College of Arts and Sciences

Grading

How are ENG 100, 180, and 280 graded?

Students in ENG 100 can receive grades from C-A; anything below a 73 will be recorded as a U grade. Students in ENG 180 and 280 can receive the following grades A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, U, or F. Students who receive a U or F must repeat the course in order to fulfill the Communication Skills requirement.

U Grades

If you are not performing satisfactory work but are making a good faith effort to pass a course, you can earn a U (unsatisfactory) grade. You will earn no grade points or credits for a grade of U. However, the U grade is not a penalizing grade because it is not calculated in grade point average (GPA).

We consider a good faith effort to include all of the following:

  • attending and participating in class
  • completing and submitting all components of major papers (bibliographies, drafts, and other materials required by instructors), and
  • completing assigned reading and other homework in a timely fashion

If you meet requirements but are still not writing at a C or better level at the end of the term, you should receive a U grade for the course. The U grade reinforces our belief that writing is a process that requires considerable time and effort. We believe students who attempt to do the work but fail to meet our standards should not be penalized, but should be permitted to retake the course and continue to improve their writing abilities.

 

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