Academic Affairs
Scholastic Requirements

Grading System

A - Excellent.
B - Good.
C - Average.
D - Minimally Passing.
I - Incomplete work (not included in GPA). 

Work must be completed within one calendar year or the “I” grade will be converted to an “F” grade.  The faculty who awards the “I” will assign all necessary academic work to convert the “I” to a letter grade.  The student does NOT re-register and pay for the class.

F - Failure, grade below passing (included in GPA).
W - Withdrawal from class without penalty (not included in GPA).
N - No credit/Audit.
P - Passing (not included in GPA but credits count toward graduation).
X - No Pass

Incomplete “I” Grade

An Incomplete is given only when a student has been in attendance for at least three-fourths of the semester but has been prevented by circumstances beyond his/her control from completing all of the requirements of the course.  A student must provide adequate evidence to the instructor as to the reason why he/she was unable to complete the requirements for the course.  If a grade of “I” Incomplete has been given, the instructor shall advise the Office of Admissions and Records in writing what the student must do to remove the deficiency.

An Incomplete must be made up within one calendar year.  An “I” grade is not included in the computation of the GPA.  An “I” grade not made up in the prescribed length of time automatically becomes an “F” grade.  Once the “I” grade has been converted to an “F” grade, the course must be repeated in order for the grade to be changed.

Change of Grade

A change of grade may be made for error only.  A change of grade may not be made to allow additional time or for additional work once the semester is completed.  A change of grade is not meant to substitute for an Incomplete grade when an Incomplete cannot be justified.  No grade may be changed after one full year unless approved by the instructor’s Academic Dean and the Academic Standards and Scholastic Standing Committee.  Once a grade has been submitted to the Admissions and Records Office, it may not be changed to a lower grade without the written approval of the Dean of the respective College.

Pass/No Pass Grading Mode

Pass/No Pass is offered as an opportunity for undergraduate students to explore courses outside their major, minor, or option curricula and outside the Professional Core Requirements for Teacher Education or Pre-Admission Requirements for Business.

Under the grading mode, the grade of “P” is given if the students’ work is judged to be the equivalent of “A,” “B,” or “C.” The grade of “No Pass" (symbolized by “X”) is awarded if the work is equivalent to “D” or “F.” The students’ Pass/No Pass grades do not affect overall GPA.  However, “P” grades may be counted as credits earned toward a degree.  Other policies concerning Pass/No Pass are as follows:

1. Courses designated by the departments are available Pass/No Pass.  Certain courses are taught only with this grading mode; other courses may be excluded from Pass/No Pass grading.  Therefore, students should check with their advisor for details.

2. Students may enroll in courses as Pass/No Pass up to a limit of 20 semester credit hours to be counted towards graduation.  Credits earned by challenge, experiential learning assessment such as military credits, student teaching, cooperative education, or internships do not count toward this 20-credit limit.

3. Students declare this grading mode at the time of registration.  Students may change their grading mode to Pass/No Pass up through the last day to add at the beginning of each semester or term.  After the last day to add, any request to change grading mode (Pass/No Pass to letter grade or vice versa) must be petitioned by the student to the Academic Standards and Scholastic Standing Committee.

4. Courses taken under Pass/No Pass may be repeated for a letter grade.  A course taken for a letter grade may not be repeated as Pass/No Pass.

Grade Points (Grade Point Average)

In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree in the College of Arts and Sciences, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Rehabilitation degree a student must earn a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in (a) all courses attempted at Montana State University Billings; (b) the academic major; and (c) the academic minor. For BA/BS Teaching Options, students must earn a minimum grade point average of 2.65.

In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in the College of Business, a student must earn a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in (a) all courses in the College of Business; and (b) all courses attempted at Montana State University Billings.

In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree, a minimum grade point average of 2.65 must be earned in (a) all courses attempted at Montana State University Billings; (b) the academic major; (c) the academic minor; and (d) the Professional Teacher Education Core.

In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services degree, a student must earn a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in (a) all courses attempted at Montana State University Billings; and (b) all course work completed for the Human Services major.

Grade Reports

Students’ grades are available on the web at www.msubillings.edu.  Students who wish to have their grades mailed must leave a self-addressed stamped envelope at the Office of Admissions and Records.

Mid-term Grade Reports

Mid-term grades will be issued to all freshmen students.  Instructors of classes with freshmen will be required to notify each freshman student, in writing, of the student’s mid-term grade before the official last day to drop classes (7th week, 35th class day).

How to Calculate the Grade Point Average

Each grade is worth a predetermined number of grade points as indicated above.  Total grade points are established by multiplying the number of credits of a course times the number of grade points of the grade received.

The grade point average is determined by dividing the number of grade points earned by the number of course credits attempted.  In computing the number of grade points earned, each letter grade is assigned a certain grade point value per credit hour as follows:

Each credit hour of A 4 points Each credit hour of B 3 points Each credit hour of C 2 points Each credit hour of D 1 point Each credit hour of F 0 points

A 4.0 A- 3.7 B+ 3.3 B 3.0 B- 2.7 C+ 2.3 C 2.0 C- 1.7 D+ 1.3 D 1.0 D- 0.7 F 0.0

Effective Fall 2005 for transfer and re-admitted students, in accordance with Board of Regents policy, all campuses of the Montana University System will use the following values when determining grade point averages.

Grade point averages calculated before Fall Semester 2005, using the values noted above, will not be recalculated, using the new weights or values.

The new values should not be applied retroactively to grade point averages already calculated for students in the Montana University System.  Decisions about those students’ academic performance, including satisfactory progress, admission to limited enrollment programs, graduation and financial aid eligibility, have been made, using the grading scale in place at the time of those decisions.  The decisions should not be invalidated because of a subsequent change in grade point average calculations.

Examples
ENGL 150 is a 3 credit course.  If a grade of “B” was received, multiply 3 credits times 3 grade points for a total of 9 grade points (3 credits x 3 grade points = 9 grade points).

PSYC 101 is a 3 credit course.  If a grade of “C” was received, it would produce an additional 6 grade points (3 credits x 2 grade points = 6 grade points).

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