Examinations

The examination policy in each course is established by the department and the faculty of record and will be outlined with the course requirements. Re-examinations shall be permitted only with the consent of the faculty when re-examination is deemed to contribute to the academic objectives of the course.

Special examinations, when requested, will be given only with the consent of the dean of the college involved. Students with disabilities who need testing accommodations must register with the Office of Student Accommodations and Testing (OSAT)¹. 

Students who miss an assigned examination should arrange with their instructor to take a make-up examination. The dean of their college will serve as arbitrator only when deemed necessary.

Each full-semester course is assigned a slot in the final exam schedule based on the regular meeting day/time of the course. The final exam week includes the Saturday and Monday-Thursday after the last day of classes (fall and spring only). Exams offered during finals week must be held during the assigned time on the final exam schedule for the course. Students cannot be required to take more than two final examinations per day. Arrangements for rescheduling the examination must be made by the student prior to the scheduled examination.

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Grading System

Wichita State grades include A (excellent), B (good), C (satisfactory), D (unsatisfactory), F (failure), W (withdrawal), Cr (credit), NCr (no credit), Bg (badge), NBg (no badge), S (satisfactory), U (unsatisfactory), I (incomplete), IP (in progress), NGS (no grade submitted), CrE (credit by examination), and Au (audit). Passing grades include A, B, C, D, Cr, CrE, Bg and S. The grades F, NCr, NBg and U indicate that the quality of work was such that, to obtain credit, the student must repeat regular coursework. A plus/minus grading system was adopted beginning fall 2009. It applies to grades of A, B, C and D.

Credit Points

For each hour of work the student takes, credit points are assigned, as follows, to permit averaging of grades:

Related details:

• B or better grade required: B- will fulfill this requirement unless otherwise indicated.
• C or better grade required: C- will fulfill this requirement unless otherwise indicated.

Incomplete

An incomplete is a temporary grade assigned when the faculty member grants a student an extension of time to complete the coursework. This extension of time may not exceed one calendar year from the end of the original semester. It is used in exceptional cases where a student is unable to complete coursework due to circumstances beyond his or her control. The student must have successfully completed a majority of the work. Credit is postponed and the course is not included in the student’s grade point average until a permanent letter grade is assigned.

The following conditions govern incompletes:

1. When an incomplete grade is assigned, the faculty member may assign a default grade, other than the I grade. If the coursework is not satisfactorily completed by the extension date, the I will revert to the default grade submitted by the faculty member; if the faculty member does not assign a default grade, the I will revert to an F. When the student completes the work by the extension date, the faculty member must submit an online change of grade request to assign an appropriate grade.
2. Subsequent enrollment in the course will be governed by the university repeat policy.
3. When students receive a grade of incomplete, they are automatically informed of the university policies and procedures governing incompletes by the registrar’s office.

Credit/No Credit

Used in the transition semester and for certain courses graded as Cr/NCr.

Credit by Examination

Credit by examination or by credentials in lieu of formal enrollment in college coursework. The symbol TCrE is used for Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credit, for College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credit, for DSST exams, for course credit awarded on the basis of the ACT or SAT exams, for credit by departmental examination and for credit by credentials (military and similar background). Credit given; no credit points. See Credit by Examination.

Other special terms are used in reference to grading, as described below.

Grading Status

Courses may not be changed from one status to another — for example, graded to audit — after the enrollment period (through the drop/add week), except through petition to the university’s exceptions committee.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

The grade point average (also called grade point index) is computed by dividing the total number of credit points by the total number of credit hours completed for which regular letter grades (A, B, C, D and F) are assigned. The grades Au, W, I, IP, Cr, NCr, S, U, Bg, NBg and CrE are always excluded from grade point average computations. Four GPAs, if applicable, appear on a transcript: Semester GPA, Total WSU GPA, Transfer GPA and Overall GPA. GPAs are calculated and applied to three decimal places (truncated), although only two decimal places print on the official transcript. A degree grade point average is frozen at the time of graduation.

Z Hours

Any hours where the grade is preceded by a Z are excluded from GPA calculations, from attempted hours and from earned hours. Z hours denote remedial courses, transfer courses that WSU does not accept, or are the result of WSU’s academic forgiveness or repeat policy.

Course Attempted

An attempted course indicates that the student has enrolled officially in the course and that the student may have completed the course or been granted an incomplete. Attempts include courses receiving the grades A, B, C, D, F, I, IP, Cr, NCr, S, U, Bg and NBg but exclude Au, CrE and W.

Course Completed

A completed course is a course in which a letter grade of A, B, C, D, F, Cr, NCr, S, U, Bg or NBg has been assigned.

Course Pending Completion

An IP (in progress) grade is temporarily recorded when a course cannot be completed by the end of the semester of enrollment. At the undergraduate level, only certain approved clinical or similar courses may extend past the end of the semester. If applicable, including at the graduate level, the grade submitted when the course has been completed replaces all IP grades for that course.

Credit Hours Earned

Credit hours earned means that credit is given (A, B, C, D, Cr, S, Bg or CrE). No student may earn hours of credit for any one course more than once, unless the description in the Wichita State University Catalog specifically states that the course is repeatable for credit.

Repeat Policy

The following provisions concern repeats:

1. Any course may be repeated. No course may be attempted more than three times. For this policy, neither an audit nor a withdrawal counts as an attempt.
2. Any grade received at completion of a repeated class at WSU will automatically replace up to two previous grade(s) received for that course in computation of the student’s overall grade point average.
3. Grades received in courses taken at another institution may not be used to replace grades in courses taken at WSU. If a student repeats a course at another institution, the WSU grade will be averaged into the GPA. Repeats between transfer institutions are also averaged.
4. The department offering a course can approve an exception to the limit of three attempts. If such an exception is given, only the first two grades for the course will be excluded from the GPA. All other grades received for that course will be averaged into the GPA.
5. Courses repeated prior to fall 2013 are subject to the repeat policy in effect during that catalog year.
6. Students may not use a repeat taken after graduation to amend their GPA or honors as determined at the time of graduation.

Repeated courses are identified on the transcript by an extra letter after the grade as follows:

• I included in GPA;
• E excluded from GPA; and
• A averaged in GPA but not counted in earned hours.

Midterm Grade Progress

Instructors are asked to ensure students have regular grades and feedback on their progress. For full-semester courses, instructors and students should review midterm grades. When grades reflect below average work, students should meet with their instructors and/or college advisors to discuss problems.

Final Grade Reports

At the end of each semester, students may access their final grades through the myWSU portal¹ on the university website.

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