Grade Change

No change of final grade for a completed course will be made without the approval of the instructor's dean or designee. Deans will consider the grade change upon receipt of the instructor's written explanation. No grade will be changed after the baccalaureate degree is awarded.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Each student's transcript indicates the credit hours completed and passed, grade points, and grade point average (GPA).

The GPA also appears on a student's DARS reports or the academic advising document as well as the Self-Service Banner (SSB) and official transcripts.

A student's GPA may be useful in assessing academic progress, in determining eligibility for specific programs, or in determining eligibility for Honors or other awards.

No change in a student's GPA is made after the baccalaureate degree is awarded.

To Compute Semester Grade Point Average:
1. Multiply the value of the grade (see the "Grades and Grading" section below) by the course's number of credit hours to get quality points (QPts).
2. Add the total quality points.
3. Divide total number of quality points by the total number of GPA hours completed in courses that yield quality points.

Note: Not included in GPA computations: AU, CR, NC, HC, I, IC, IP, MG, NR, P, PI, R, S, W, WE, WF, WS. Also see policy on Repeating a Course.

To Compute Cumulative Grade Point Average:

Divide the total number of quality points by the total number of GPA hours completed in courses that yield quality points.

Note: Not included in GPA computations: I, IC, IP, MG, NR, CR, NC, R, P, AU, W, WE, WS, PI. Also see policy on Repeating a Course.

For credit transferred from other institutions, no grade points are allowed. See also Repeating a Course.

Grades and Grading

Semester Grades

The work of all undergraduate students is graded and reported at the end of each semester. Students may access their semester grades on Self Service Banner within 48 hours of the end of the examination period for that semester.

Three systems are in use for grading and reporting students' work: 

For more information, see the policies on Audit, Credit/No Credit Courses, Incomplete Coursework, and Withdrawal Policies in this Bulletin.

Academic Progress in Lower-Division Courses

Students in lower-level courses (numbered below 2000) receive a mid-semester rating report indicating that their work to date is satisfactory or unsatisfactory or that they have not been attending the course.  This report is available on Self Service Banner by the end of the sixth week of fall and spring semesters.

Graduation Procedures

As students approach the end of their undergraduate careers, they must make sure that they are eligible for, and can participate in, graduation ceremonies.

In their junior year, or when 80 semester hours have been completed, students should begin an ongoing graduation check with their academic advisors in order to determine that they are meeting the university, college, departmental, and program requirements for their degree and for graduation.

Early in the semester in which graduation requirements will be completed, students complete an Application for Graduation. 

Questions about this process or graduation status should be directed to the student's Advising Office or Academic Dean's Office.

Application deadlines are:

• February 15 for May graduation

• June 1 for August graduation

• October 15 for January graduation

Earlier deadlines may be in effect in some academic units.

The Application for Graduation must be properly completed, particularly the areas relating to the resolution of incompletes and diploma instructions.  Information concerning commencement activities (such as time, place, invitations, rental of academic regalia) is available to students once they have submitted their completed Application for Graduation. Students will not have their degree awarded or diploma or transcript released until all university tuition and fees have been paid.

Grievances

See Grievances in the Student Rights section of the Bulletin.

Honors for Academic Achievement

Temple University recognizes academic achievement in several ways.

Dean's Lists

Dean's Lists record the names of those full-time students in each school or college who completed a semester's work with 12 graded credits and meet the GPA criteria as outlined in the Dean's List policy. In addition, part-time students who have accumulated at least 12 graded credits across an academic year (fall and spring semesters) are eligible to be considered for Dean's List recognition in the spring.

For further information, see the Dean's List policy in the Academic Policies section of the Bulletin, check under your school or college listing in the Bulletin, or contact your school or college Advising Center.

Graduation (Latin) Honors

Latin Honors are awarded based on estimation procedures that are intended to yield 2% Summa, 5% Magna, and 9% Cum Laude awards for baccalaureate recipients from each Temple school and college. Graduates who have completed at least 60 credits at Temple are eligible for the appropriate honor if their cumulative grade point average (CGPA) is equal to or greater than the cut-off value established for the honor. (Students returning to the university following Academic Forgiveness may qualify for Latin Honors if they have a minimum of 60 earned hours in addition to the approved earned hours allowed at the time of Academic Forgiveness.)

Awards for August 2013, January 2014 and May 2014 graduates are based on cutoff scores computed from CGPAs earned by August 2008 through May 2013 graduates. In July of each year, the cut-off values are updated to include the most recent five-year cycle of CGPAs.

The cut-off values for calculating eligibility for Summa, Magna, and Cum Laude Honors for August 2013, January 2014, and May 2014 graduates are listed in the table below along with the schedule for updating the cut-off values.

Incomplete Coursework

An instructor will file an "I" (Incomplete) only if the student has completed the majority of the work of the course at a passing level, and only for reasons beyond the student's control.

An instructor may file an “I” when a student has not completed the work of a course by the time grades must be submitted, but has completed the majority of the work at a passing level and has a written agreement with the instructor and the department regarding completion of the work, including the nature of the work to be completed, the means by which the final grade will be determined, and the date by which the work must be completed. The completion date may be no later than one year from the end of the semester in which the student took the course. The agreement shall also specify a default grade to be received if the work is not completed by the date indicated. One copy of the agreement shall be retained by the instructor, one shall be given to the student, and one shall be filed with the department office or, in colleges or schools without departments, the Dean’s office.

When reporting the grade of "I" for a student, the instructor shall also file a report of the default grade in the electronic grading system. If the instructor does not change the grade of “I”, pursuant to the agreement with the student, by the end of one year from the time the grade of “I” was awarded, the appropriate University official shall automatically change the grade of “I” to the reported default grade, and the default grade shall appear on the transcript and be used for all other grading purposes as the actual grade received in the course.

Faculty advisors and staff advisors have the option of not permitting a student to register for an “overload” if the student is carrying one or more active incomplete courses, or for a “full load” if the student is carrying two or more active incompletes.

(policy # 02.10.13)

Leave of Absence

Students may apply for a Leave of Absence (LOA) through the end of the drop/add period of any given semester. An LOA may be granted for one or two consecutive semesters, excluding summer sessions. Under special circumstances, an extension to an approved LOA may be considered, but some of the privileges listed below may not apply.

Students granted an LOA retain their admitted student status and remain eligible for the following privileges:

• Retain the university requirements in place for their academic programs at the time of their first semester at Temple and the requirements in place for their major, concentration, minor or certificate at the time they declared them.
• Temple e-mail access.
• Priority and self registration for the approved semester of return.
• Library access and borrowing privileges.

Students granted LOA are not considered registered students and as non-enrolled students are not eligible for:

• Financial aid disbursements during the semesters while on LOA. Students on an LOA are reported to lenders and loan service agencies as "not enrolled" and need to contact lenders for information on possible repayment requirements.
• Enrollment verification since they are reported as "not enrolled," which could affect eligibility for health insurance, etc.
• Use of Student Health Services during the semesters while on LOA or any other university services not listed in the previous section.
• Campus Housing during their LOA.

Students may return earlier than the original agreed return date by providing notice to their schools/colleges as soon as possible, keeping in mind applicable deadlines for registration, financial aid, etc.

Students who do not return following the approved term for their LOA, or those students who did not apply for LOA, need to apply for re-enrollment to their schools/colleges if they wish to continue their coursework. Re-enrolled students do not retain their original bulletin year nor major declaration requirements and must follow the most current requirements for their schools/colleges and majors.

Students taking an approved medical withdrawal (WE) in a current semester are not considered to be on LOA.

To obtain the Undergraduate Leave of Absence Petition form, visit the Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies web site (www.temple.edu/vpus) and click on "Advising Forms."

(policy # 02.10.16)

Lower Division Student Academic Progress

Instructors in lower-division freshman and sophomore courses will provide evaluations of student progress by the end of the fifth week of class. It is the course instructor’s responsibility to complete and return an early report indicating satisfactory or unsatisfactory progress for each student. Students will receive mid-semester ratings in Self Service Banner for each lower-division course taken.

(policy # 02.10.15)

Continuing Degree Seeking (Matriculated) Students

Beginning in academic year 2011-2012, the term "matriculated student" has been replaced by "continuing degree seeking student." Continuing degree seeking students are those who have applied, been accepted, and enrolled in a degree program of the university during the semester for which they were admitted.

Completion of course credits before becoming a continuing degree seeking student does not assure the acceptance of those credits into the program of study.  

Non-Degree Seeking Students

Non-degree seeking students are those who have not been admitted formally to a degree program. For information and academic advising for non-degree seeking students, see Programs with Academic Credit in the Special Programs section of the Bulletin and the Office of Continuing Studies web site.

Non-degree seeking undergraduate students who wish to pursue a degree are required to apply for admission to a degree program before they complete 30 credits in Continuing Studies. To enroll in undergraduate courses, students must have earned a high school diploma or a G.E.D. certificate. Students who have attended another college or university must have earned at least a 2.00 GPA and provide a transcript (official or unofficial) of their previous academic work.

Prior to their enrollment, non-degree seeking students who wish to pursue a degree are required to take one or more University placement tests. (Some transfer students may be exempt from this requirement. To find out if they are exempt or not, transfer students are strongly encouraged to seek guidance from a Continuing Studies academic advisor prior to taking this test.)

Non-degree seeking undergraduate students are not permitted to take more than 11 credits during their first semester.

Non-degree seeking undergraduate students who are accepted into an undergraduate degree program may count their Temple, non-degree credits toward their residency requirements.