Grading System

Calculation of Grade Point Average

UT Tyler calculates students’ grade point average (GPA) using only coursework completed in residence, and truncates all GPA values at two decimal places, without rounding. The GPA calculation uses only grade points and attempted semester credit hours from courses with grades of A, B, C, D, and F. 

The following categories of courses are not applicable to the GPA:

1. Courses with grades of I, IP, Q, W, P, CR, NC, and AU 
2. Developmental courses, such as MATH 0303 and ENGL 1200, which are not applicable to the Core Curriculum or any degree plan
3. Courses completed at other institutions 

When a student repeats a course, the calculation of their GPA will be impacted depending on whether the repeat was for grade replacement or not (See Repeating Courses and Grade Replacement Policy). 

1. If a grade replacement is used, the grade points and attempted semester credit hours from the prior attempt are excluded from GPA calculations, and only those from the most recent attempt will apply. 
2. If a grade replacement is not used, the grade points and attempted semester credit hours from all attempts will apply to GPA calculations. 

If the student receives a Q or W in the repeated course, only the grade points and attempted semester credit hours from the prior attempt will apply to GPA calculations. If the student receives a grade of I or IP in the repeated course, only the grade points and attempted semester credit hours from the prior attempt will apply to GPA calculations until a final letter grade is assigned to the most recent attempt, at which point the applicable rules (replacement or non-replacement) will be applied. 

Credit/No-Credit Option

Students may elect to enroll in some courses on a credit/no-credit basis. Certain courses in the curriculum may be taken only on a credit/no-credit basis. The following provisions apply to courses taken on a credit/no-credit basis:

1. Registration Form requiring the signature of the student’s advisor.
2. The designation CR will not be changed to a grade of A, B, C, or D.
3. The designation of CR and NC will not be used in calculating the grade point average.
4. The designation CR will be counted toward the total number of hours passed.

NOTE: Students intending to apply to law school should not take courses using the CR/NC option as most law schools interpret a CR as a "C" and an NC as an "F."

Incomplete Policy

If a student, because of extenuating circumstances, is unable to complete all of the requirements for a course by the end of the semester, then the instructor may recommend an Incomplete (I) for the course. The "I" may be assigned in lieu of a grade only when all of the following conditions are met: (a) the student has been making satisfactory progress in the course; (b) the student is unable to complete all course work or final exam due to unusual circumstances that are beyond personal control and are acceptable to the instructor; and (c) the student presents these reasons prior to the time that the final grade roster is due. The semester credit hours for an Incomplete will not be used to calculate the grade point average for a student.

The student and the instructor must submit an Incomplete Form detailing the work required and the time by which the work must be completed to their respective department chair or college dean for approval. The time limit established must not exceed one year. Should the student fail to complete all of the work for the course within the time limit, then the instructor may assign zeros to the unfinished work, compute the course average for the student, and assign the appropriate grade. If a grade has not been assigned within one year, then the Incomplete will be changed to an F, or to NC if the course was originally taken under the CR/NC grading basis.

IP Grade

The IP “in progress” grade is used for pre-defined courses such as internship or supervised practice in a public school setting that normally extend past the grading period deadline. It may also be used for a sequence of courses where a final grade is not recorded until the sequence is completed.

Courses that use the “IP” grade are designated as such during the course approval process or grandfathered in on approval of the Office of Academic Affairs. The “IP” grade can only be applied to such courses and does not substitute for the “I” grade. An IP grade remains on the transcript until the final grade is changed via the Change of Grade Form.

Courses graded IP are not used in calculating a student’s grade point average.

Pass / Fail Policy

To register for a class on a Pass/Fail basis, a student must have the signatures of his/her advisor and the instructor for the course on a Registration Form.

1. Students may take only one course per semester for P/F credit. Students may take only three courses on a P/F basis during their undergraduate career at UT Tyler.
2. The P/F option is not permitted to be used in the Core Curriculum.
3. The P/F option may not be used for any course that fulfills a student's major or minor requirements, including those courses which are required by, but offered outside of, the major or minor department.
4. Students on academic probation may not enroll in a course on a P/F basis.
5. A course cannot be changed from a P/F basis to letter grade or vice versa after the first five class days.
6. A final grade of P will not be changed to a grade of A, B, C, or D.
7. A final grade of P will be counted in the total number of hours passed.
8. To be eligible for the President’s or Dean’s List, a student must take a minimum of 12 semester hours of graded credit; thus 9 graded credits and 3 P/F credits do not qualify for consideration. A student who earns an “F” in a pass/fail course is not eligible for President’s or Dean’s List in the term in which the grade is assigned, regardless of the number of credits taken or GPA earned.

NOTE: Students intending to apply to law school should not take courses using the P/F option as most law schools interpret a "P" (passing) as a "D" or "C."

Repeating Courses

A student may repeat any course previously taken at UT Tyler that would not normally be repeatable for credit if the last grade received in the course meets the criteria for their career level, which is “D” or “F” for undergraduate students and “C”, “D” or “F” for graduate and doctoral students. Repeated courses may not be taken on a CR/NC or Pass/Fail basis. Students repeating a single course more than two times may be billed at a higher tuition rate. All grades will appear on the student’s official transcript. Once the degree has been awarded by UT Tyler, a student may repeat a course taken prior to graduation, but the repeated course will not be used to recalculate the grade point average. 

Students who repeat a course in which they previously earned credit hours based on a grade of “D” or higher, and earn an additional grade of “D” or higher, without using the grade replacement option (See Grade Replacement policy) may only apply earned credit hours from one course completion toward the 120 unique credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree (See General Baccalaureate Degree Requirements) or the hour requirements for a graduate/doctoral degree.

Students cannot enroll in repeated courses through the myUTTyler Student Center; submission of a Course Repeat / Grade Replacement Enrollment Form to the One-Stop Service Center is required for all course repeats. See the Grade Replacement policy for additional details.

Grade Replacement

A student may request grade replacement only for three course repeats (See Repeating Courses policy) during his/her undergraduate career at UT Tyler. Grade replacement means that only the last grade earned is used to compute the grade point average. However, all grades will appear on the student’s official transcript, accompanied by relevant repeat notations. Students must complete a Course Repeat / Grade Replacement Enrollment Form (found on the Registrar's Form Library) and note the repeated course as “For Grade Replacement” at the time of enrollment. 

Students may utilize an Independent Study or Topics course to complete a grade replacement only if the offering department has confirmed the content is the same as the original course and noted that properly in the course schedule. Department Chair approval is required for each of these circumstances.

In cases where a student repeats an eligible course without requesting grade replacement or has exhausted their available number of “For Grade Replacement” repeats, the student must note the course as repeated “Not For Grade Replacement” on a Course Repeat / Grade Replacement Enrollment Form at the time of enrollment. If a student selects “For Grade Replacement” after exhausting their available grade replacements, the form will be processed as if “Not For Grade Replacement” were selected. For all course repeats using the “Not For Grade Replacement” option, both the original and last grade earned in the course will be used to calculate the overall grade point average. 

If a student attempts to repeat a course but withdraws and receives an automatic “W,” the attempt counts against the grade replacement limit and the original grade remains. If a student is granted a grade of "Q" for a withdrawal, the course will be administratively reclassified as repeated "Not For Grade Replacement", the attempt will not count against the grade replacement limit, and the original grade remains. Students may, on or prior to the Census Date, request in writing to change their “For Grade Replacement”/“Not For Grade Replacement” selection for a repeated course by contacting the One-Stop Service Center.

A student may not exercise grade replacement for courses taken at UT Tyler and repeated at another college or university, nor may grade replacement be used when a course taken elsewhere is repeated at UT Tyler. The grade replacement option may not be exercised to remove a grade awarded in a case of academic dishonesty. Once a degree has been awarded by UT Tyler, grade replacement may not be used to replace a grade taken before that degree was awarded.

Academic Waivers and Substitutions

1. A student may request waivers or substitutions relating to specific degree requirements by submitting a written request to the dean of the college in which the student is majoring. In no instance may a waiver reduce the number of hours required for graduation in a degree program. 
2. Waivers not involving institutional requirements may be granted by the dean after consultation with the faculty advisor and department chair. Requests for waivers of institutional requirements must be approved by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs or designee following a recommendation from the dean.

6-Drop Rule

Any student who began college for the first time as a freshman in Fall 2007 or thereafter may not drop more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career. This includes courses dropped at another 2-year or 4-year Texas public college or university. For purposes of this rule, a dropped course is any course that is dropped after the published Census Date (See Academic Calendar located at http://www.uttyler.edu/calendar/ for the date).

Exceptions to the 6-drop rule include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. totally withdrawing from the university;
2. being administratively dropped from a course by an instructor or the university;
3. dropping a course for a provable illness or disability, for care for a sick or injured person, or for a death in the immediate family or a person who has a sufficiently close relationship to the student;
4. dropping a course for documented change of work schedule;
5. dropping a course for active duty service with the U.S. armed forces or Texas National Guard;
6. dropping a course that does not carry college-level credit such as a developmental course or a zero-credit course; or
7. dropping courses taken as required co-requisites such as a lecture class with a required laboratory. In such cases the lecture and lab are counted as one drop when dropped at the same time.

Petitions for exemptions must be submitted to the One-Stop Service Center and accompanied by documentation of the extenuating circumstances beyond performance in the course. Please contact the One-Stop Service Center if you have any questions.

A grade of “Q” will appear on the official transcripts of any student who has dropped a course where an exemption or exception was granted; this takes the place of the standard “W” grade. All Texas institutions are required to honor the exemptions and exceptions granted by a transferring institution. Procedures for implementing the law vary among institutions. Therefore, students have an obligation to keep track of the number of non-exempted dropped courses across all institutions to ensure that they do not exceed the six dropped courses limit.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals for All Students 

Prior to the first day of classes, students should conduct all drops online via their Student Center in the myUTTyler system. This functionality is disabled once classes begin for each term. 

Partial and Complete Withdrawals

From the first day of classes through the Last Day to Withdraw, students may process a partial withdrawal (dropping from one or more but not all of their classes) or complete withdrawal (all classes in a term) via the online Course Drop or Withdrawal Request Form, available here, and processed fully online. During the first three days of each Fall and Spring semester only, students may also complete a paper Course Drop or Withdrawal Request form, which is available at the One-Stop Service Center (ADM 230) or on the Registrar's Form Library. For partial withdrawals, undergraduate students must obtain a signature from their Academic Advisor, or the course instructor, for each course to be dropped. Drops/withdrawals after Census Date and before the Last Day to Withdraw will result in a grade of W. Courses dropped prior to Census Date will not appear on the student’s record or the transcript.  Emailed, mailed, or faxed requests will not be processed.  

All drops/withdrawals are final once processed. Students should take care to complete their web-form accurately prior to submission for processing.

• All drop/withdrawal requests will be processed as of the date the request is submitted via the web-form.
• If more than one form is submitted, each submission will be processed as of the date submitted.
• Students may not officially withdraw from a course after the "Last Day to Withdraw," as listed on the Academic Calendar. Late submissions will not be processed. Students who miss the withdrawal deadline or cease to complete work toward their courses after this point will automatically receive an F, or whatever grade they would earn based on their already completed work in the course.
• After the Last Day to Withdraw, students should complete the Unofficial Withdrawal Form for Financial Aid to notify the University of their intent to cease attendance for any course or for the entire term.  The date on which a student submits an Unofficial Withdrawal Form for Financial Aid will serve as the official date for Title IV purposes.

Dropping or withdrawing from classes may affect financial aid eligibility, veteran's benefits, athletic eligibility, housing, or international student status. Students must consult with those departments prior to dropping or withdrawing. 

All partial withdrawals by undergraduate students seeking their first baccalaureate degree are subject to the provisions of the 6-Drop Rule, except as noted here; students who have exceeded the number of allowed non-exempt drops under the 6-Drop Rule will be ineligible to complete partial withdrawals. Complete withdrawals for undergraduate students seeking their first baccalaureate degree, and all withdrawals by other student populations, are exempt from the 6-Drop Rule. 

Students who feel their ability to withdraw was negatively impacted by circumstances beyond their control, or those who believe they may qualify for an exception under the 6-drop Rule, may submit an appeal to the Student Appeals Committee. 

Withdrawals as part of a Swap

Students seeking to swap courses (add one course to replace another) during the period from the first day of classes through the Census Date of any session should not submit a withdrawal request for the course being dropped as part of their swap. Doing so will result in the student remaining enrolled in the course being dropped until the drop request has been processed which may result in the student being dropped for non-payment if arrangements have not been made to cover charges for both courses.

Students completing a swap during this period should do so by either submitting a Registration Form to the One-Stop Service Center (STE 230), or sending an email containing detailed information about the courses to be added/dropped from their UT Tyler student email account to Enroll@uttyler.edu. In the case of emailed requests, the swap will be processed effective the date the email was received.

Withdrawals for Pharmacy Students 

Pharmacy students must follow the procedures outlined by the College of Pharmacy Office of Academic Affairs.

Withdrawals for International Students, Veterans, Student Athletes, Scholarship Recipients, and Students with Financial Aid Awards

International students, veterans receiving VA benefits, student athletes, scholarship recipients, and any students who have been awarded financial aid wishing to submit any withdrawal form must obtain the appropriate approval during the online processing of the form.  Housing and Student Business Services will be notified after the withdrawal has been processed.

Students in these groups must consult with the appropriate advisor before any schedule changes are made, as changes may negatively impact their status, benefits or eligibility. 

For Information about submitting the online Course Drop or Withdrawal Request Form, please contact the One-Stop Service Center:

Phone:  903-566-7180

Email:  enroll@uttyler.edu

Medical Withdrawal/Course Load Reduction

Students who experience a significant medical or mental health issues may request withdrawal or a reduction in their course loads without unnecessary academic penalty. All requests will require documentation from a medical/mental health professional. 

A medical withdrawal/course load reduction from the university can be granted only for the current or immediately preceding semester.  

Dropping or withdrawing from classes may affect financial aid eligibility, veteran's benefits, athletic eligibility, housing, or international student status. Students must consult with those departments prior to dropping or withdrawing.  All drops or withdrawals approved for undergraduate students will result in grades of “Q” that are exempt from the 6-Drop Rule.

Request Procedures

To request a medical withdrawal/course load reduction a student may submit an Application for Medical Withdrawal/ Course Load Reduction document, with the Medical Withdrawal/Course Load Reduction option selected, to the Student Counseling Center (UC 3170) either in-person or via their Patriot email to Meddrop@uttyler.edu. The following required documentation must be provided for all appeals:

• A typewritten request with an explanation of why the student is requesting a withdrawal or course load reduction, including the dates of when the problem started and specifically regarding how the problem affected the student’s ability to complete the semester in question.
• The class(es) you wish to drop, and the last date of attendance/participation in each.
• Official supporting documentation from a licensed doctor, physician, medical professional, or mental health professional who has provided long-term care to, or recently evaluated, the student.  Documentation from a recent hospitalization, if relevant, should also be provided. 

The application and all associated documents will be forwarded to the Medical Withdrawal Committee, which consists of licensed professionals from the Student Counseling Center and the Student Accessibility and Resources office, for review. Applications submitted without appropriate documentation may be subject to automatic denial.

Students will receive an email notification at their Patriot email regarding the outcome of their appeal after the Committee has reached its decision. Students may also be contacted by the Committee to request additional documentation or information prior to a decision being rendered.

Students whose requests are not approved by the Committee may contact the Associate Dean of Students (903.566.7197) directly to discuss additional resources and options. 

Confidentiality 

Any supporting documentation will be considered confidential and treated as such by the Committee and will not be shared outside the Committee unless a special request has been made by the Provost or Provost’s designee on a need-to-know basis. The student’s written request for the withdrawal, all supporting documentation, and the committee’s recommendation will remain the responsibility of the Associate Dean of Students and will be stored securely in the Student Counseling Center. For each approved application, the final recommendation will be forwarded to each office that must be involved in its processing, where related records will be retained as necessary. These offices may include the Office of the Registrar, Financial Aid, Enrollment Services, Student Business Services, International Programs, and the Veteran’s Resource Center. If false information or documentation is provided as part of the application process the documentation will be provided to appropriate University officials. 

Withdrawal for Active Military Service

If a student who is in the Reserves or National Guard withdraws due to being ordered to active duty for purposes other than training, the university, at the student’s option, shall:

1. refund the tuition and fees paid by the student for the semester in which the student withdraws;
2. grant a student, who is eligible under the institution’s guidelines, an incomplete grade in all courses by designating “withdrawn-military” on the student’s transcript; or
3. as determined by the instructor, assign an appropriate final grade or credit to a student who has satisfactorily completed a substantial amount of coursework and who has demonstrated sufficient mastery of the course material. (See Excused Absences for Active Military Service)

Students must provide a copy of their official orders, or a statement from their commanding officer, to the Military and Veteran Success Center (MVSC) as part of exercising a withdrawal under this policy.

Active duty students who deploy in the normal course of their duties for a period of more than 30 days should contact the MVSC to discuss their options for continuing their classes or withdrawing under the above policy.