Grading System
Lindenwood operates under the 4.0 grading system. The grade point average is computed by dividing the total number of quality points earned by the total number of semester hours attempted. An A carries four quality points; thus, a course worth three semester hours in which a student earned an A would merit a total of 12 quality points. A grade of B carries three quality points; a grade of C carries two quality points; and a grade of D carries one quality point. A grade of F carries no quality points and no credit. A grade of AF (attendance failure) carries no quality points and no credit. Only grades earned at Lindenwood are used in computing the GPA.
Undergraduate students may receive grades of A, B, C, D, F, W, AF, N, I and Audit (AU). A grade of A represents work of outstanding quality; it indicates that the student has shown initiative, skill, and thoroughness and has displayed originality in thinking. A grade of B is awarded for work of high quality, well above average. The grade of C indicates average work and satisfactory completion of course requirements. The grade of D indicates minimally satisfactory completion of course requirements. The grade of D is not awarded at the graduate level. A grade of F or AF indicates that one’s coursework is unsatisfactory, and no credit is given.
An Attendance Failure (AF) grade is given when a student stops attending a course or cluster prior to the published Withdrawal deadline, but does not request to be withdrawn from the course or cluster. The grade of AF is treated as a grade of F in the calculation of the student's grade point average. A student who stops attending, or misses a third class, after the published Withdrawal deadline will receive an F grade.
An administrative grade of N is assigned by the registrar when final course grades have not been submitted prior to making grades accessible to students. Under normal circumstances, the N grade will be cleared within two weeks after the end of the term. Faculty members are not authorized to submit a grade of N.
A grade of I (incomplete) is given at the end of a term only for failure to complete the coursework because of exceptional circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as an extended illness, hospitalization, or death of a close relative requiring absence from class for a significant period of time. An incomplete is not an alternative for the student who is failing the course or who has excessive absences. An incomplete is not an option for the student who has consistently missed or been tardy with assignments. A student should have attended all cluster meetings to date and should be relatively current with the assignments in order to qualify for the extension afforded through an incomplete grade. Incompletes should be offered only toward the end of the term for students who were progressing satisfactorily in the class before the exceptional circumstances arose. Students must contact their faculty advisors for additional information about requesting an incomplete grade in a cluster.
A grade of I (incomplete) must be resolved prior to the end of the subsequent term; otherwise, the incomplete will be converted to an F. Any request to extend the time needed to resolve the grade of incomplete must be submitted to the Office of Academic Services no later than two weeks before the date the grade is due. Requests will then be sent to the appropriate school dean and the associate provost to be considered for approval.
A student may register in any lecture course as an auditor. Students are not permitted to audit skill courses such as studio or laboratory courses involving extensive supervision by an instructor. Auditors will be expected to attend all classes. No credit may be earned or later claimed by a student who audits a course. A student has one week into a regular term and two class meetings into a quarter or summer session to make a change in registration to audit a class or to take it for credit. The audit fee is 50 percent of the posted tuition for a course.
A grade of W indicates that the student withdrew from a class with no effect to the student’s GPA. To withdraw from a course with a grade of W, students must complete, sign, and submit a withdrawal form before the last day to withdraw with a W, with the signature of the academic advisor, and, if the student has attended the course at least once, the signature of the instructor of the course. Students wishing to withdraw from the university altogether must obtain the signatures of the instructors for each course from which they wish to withdraw. The deadline to withdraw is set at the two-thirds mark of the term.
The only circumstance in which the student will not be charged for a course is if the student never attends a class session. If the student attends one class session or more, he or she will be charged a determined percentage of the course’s tuition cost. The percentage applied to the student’s account depends on how many classes the student attends and the withdrawal date. For further information, please contact either the Financial Aid Office or the Office of Academic Services.
Note: A student who is a first responder may elect to withdraw from a course with a grade of W at any time during the term if documentation is provided verifying that the student’s first responder duties were the cause of absences exceeding the number of allowable excused absences. This policy applies to academic withdrawal only.
When it is in the best interest of a student or of Lindenwood University for a student to withdraw, a student may be given a W and put on administrative hold. This action of administrative withdrawal results in removal of all credits associated with the affected classes and places the student on administrative suspension. Before re-enrolling at the university, the student on administrative suspension must write a letter of appeal to the dean of students. An Administrative Withdrawal does not affect the student’s grade point average.