given, the instructor must specify the default grade that the student will receive if a grade change is not filed by the instructor before the expiration of the grace period. The default grade is the grade that the student will receive as a course grade if the additional work is not completed. Individual instructors may set shorter time limits for removing an incomplete than the fifteen-month time limit specified above. Students may not graduate with an Incomplete on their record.

This policy is not retroactive and does not apply to transfer credit.

Applicable dates regarding the fifteen-month provision:

The "I" must be changed to a grade before the degree conferral date if the student plans to graduate in that semester.

A default grade can be "A," "B," "C," "D," "F," or "P/F." (If a student selected an S/U grading option, it will replace the default letter grade.)

Students must not register again for courses in which they have an "I" grade.

"J" Grades

A "J" indicates a reporting error. Generally, reporting errors are corrected prior to the start of the next semester, however, a "J" may occasionally remain on the student's record. The student should immediately contact the instructor and/or department to correct the error; without correction, "J" grades automatically default to "F" grades at the end of the following semester.

"N" Audit

Students must arrange with Student Academic and Financial Services for an audit grade ("N") in a course before the end of the second week of classes. Student Processing Services will automatically record the audit grade on students' transcripts.

Students must elect audit on a form (requiring the instructor's signature) furnished by Student Academic Records and Financial Services by the end of the second week of classes.

Instructors may terminate students' audit status by letter to Student Academic and Financial Services. The "N" will be changed to "R." Student Processing Services will notify students of the change. The instructors must communicate to the students the grounds for termination at the time of approval.

Students may not repeat for credit courses in which they have received an "N" grade.