Grading and Transcripts

General Grading Information

St. John Fisher University operates on a semester basis with final examinations at the close of each semester.

These grades indicate passing work:

  • Outstanding: A, A-
  • Good: B+, B, B-
  • Satisfactory: C+, C, S
  • Passing: C-, D+, D, D-

These grades indicate work below the passing standard:

  • Failure: F
  • Unsatisfactory: U
  • Failure due to excessive absence: FA

To earn credit, a student must repeat and pass the course in which a grade of “F,” “FA,” or “U” has been received.

Other grades:

  • Audit: AU
  • Incomplete: I
  • Withdrawal: W
  • Grade Forgiveness: FE

Calculating the Grade Point Average (GPA)

  • A: 4.00 points per credit
  • A-: 3.70 points per credit
  • B+: 3.30 points per credit
  • B: 3.00 points per credit
  • B-: 2.70 points per credit
  • C+: 2.30 points per credit
  • C: 2.00 points per credit
  • C-: 1.70 points per credit
  • D+: 1.30 points per credit
  • D: 1.00 points per credit
  • D-: 0.70 points per credit
  • F: 0 points per credit

The grade point average is calculated by dividing the total number of grade points by the total number of graded credits attempted. Thus, a student who has attempted 60 credit hours and has accumulated 120 grade points would have a grade point average of 2.00 or a “C” average. Failures are included in the calculation of the grade point average until the course has been repeated and passed.

Dean’s List

Each semester, a list of students who have excelled academically is produced. To be eligible, a student must have:

  • A 3.50 or higher term GPA
  • No grade lower than “C”
  • At least 12 undergraduate credit hours earned in residence in addition to credits earned S/U
  • No grades of “U”, “UA”, or “I”

The Dean’s List students will be identified at the end of each semester when academic standing is determined and again at the end of the six-week Incomplete grade period. Students with approved ADA Accommodated Part-Time status are eligible for the Dean’s List as long as they meet all Dean’s List criteria, even though they may not carry full-time credit loads. Students engaged in student teaching during a semester may be eligible to be named to the Dean’s List provided they receive the grade of “S” for student teaching, obtain a grade no lower than “B” in a regular course (if they are enrolled in one), and have been on the Dean’s List for two semesters prior to their student teaching semester. All students with approved incomplete grade extensions or in Study Abroad or Washington Semester Programs are eligible for the Dean’s List when their grades are submitted as long as the incomplete grades did not first change to grades of “F” or default grades.

Honors in Major

In order for the statement “with honors in (major)” to be added to a transcript, the student must:

  • Qualify and be awarded a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, or higher
  • Complete an honors project approved by a faculty supervisor, the department chair, and the provost and present and defend the project at a colloquium
  • Declare the intent to develop an honors project prior to the beginning of the senior year

See individual departments for additional requirements.

Audit Grade

The grade of “AU” is assigned to students who have officially registered to audit a course. With permission of the instructor, any student may register to audit a course. Although the student does not earn credit, the course appears on the student’s transcript with the grade “AU.” Students must choose between credit and audit by the date published in the academic calendar. At the time of approval for the audit, the instructor and student will agree upon the amount of work the student is required to complete and the nature of the student’s participation in the course and the assignments. Generally, an auditor listens to the lectures, reads the material, writes brief quizzes, and may participate in class discussions. Courses which require ongoing, active participation in the work of the course, such as Independent Study and Elementary Foreign Language, are not open for audit. The current per-credit tuition charge applies to audited courses.

Note: Non-matriculated students who wish to audit a course should consult with the Center for Career and Academic Planning.

Incomplete Grade

The grade of Incomplete (I) is used ONLY when required assignments are not completed due to serious circumstances which are clearly beyond the student’s control. The instructor, after consultation with the student, submits an Incomplete (I) grade. The final grade must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by the published Incomplete grade deadline date* found on the academic calendar. Therefore, missing coursework should be submitted to the instructor in advance of the Incomplete grade deadline. If the final grade is not submitted by the Incomplete grade deadline, the Incomplete grade will be converted to a Failing (F) or Unsatisfactory (U) grade as appropriate. The instructor and students can review their outstanding Incomplete grades in Fish ‘R’ Net until the Incomplete grade is resolved. An extension of the Incomplete grade may be requested by the instructor and approved by the department chair, using the online Grade Change form.

Note: A student may not graduate from St. John Fisher University with an incomplete grade on his/her record.

*The Incomplete grade due deadline is six (6) weeks from the Friday of final exam week for the term.

Withdrawal Grade

The grade “W” is assigned administratively when a student withdraws from a course within the appropriate time frame as published in the academic calendar. The grade of “W” may be requested by the provost or school dean when there is evidence presented before the end of classes to show that the student is compelled to withdraw for a non-academic reason, such as a serious health emergency or call to military service. The withdrawal grade does not affect the grade point average. After the deadline date to withdraw from a course has passed, all appeals for late grades of “W” must be directed to the Committee on Academic Standing.

The last day on which the grade of “W” can be assigned is indicated in the academic calendar. Withdrawal forms submitted to the Registrar’s Office after this date will be assigned a grade of “F.”

When a student withdraws on or before the last day for “withdrawal without academic record,” the course does not appear on the transcript.

Note: Students who have a repeated pattern of withdrawals from some or all courses in a semester will be reviewed by the Undergraduate Committee on Academic Standing and may be placed on an Academic Success Plan.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grading

To encourage students to enroll in courses for which they might be reluctant to register on the basis of the traditional grading system, a student may elect to take courses on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) basis.

Any course may be taken S/U except:

  • Courses in the major department (some internships may be taken S/U).
  • Courses outside the major department, which are specifically required for the major.
  • Honors courses for students in the University Honors Program.

Credit is earned only by the grade of “S,” which is given for work equivalent to a “C” or higher. A grade of “U” is given for work which merits a grade below “C” and no credit is earned. Neither the “S” nor the “U” grade is included in the calculation of the grade point average.

No more than four courses may be taken using the S/U grading option. First-year students may not take a course S/U, sophomores may take one course per semester; juniors and seniors may take two courses per semester. If a student enrolls in a course S/U and subsequently changes to traditional letter grading prior to the deadline or withdraws, the course will not be included in the four-course S/U limit. Courses graded solely as S/U are not included in the four-course limit.

A student electing S/U grading may designate a minimum acceptable grade “A” through “C.” If the earned grade equals or exceeds this minimum grade, then the actual earned grade will be recorded on the transcript and computed in the GPA. This does not change the course’s S/U basis, and the course counts toward the maximum of four. The student shall declare an intention to be graded S/U by the deadline published in the academic calendar.

To be considered for honors, a student must have earned at least 54 credits beyond those earned S/U (except for those courses only graded S/U, such as Student Teaching and some Internships). Transfer students should be aware of this requirement when considering the decision to take a course S/U.

Repeating Courses

A course may be repeated as many times as desired. When a course is repeated, the original grade is not removed from the student’s record, but will be excluded from the GPA. The most recent grade is calculated in the GPA even if the second grade is lower than the first grade earned. If a previously passed course is excluded and the most recent grade is a failing grade, the previously earned credits are lost. When a student repeats a course in which any passing grade has been earned, additional credits are not earned for the course. The S/U option is not available for the repeat of a failed course.

In Core, all 1299 Research-Based Writing courses are repeats of each other; all Data Analysis courses are also repeats of each other. Students may repeat one of these core requirements to achieve a better grade, but additional credits are not earned for this repeated course if a passing grade was originally earned. Any student considering a repeat of a Learning Community course for any reason must consult with the associate dean of the School of Arts and Sciences for advisement. Failure of one or both courses in a Learning Community necessitates a special course arrangement for completion of this core requirement.

Note: Repeated courses cannot be used to achieve the full-time status required for TAP funds.

Grade Reporting

Final grades are available at the end of each semester on the University website. Mid-semester grades are available through the mySJF portal for students enrolled in 100 and 200-level courses.

Parental Access to Grades

The University does not routinely send reports of final grades to parents. Information, including grades, concerning dependent students as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 may be released to parents upon request. To obtain a grade report, parents must submit to the Registrar’s Office a written request citing the specific information desired and stating that the student is a dependent.

The Registrar’s Office will verify the dependency of the student in question with Student Financial Services or the parent can submit a copy of the most recent tax return that shows the student is claimed as a dependent. If documentation exists proving dependency, a grade report may be sent to the parent(s) and the student will be notified. If dependency cannot be proven, the grade report will not be released.

Academic Amnesty

In recognition of the various paths students take in pursuit of their undergraduate degrees, St. John Fisher University has developed a policy of academic amnesty that provides eligible students with the opportunity to renew their studies at Fisher by beginning their cumulative averages anew. The program is available to all students who attend Fisher in matriculated status for a period of time, then do not take Fisher classes, either matriculated or non-matriculated, for a period of four consecutive calendar years (eight academic semesters). Not every student will be served well by selecting to participate in the academic amnesty program.

For those students who do elect to take part, credit will be lost for every previous Fisher course taken in which a grade below “C” was obtained. Credits earned in courses in which grades of “C” or above were obtained will be retained as “Previous Fisher Credit” and will be treated the same as transfer credit. No courses or grades will be removed from the transcript of participating students; however, their Fisher cumulative GPA will begin “anew” upon their return.

Each student requesting academic amnesty will be required to complete at least 30 credits in residence at Fisher after returning to the University. Academic honors will be based on at least 60 credits for grades taken at Fisher after the student returns with academic amnesty.

Students who elect academic amnesty will have a statement placed on their transcripts indicating that academic amnesty was requested and granted. Students will have until the end of the Drop/Add period of the second consecutive semester they are in attendance at Fisher, after their return, to apply for the amnesty program. Once the student completes the form to request academic amnesty, the request cannot be revoked.

Questions regarding academic amnesty should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.

Grade Forgiveness Policy

The Grade Forgiveness Policy gives students the opportunity to remove from GPA calculation “F” grades in courses that were taken as part of the requirements for a previous major. The GPA-excluded courses remain on the student’s academic transcript.

Eligibility: In order to be eligible for the policy, the student must change majors. The change can be from 1) a declared major to a different declared major, 2) a declared major concentration to another major concentration, 3) an undeclared major to a declared major, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree to a Bachelor of Science (BS), or BS to a BA, or changing to a different catalog year (and the degree requirements for that catalog year).

The earliest a student can utilize the forgiveness policy is the first semester following the change of major. Students cannot remove credits from GPA and credit calculation in the same semester in which the major change was completed.

A student must meet with a Career and Academic Planning Advisor (CCAP) to initiate and complete the grade forgiveness process.

Limitations on eligible courses:

  • Students can elect to remove up to 18 credits from GPA and credit calculation.
  • Grade forgiveness will only be considered for courses or credits that
    • are taken at St. John Fisher University;
    • are specifically required by the previous major, and are not required for the new major; and
    • have received a grade of F or FA
  • Grade forgiveness will not be considered for:
    • courses taken solely to complete Core requirements or liberal arts electives;
    • courses required for an academic minor; or
    • any course in which a failing grade (F) is earned as the direct penalty for academic dishonesty.
  • A student can choose to remove courses from more than one previous major, provided none of the courses are required for the new major, and the total number of removed credits does not exceed 18.
    • Any credits that were removed from GPA and credit calculation will be reinstated should the student return to the previous major.
    • If a student later wishes to bring a previously removed course grade and credits back into GPA and credit calculations, they may appeal to the Committee on Academic Standing to do so.
    • The course grades that are removed from GPA calculation will remain on the student’s academic transcript, and will include a notation that the grade has been removed from GPA calculation.
    • A course failed more than once would only be counted once in the total of 18 credits allowed.
    • Grades cannot be removed from GPA calculation once a degree is conferred, but students can remove courses from their GPA calculation at any time prior to degree completion.
  • Students should consult with the Office of Student Financial Services to discuss any aid-related implications.

Transcripts

Official transcripts of the St. John Fisher University record can be ordered by each student. Unofficial transcripts may be printed directly from Fish ‘R’ Net. No transcript will be issued for students whose accounts with the University are unsatisfactory. Once a student graduates, the transcript is considered “sealed” for that particular degree and changes cannot be made. For more information, visit the Registrar’s Office’s Request a Transcript page.