Grade Change

No change of final grade for a completed course will be made without the approval of the instructor's dean. 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 semester grade reports, DARS reports or the academic advising document.

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 policy on Grades and Grading below) by the course's number of semester hours to get quality points.
2. Add the total quality points.
3. Divide total number of quality points by the total number of semester 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.

To Compute Cumulative Grade Point Average:

Divide the total number of quality points by the total number of semester 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 OWLnet within 48 hours of the end of the examination period for that semester and may request a mailed grade report through OWLnet.

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 OWLnet 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 and pay the University Graduation Fee.  Students in some schools or colleges must apply and pay the fee in the term prior to graduation.  For the current fee, see Tuition and Fees in the Financial Information section of the Bulletin.

Confirmation of the fee payment is expected to complete the 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 16 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 matriculated undergraduate students in each school or college who completed a semester's work with a stated minimum number of semester hours and GPA. Also, part-time matriculated undergraduate students who have earned at least 12 credit hours across an academic year (fall and spring semesters) are eligible to be considered for Dean's List recognition for that academic year. (NOTE - University Studies students who achieve a semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or above with 12 or more graded credits are named to the University Studies Distinguished Scholars List.)

For further information, see the Academic Criteria for Dean's List 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

This distinction is bestowed upon those candidates for baccalaureate degrees who have completed at Temple University at least 60 hours toward their degree. Such students will be awarded their degrees "with praise" according to the following criteria:

• Summa Cum Laude:  the top 2% of each college's distribution of cumulative GPAs for the graduating cohort;
• Magna Cum Laude:  the next 5% of each college's distribution of cumulative GPAs for the graduating cohort;
• Cum Laude:  the next 9% of each college's distribution of cumulative GPAs for the graduating cohort;

Calibration of these grade distributions will be based on the previous five years' cycles of August, January, and May graduations.

See also Admissions: University Honors Program, Academic Opportunities: Honor Societies, and Academic Opportunities: University Honors Program in the Bulletin; and the schools and colleges for college and departmental honors and honors programs.

Incomplete Coursework

An instructor may file an “I” (Incomplete) 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.

As of September 1, 2003, 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)

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 on their OWLnet accounts for each lower-division course taken.

(policy # 02.10.15)

Matriculated Students

Matriculated 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 matriculated student does not assure the acceptance of those credits into the program of matriculation.  

Non-matriculated Students

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

Degree-seeking non-matriculated undergraduate students are required to apply for admission to a degree program before they complete 30 credits in Continuing Education. 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, degree-seeking non-matriculated students 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 Education academic advisor prior to taking this test.)

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

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