A+, A, A- (Superior)

B+, B, B- (Good)

C+, C, C- (Satisfactory)

D (Minimum Passing Grade)

A grade of D is acceptable in core curriculum/general education courses. In a major or prerequisite course, a grade of D is acceptable at the discretion of the departments in the liberal arts and sciences.

F (Failure)

This grade counts toward program pursuit for financial aid purposes.

Reserved for grading of Senior Project I. SP is assigned for satisfactory progress. UP, or unsatisfactory progress, is assigned to indicate that work is underway but is not meeting expectations. NP, or no progress, is assigned to indicate that little to no work has been completed and the student must retake Senior Project I.

Note: A grade of A+ through F is given for Senior Project II. In the event a grade of F is received, Senior Project II must be retaken.

For matriculated students who register for maintenance of matriculation or a SUNY study abroad program. The CR grade is not calculated in the GPA.

1. Students may elect one course (except those specified in #4 of this section) each semester to be graded on a pass/no credit (P/NC) basis. Summer session is considered a semester for this purpose. The P (Pass) or NC (No Credit) grade is not calculated in the GPA, but counts toward program pursuit for financial aid purposes.
2. If a department requires that a course within the major be taken on a P/NC basis, then a student may elect a second course for P/NC in that same semester.
3. A maximum of 32 credits of P/NC work counts toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
4. The following courses cannot be taken on a P/NC basis: all core curriculum/general education courses; senior theses/projects; repeated courses; courses in one’s major (refer to #5 for exception).
5. Departments may designate a few courses to be taken by all students on a P/NC basis. Courses so designated must be approved by the Educational Policies Committee. A department, at its discretion, may use pass/no credit grades for junior or senior seminars.
6. Students must elect this option by the end of the third week of classes; please refer to the academic calendar for the deadline. For Fall 2020, the deadline was extended due to the pandemic.

This grade indicates that a student and a faculty member have entered into an agreement that grants an extension of time to complete the requirements of the course. For additional information, refer to Grade of Incomplete: Procedure for Receiving.

1. The work must be completed within four weeks of the end of the semester.
2. Incompletes that are not resolved by the deadline date or approved for a further extension will be converted to a failure (F) grade. Grade changes after the four-week period are discouraged as a matter of fairness to students who complete their work on time. Extension of an incomplete must be approved by the designated administrator in the school that offered the course.
3. The credit value assigned at the time of registration is the credit value at the time the grade is submitted. Partial credit, whether for special or regular courses, is not given.
4. An “I” grade counts toward program pursuit for financial aid purposes.

The audit (AU) grade is available to nonmatriculated continuing education students only. These students may audit credit courses with permission of the instructor, who determines the requirements for participation by the auditor. Auditors pay full tuition and fees.

Matriculated students may informally audit courses with permission of the instructor, but may not receive AU grades. Registration for the course is not permitted, and the course does not appear on the student’s academic record. Matriculated students who choose to audit a course may not register for the course later in the semester.

Chosen by the student, this grade is available up to the end of the ninth week of classes and signifies an official withdrawal without prejudice. It is not calculated in the GPA or used to calculate accumulated full-time equivalent status, but may affect program pursuit for financial aid purposes and eligibility for campus housing. The signature of the student’s advisor is required on the Course Withdrawal form, which is available under Forms on the registrar’s site. Freshmen must also consult with and obtain the signature of the Director of Student Support and Academic Achievement, on the withdrawal form; for more information, refer to the Freshman-Year Withdrawal Policy. The signatures, which do not necessarily indicate approval, are required to provide information to the advisor and the college.

When a student repeats a Purchase College course, all grades received will remain on the official transcript, but only the highest grade received will be included in the quality and grade point average and the hours toward graduation. Students who have taken coursework before fall 2014 must file a Repeat Course form with the Office of the Registrar to ensure accuracy of their cumulative grade point average and official transcript. This form is available under Forms on the registrar’s site. The grade excluded from the cumulative totals will be annotated with an “E” on the transcripts. The grade included in the cumulative totals will be annotated with an “I.” The repeated course, which is defined by the same course prefix and course number, must be repeated at Purchase College under the same grading system in order to be eligible for this policy. Therefore, courses previously taken and earned as transfer credit are not eligible for repeating.

Students receiving financial aid are encouraged to check with the Office of Student Financial Services to avoid losing an award, especially when repeating a previously passed course (grade of D or higher).

A WF grade is assigned by a faculty member when a student stopped attending the course and failed to officially drop or withdraw from the course. Faculty members may use the following as a general guideline:

1. If a student attended through the ninth week, he or she would receive an F or an NC, as is appropriate, instead of a WF.
2. If a student did not attend through the ninth week, he or she would receive a WF instead of an F.

The faculty member must include the student’s final date of attendance when assigning a WF grade. The WF grade is calculated as an F toward the GPA and does not count toward program pursuit for financial aid purposes.

Note: If the student never attended the course and failed to officially drop or withdraw, refer to the XF grade.

An XF grade is assigned by a faculty member when a student never attended the course and failed to officially drop or withdraw from the course. In online or hybrid courses, this grade should be assigned if the student never submitted an assignment or participated in discussions.

The XF grade is calculated as an F toward the GPA and does not count toward program pursuit for financial aid purposes.