Grading

Grade Changes (http://www.registrar.gatech.edu/students/gradechanges.php)

The Office of the Registrar is responsible for processing all grade changes. In order for a student to receive a grade change, a “Grade Correction” form must be completed and signed by the faculty member who taught the course. The form must then be signed by the head of the academic department. The form is then submitted to the Registrar’s Office for processing. If an academic department has made an error in completing the form, it will be returned to the department by the Registrar’s Office for correction and re-submission.

Grade changes are processed once a week during the term with the exception of the week during which final grades are assigned. Academic standing is reviewed after each grade change and any necessary changes are made.

Students who receive a grade of “I” (Incomplete) should consult the Student Rules & Regulations VII regarding the length of time allowed to make up the Incomplete. Incomplete Grade Information

A grade of “NR” (Not Reported by the faculty member) is to be removed as soon as the faculty member can submit final grades and is only assigned in the case of an extreme emergency.

With the exception of grades changed via the grade substitution policy, only the final grade earned in a course for a given term is shown on an official transcript; no intermediate changes are displayed. Grade changes made in the computer system are immediately reflected on the Georgia Tech WEB Student Access System.

Grade Mode Pass/Fail (http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/rules/10a.php)

At the option of the student’s major school, credit toward a bachelor’s degree may be allowed for courses taken under the pass/fail system and completed with a grade of pass.  In ChBE (and many other majors), pass/fail is allowed only for Free Electives.

The major school must approve all pass/fail courses included in the final program of study, and students should become aware of school requirements listed in the Catalog.

Pass/fail enrollment in any course may be restricted by the school or department offering the course (can be different from the major).  Additionally, students should consult with the faculty instructor in advance to determine what final grade will be considered as passing for the class.  Faculty have discretion to set this level regardless of the minimum grade needed for degree completion.

Students who are permitted to register under the pass/fail system will be so designated on the official class rolls; the grades recorded will be S for satisfactory or U for unsatisfactory. These grades will not be included in the calculation of the grade-point average and cannot be changed to a grade that will count in the average.

Withdrawals from courses taken on a pass/fail basis will follow the same rules that govern withdrawals from courses included in the scholastic average.

The deadline to change the grade mode from letter grade to pass/fail (and vice-versa) is the same day as the last day to withdraw from a course without penalty.

Grade mode changes are allowed online during registration. After phase II registration closes, the following form is required to be completed and submitted to the Office of the Registrar.

The maximum number of pass/fail hours permitted in an undergraduate program of study depends upon the number of semester credit hours that will be completed at Georgia Tech, as follows:

Hours included in program of study                       Hours allowed on pass/fail basis

45 to 70 credit hours                                                    3 credit hours
71 to 90 credit hours                                                    6 credit hours
91 or more credit hours                                               9 credit hours

For a second undergraduate degree, these limitations apply to the credit hours included in the program of study for that second degree.

A master’s degree program of study may include up to three semester credit hours on a pass/fail basis.

Grade Substitution(http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/grading-gpa/grade-substitution/)

Undergraduate students may repeat courses for grade substitution according to the following set of criteria. If these conditions are not met, the general policy governing repeated courses applies.

  1. Undergraduate students may repeat for grade substitution up to two GT courses with posted letter grades of D or F. These courses will be excluded from calculation of their cumulative grade point average.
  2. A course can be taken for grade substitution only once and must be repeated within one calendar year. Students who completed the Georgia Tech course prior to matriculating as first-year, degree-seeking undergraduates (e.g., joint/dual enrollment or in a non-degree seeking status) have one calendar year from their matriculation date to repeat the course.
  3. A course is not eligible for grade substitution if the student was found responsible for any academic misconduct in that course regardless of how many times it is repeated.
  4. Grades excluded under previous Institute rules (such as the Grade Substitution policy that was in effect up until 2019) count toward the maximum two courses allowed for substitution.
  5. Once a grade substitution is posted, the student cannot remove the exclusion or change it to another course at a later date. A student cannot request a grade substitution after they have graduated.
  6. The application for grade substitution must be filed with the Registrar’s Office no later than the deadline for withdrawing from a course during the student’s next term of enrollment after the course is repeated.
  7. Students should not submit the form during the term they are repeating the course.

The original grade and the repeated grades will all appear on the official transcript. Once a grade substitution is applied to a course, the credit hours attempted and earned on the course will be removed from the calculation of the cumulative grade point. Excluded courses and hours will continue to be counted in calculations of satisfactory progress, for financial aid eligibility, and for tuition.

The grade substitution policy (including, but not limited to, course eligibility, number of courses, time limits, and deadlines) is not subject to exceptions and may not be petitioned to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

Incompletes(http://www.registrar.gatech.edu/students/igrades.php)

According to the Rules & Regulations V3, a student may be assigned a grade of “I” under the following circumstance:

“Assigned when a student was doing satisfactory work, but for nonacademic reasons beyond his/her control and deemed acceptable by the instructor, was unable to meet the full requirements of the course. If the student’s performance was so poor as to preclude his/her passing, the instructor shall assign the grade of F”.

Acceptable reasons for assigning an “I” would include, but not be limited to, the following:

  • Personal illness of the student
  • Family emergency (death in family, serious illness in family, birth of child, etc.)
  • Computer failure/software problem/lack of data supplied by outside source
  • Travel required by job that could not be rescheduled

The student should be able to provide documentation to the instructor for any non-academic reason.

The emphasis is on the fact that the reason is not academic in nature and that the student was doing satisfactory work. Students should not be instructed to sign up for the course again in order to make up an “I” grade and should only lack a small portion of course work. If the student is missing so much work that a passing grade could not have been assigned, a grade of “F” should be assigned.

When completing a grade correction form to remove the “I” grade, the instructor is required to identify the nonacademic reason that the “I” was given, not what the student was required to do to make up the work.

Students who receive a grade of “I” (Incomplete) should consult the Student Rules & Regulations VII regarding the length of time allowed to make up the Incomplete.