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Credits and Grades

Work accomplished by students is usually recognized in terms of credit hours, grades, grade points, and grade point averages.

Minimum credit requirements for baccalaureate degrees are set by each college or school. Students must have a minimum of a C average (a minimum GPA of 2.0). Some colleges, schools, and degree programs have higher requirements. Students should check with their college or school adviser.

Credit Hours

Credit hours (or credits) for course work are determined on a semester or semester-equivalent basis for work satisfactorily accomplished. Credit hours granted for specific courses are listed in this Catalog and in the Schedule of Classes published each semester.

grades

Grades awarded are A, B, C, D, F, CR (credit), NC (no credit), I (incomplete), and L (audit). A grade of A indicates excellent achievement, B above average, C average, D minimal passing, and F failure.

A grade of I is given to a student who has not completed a small but important part of a semester's work if the instructor believes that the incomplete was caused by conditions beyond the student's control. Each student receiving a grade of I should consult his or her instructor promptly to determine the steps to be taken and the deadline to complete the course work for changing the grade of I to a final grade. The designated November and April deadlines (see the "Calendar") refer to the dates by which instructors must report adjusted grades. Student deadlines for completing their course work must be adjusted accordingly.

An instructor recording a grade of I on the final grade sheet will also record the grade that will replace the I if the work is not made up by the deadline; that grade is computed on the basis of what grades or other evidence the instructor does have, averaged together with Fs or zeros for all incomplete work (including the final examination, if it has not been taken). If the work is completed prior to the deadline, the instructor will report a change of grade, taking the completed work into consideration. If the instructor does not submit a grade to replace the incomplete, the grade of I will be replaced by an F or an NC (as appropriate) as of the April or November deadline. All grades of I must be cleared by a student's college prior to graduation.

Credit/No Credit Option
The credit/no credit option encourages students to broaden their education by venturing into subjects outside their fields of specialization without risking a relatively low grade. The CR designation denotes C-caliber work or better. However, students should be aware that some colleges and many graduate and professional schools evaluate CR as C and NC as F. The same is true of some employers and scholarship awarding agencies.

Certain courses may be designated as mandatory CR/NC. In addition to any such mandatory CR/NC courses, no more than 40 credit hours of CR may be counted toward the degree. Neither CR nor NC is computed in the grade point average. The CR/NC option must be exercised during the registration period. The CR/NC option is limited to elective courses; this option is not allowed for any course taken to fulfill a University, college, school, or department nonelective requirement, with the exception of those courses offered for mandatory CR/NC.

Grade Points
Grade points are given for all courses in which grades of A, B, C, D, or F are reported. They are computed as follows: for each credit hour received in a course, 4 grade points are granted if the grade is A; 3 if B; 2 if C; 1 if D; and 0 if F.

Students entering as undergraduates are not given grade points for work done outside UH Manoa.
Grade Point Averages

Grade point averages (GPA) are determined by dividing the total number of grade points by the total number of credit hours for which a student has received letter grades (excluding I, NC, CR, W, or L).

The semester GPA is calculated on any one semester's credits and grade points. The cumulative GPA is calculated on all such work taken at UH Manoa.

Repeating Passed Courses
Students may repeat for a letter grade a course in which they received a D grade. No additional credit toward the degree will be granted; the two grades for the course will be included in the GPA. Students may not repeat a course for which they received a grade of C or better or CR.

Repeating Failed Courses
Students may repeat, for a letter grade only, any course in which an F was received. If this is done at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, credit hours and grade points for each attempt are included in the GPA. Students may repeat (but not for a letter grade) CR/NC courses in which they received a grade of NC.

Duplicate Credits
Academic credit is generally not awarded for courses or examinations that duplicate material for which academic credit has already been given. Repeating passed courses (see above) yields no additional credit, nor does taking more than one version of a cross-listed course. (In the Course Descriptions, less obvious duplications may contain notations like, "credit not given for both 200 and 201"; "credit for only one of . . ."; etc.)

Graduate Credit for Seniors
Seniors at the Manoa campus may earn credit toward an advanced degree for some courses completed during their last semester as undergraduates provided that (a) the courses taken are in excess of the requirements for the bachelor's degree and (b) such courses fulfill requirements in the prospective graduate field. To obtain such credit, students are required to file a petition form available at the Graduate Division at the time of registration for the courses. For more information, refer to the "Graduate Education" section of this Catalog.

Backtracking
Backtracking is not permitted. Additional credit and grade points are not awarded for lower-level courses if they are taken after or concurrently with the advanced course for which they are explicitly or implicitly prerequisites.

Students should direct any questions about the applicability of this policy to the student academic services office of their college or school.

Excess Credit Policy
A student who by the end of any semester has earned 24 credit hours beyond those required for graduation and has fulfilled all specific program and University requirements may be graduated by action of the student's college or school.

Unless an extension has been granted by the college's or school's student services dean, students may be put on probation if they have taken 24 credit hours beyond those required for graduation but still have not completed their specific program requirements.

Grade Reports
Grade reports are mailed to students after the end of each semester/session. Grades are also available by touch-tone telephone or by personal computer connected to the World Wide Web. Grades are available approximately two weeks after the end of the final examination period each semester. Grades for courses taken through Outreach College do not follow this schedule.

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