Graduate Grades

Listed below are the graduate grades and corresponding number of quality points per credit hour.

GRADE	QUALITY POINTS	MEANING
A	4.0	Excellent
B+	3.5
B	3.0	Good
C+	2.5
C	2.0	Pass
P	0.0	Pass (Master of Education-Student Teaching, 0-credit Physician Assistant Program Course)
F	0.0	Failure
FA	0.0	Failure - Excessive Absences
FN	0.0	Failure - Never Attended
I	0.0	Incomplete (until removed)
AU	—	Satisfactory Audit
UA	—	Unsatisfactory Audit
W	—	Withdraw

QUALITY POINTS are used to compute the student’s grade point average (GPA). The GPA is the ratio of accumulated quality points to accumulated earned semester credit hours.

Only graduate courses earned at the 600 level or above at Christian Brothers University are included in the computation for graduation.

THE WITHDRAWAL GRADE “W” is given for a course taken by the student who is allowed to withdraw from the course after the add/drop period and before the end of the withdrawal period. The last day for withdrawing from a course is listed in the University Calendar posted on the CBU website.

THE INCOMPLETE GRADE “I”

Instructors will penalize a student for failing to submit required work by the end of the final grading period. Alternatively, an instructor may agree to give a student a temporary grade of “I” if asked by the student in a timely fashion. Instructors are under no obligation to agree to give a grade of “I.” The grade of “I” can only be given after the student, the instructor and the dean of the particular school in which the incomplete grade is being given sign an “Incomplete Contract” specifying the work to be completed and return it to the Office of the Registrar for the posting of the incomplete grade. Incompletes can only be given if the paperwork is completed at least one week prior to the deadline for entering grades. Exceptions to this deadline may only be made by the Associate Registrar. These will only be granted for a documented illness, a serious family emergency, or another issue of comparable magnitude. Requests made by students for an exception to this deadline must be received by the Associate Registrar by the last day of exams. The “I” grade will not be computed in the GPA. When the “I” is changed to a grade, that grade will be calculated into the GPA, and the “I” will show next to the new grade. The “I” grade does not satisfy the prerequisite if the course is needed to continue to the next course. The grade is changed to and “I/F” if all the work is not completed by the midterm of the following semester for day courses or the end of the following term for evening courses. The “Incomplete Contract” form is located on the CBU website.

Failure to attend a class or ceasing to attend a class does not constitute a drop, and a grade of “F” will be recorded.

Grade Changes

A change in grade, other than the removal of an incomplete will require the approval of the faculty member, as well as the Director and/or Department Chair and Dean of the school before the grade change can be processed by the Office of the Registrar. Grades may not be changed for work submitted after the final grade submission deadline, unless an incomplete grade contract is on file with the Office of the Registrar

Students who are graduating may not have a grade changed once the graduation is finalized and the graduating GPA is locked in. Graduating students only have three business days after the official graduation date to remove an incomplete grade and graduate. If this is not done, the student’s graduation date is postponed, and the student must refile for graduation.

Grade Appeals

A student who has evidence that he or she has been assigned a final grade in a capricious, prejudicial, or arbitrary manner may appeal the assigned grade within two weeks after the beginning of the subsequent academic semester (or term). The student should file for a grade appeal formally in the Academic Affairs Office. Then, the student should discuss the grade in question with the instructor involved. If not satisfied, the graduate student should discuss the situation with his or her graduate director. The student should discuss the matter with the Graduate Program Director if s/he is still not satisfied. If no resolution is reached, the student should refer the matter to the Dean of the appropriate school. If the matter remains unresolved, the student may then appeal the case to the Grade Appeals Committee. The judgment of the Committee is final.

Repeating Courses

A graduate course may be repeated only once (a total of two enrollments) in an attempt to improve the grade. Additional attempts require the written approval of the Graduate Program Director (second enrollment) and the Vice President for Academics or his or her delegate (third enrollment). The last grade received in a course is used in the calculation of the student’s grade point average. A student may not repeat any course off-campus that has been previously attempted.

Course Audits

A student may earn the grade of “AU” for a satisfactorily completed course audit. The “AU” grade has neither quality points nor credit hour values.

Minimum Grade Requirements

Graduation from a graduate program requires a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Students with a GPA below 3.0 are ineligible to graduate.

Continuation in Program, Academic Probation, & Academic Suspension

All participants are expected to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0-point grade scale. A student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 will be placed on Academic Probation for the subsequent semester or part-of-term (as applicable for accelerated programs with 8-week courses). A student on Academic Probation is required to work with their Program Director or Academic Advisor on development and implementation of an individualized Academic Success Plan. If the student does not attain a 3.0 cumulative GPA during the probationary semester/part-of-term but does attain a semester/part-of-term GPA of at least 3.0 and has upheld their Academic Success Plan, the student will remain on Academic Probation for an additional semester/part-of-term. A student on Academic Probation may not take more than a full-time course load (9 credit hours) without written permission from the Graduate Program Director. Failure to remove the probationary condition within two semesters will cause the participant to be academically suspended from the program. A student on Academic Suspension may not enroll in any courses at CBU for at least one major semester. A student academically suspended from the program may reapply after being out of the program for one semester or more, up to five years from initial enrollment (See also section on "Time Limits for Degree Eligibility."); however, readmission to the program is not guaranteed. A student who is Academically Suspended does not meet the requirements for an F-1 Student Visa.

Academic Deceleration (Physician Assistant Studies Students Only)

Deceleration is the departure of a student from his or her entering cohort where the student remains matriculated in the Physician Assistant Studies (PA) Program. Students who fail to meet academic standards in the PA Program may be subject to academic deceleration. Reasons for deceleration may include failure to maintain a cumulative GPA above 3.000 at the end of two consecutive semesters, a course failure, or a lapse in professionalism. Decelerated students will be required to sign a contract that stipulates the reason for deceleration, conditions of deceleration, first day of absence and return date. The contract will be student specific and based on circumstances that led to deceleration as well as the needs of the student. Deceleration may occur as a result of a recommendation by the PA Program’s Student Progress Committee (SPC).

Readmission

To be readmitted, a graduate student who has been suspended or has been absent for a semester (including Summer Session if required for the program) must make application for readmission to the student’s graduate degree program at least six weeks before registration and by the application deadline for the Physician Assistant Program for the following year's matriculating cohort. Any student applying for readmission who does not have a minimum acceptable GPA must have his or her records reviewed by the Vice President for Academics or an administrator delegated by the Vice President for this purpose. Readmission is not automatic; the Vice President for Academics or his or her delegate may approve or refuse the application.

Experiential Assessment

Students may apply for and be granted graduate-level credit for knowledge and understanding related to the student’s degree program and gained from work-site or other experiences, except for the Physician Assistant Program. Advanced standing will not be granted for the Physician Assistant Program. Documentation is evaluated for credit by the Graduate Program Director in the area in which credit is sought. The student must submit all appropriate documentation to the Graduate Program Director along with the “Experiential Learning Assessment” application and the application fee. The Graduate Program Director will complete the evaluation form detailing what, if any, credit should be awarded. Upon receipt of the paperwork and proof of payment, the Office of the Registrar will process the credit. Students must earn 12 hours of academic credit at Christian Brothers University before the credit awarded will be posted to the student's transcript.

Graduation

Christian Brothers University has only one graduation ceremony a year in May, although there are three official graduation dates. Students may graduate in May, August, or December. Only those students who can complete their course work within the academic year of the graduating ceremony can walk.

All students planning to receive a diploma in May or August must "Apply to Graduate" via BannerWeb no later than December 1st. Students planning to receive a diploma in December must file a graduation application by September 15th. The $130 graduation fee is applied at the beginning of the semester in which graduation is anticipated. This fee is applicable for one year. After this time, students who have not completed their graduation requirements will be removed from the graduation list, and they must reapply for graduation, as well as repay the fee. Those filing after the stated deadlines will be assessed a non-refundable late fee of $50.00.

Students must complete a graduation application via BannerWeb before they can graduate. If a student has completed his/her degree requirements but failed to complete the graduation application, the degree will be conferred at the end of the next semester once the application is completed.

Students of the MSPAS Program must demonstrate proficiency in the Didactic Comprehensive Evaluation to move to the clinical phase of the program and the Summative Assessment to complete graduation requirements and be declared eligible for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE).

Graduating students will have three business days after the official graduation date to remove any incomplete grades, send in any transcripts from other universities, or to have a grade changed in order to be graduated for a particular graduation date. Once a student is graduated, his or her cumulative graduating GPA is locked in and no grade change can be made. Once a student graduates and wants to come back to CBU to take additional courses or enter another program, he or she must reapply through the appropriate admission process or office to reapply into a new program

Attendance

Any student who has missed a total of eight (8) hours of class time may be given a grade of “F” after the last day to withdraw from classes has passed. All students are expected to attend class beginning with the first class meeting. Students taking courses in the 8-week accelerated programs should plan to attend the first class meeting as each class is equivalent to one week of class time.

Transfer Credits

A student may transfer credits earned at another regionally accredited college or university only if:

the student is a degree student,
the courses to be transferred are graduate courses appropriate to the Christian Brothers University graduate program,
prior courses were completed within five years before admission to the Christian Brothers University graduate program,
grade of “B” (3.0 on a scale of 4.0) or better was achieved, and
the transfer is recommended by the Graduate Director and approved by the Office of the Registrar.

A maximum of nine semester credit hours with grades of B or better may be transferred from another college or university. The PA Program does not accept transfer credits.

Undergraduates Taking Graduate Level Courses

Undergraduate seniors with special permission may be allowed to take up to nine hours of graduate level coursework. An undergraduate student wishing to use the graduate credit as part of their total number of hours for the undergraduate degree may not use that course(s) as part of the master’s program. Students should consult with the Office of Financial Aid for additional eligibility requirements. Students enrolled in a dual enrollment pathway may be allowed additional credit.

Policy for Withdrawal from Class

Partial withdrawal requests are made via BannerWeb under Student Services – Registration. Complete withdrawals requests are required to come to the Office of the Registrar to secure the necessary signatures to complete the withdrawal process.

The date on the “complete withdrawal” form will count as the official date of notification for processing the withdrawal. This is the date that will be used by all offices for processing the withdrawal, return to Title IV calculation, and tuition adjustments.

If a faculty member assigns a failing grade for a course due to academic misconduct (e.g. plagiarism, cheating, etc.), a grade of “F” will be immediately assigned, and a withdrawal will be prohibited. If the student wishes to appeal his or her final grade for the course, the student may immediately begin the grade appeal process.