Grade and Grade Reporting

Grades are the method of assessing student progress. Students are issued grades at mid-semester and a final grade at the end of the semester.

Grade Reports

Student grade reports are available at mid-semester and at the end of the semester. Only the semester grades are entered on the student's permanent records (transcript). Semester grade reports are available through the student portal myESU. Specific information about access to the student portal is mailed to each student upon his or her initial enrollment at East Stroudsburg University.

It is the responsibility of each student to check grade reports at mid-semester and at the end of the semester. Students are expected to check grade reports as they are available to be aware of academic performance in each course, to register for courses for the next semester, and to address issues related to course grades immediately. Grade reports are an important tool for assessing academic progress.

Quality Point System

In addition to meeting course and semester hour requirements for graduation, students must maintain a specified academic level throughout a given curriculum as measured by quality points. The minimum number of quality points required for graduation is twice the number of semester hours of credit attempted. Pass/fail courses are not used in the computation of the quality point average. Work completed at other colleges and accepted as transfer credit is not considered in computing the quality point average. The required quality point average for graduation is 2.000 or higher. Some degree programs require a higher cumulative quality point average.

Each semester hour grade is calculated as follows:

Calculating Grade Point Average

Calculating of grade point average is done using the steps below.

1. Grade symbols are translated into quality points per semester hour of credit as listed above.
2. The university recognizes that a good grade in a three-semester-hour course requires more work than in a two-semester-hour course. Owing to this, the university follows a system which recognizes both the quality and quantity of a student's work. Under this system, the number of quality points for each letter grade (e.g. four points for an A) is multiplied by the number of semester hours of credit for the course.
3. Quality points are awarded only for work completed at East Stroudsburg University. Work completed at other colleges and accepted as transfer credit is not considered in computing the quality point average.

Incompletes

The maximum time for completing course requirements to remove incomplete grades is one semester from the end of the session in which the "I" grade was assigned. After that time, the "I" grade will automatically be converted by the Registrar to an E, F, or U based on the grade mode for the course. The student can then only earn credits for the course by registering for it again in another semester.

If a student applies for graduation in a session before the grace period has expired, the course requirements must be completed by the end of that session, or the "I" grade will be converted by the Registrar to an E, F, or U based on the grade mode for the course.

Students who cannot complete the required coursework during the specified time period should notify the faculty member as soon as possible. A faculty member who chooses to deviate from this policy will require the student to sign a contract specifying conditions necessary for course completion, which may include a time period for completion of less than one semester or other conditions. The faculty member will also notify the Registrar of any changes to the completion date.

Auditing Courses

A student desiring to audit a course must submit an official request to the Student Enrollment Center after securing the approval of the professor of the course. A change of registration from credit to audit or from audit to credit may occur only during the first seven calendar days of the semester. Auditing students pay the same tuition and fees as students taking courses for credit.

Please note: Senior citizens registering for courses under the special student status will automatically be assigned an audit grade.

Repeat Grades

Undergraduate students will be limited to a maximum total of six repeats during their enrollment at East Stroudsburg University. This is an individual course count (not credit). Students cannot repeat more than six courses.

A single course can only be taken a maximum of three times. That is, the course should appear no more than three times on a transcript. The most recent grade, regardless of whether it is higher or lower, will be the grade used for the GPA calculation. All other grades earned for repeated courses will be marked as such on the student’s academic transcript.

Developmental Education Courses

The Course Repeat Policy limit will not apply to Developmental Education courses such as MATH 090 and ENGL 090. However, the most recent grade will be the grade used for assessing academic progress for both the semester and overall calculations. Credits earned will count towards Class Standing (Classification Level). Credits and grades will appear on transcript but credits will not count towards the minimum number of credits required for graduation.

Minimum Cumulative Quality Point

Regular matriculated students who have a grade point average below a 2.0 may be in academic warning.

Class Standing/Classification Level

Class designation is determined by the number of semester hours of work which the student has satisfactorily completed in accordance with the following:

Graduation

A student at East Stroudsburg University must earn a minimum grade point average of 2.000 to graduate (individual departments may, however, stipulate higher graduation requirements), complete the general education requirements, competencies requirements, and file an intent to graduate request. Intent to graduate requests are directed to Graduation Services. The university holds commencement exercises at the end of spring semester. Students graduating in August, December, January, and May may participate in the spring commencement exercises.

The official degree conferral/graduation date is posted on the student's permanent record (transcript) as the semester when all degree requirements have been completed and confirmed by the Registrar or her designee

Graduation Honors

In order to qualify for graduation honors, (the only honors other than the University Leadership Award to be announced at commencement exercises), a student must have completed at East Stroudsburg University 45 credits in which the letter grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D or E are assigned. Students who have the appropriate grade point average at the time the honor's designation is determined, and who will have met the 45-credit minimum once the final semester is completed, will be granted graduation honors as follows:

Graduation honors are based on all work completed at East Stroudsburg University. The official university transcript will carry the appropriate honors designation based on all work completed at the university.