Dental School Grading System

Letter grades, with or without grade points, are used by Marquette faculty to evaluate students' performance in a course. All grades described below, except for I, IC, IE and IR grades are permanent grades. No additional work for the purpose of changing a permanent grade may be submitted by students after the last day of the session in which the class is offered. Likewise, no additional work for the purpose of changing temporary grades of I, IC, IE or IR may be submitted by students once the deadline to change temporary grades has passed.

The following letter grades, their equivalents in achievement and grade points per semester hour of credit, are used by Marquette University School of Dentistry faculty to evaluate student performance in a course:

Grading System 2

Grade	Numerical Grade Range	Achievement	Grade Points
A	95-100	Superior	4.000
A-	92-94		3.670
B+	89-91		3.330
B	86-88	Good	3.000
B-	83-85		2.670
C+	80-82		2.330
C	77-79	Satisfactory	2.000
C-*	75-76	Minimally passing	1.670
F**	<75	Unsatisfactory	0.000

*

While C- grades are minimally passing, the GPA value of C- grades is less than the 2.0 value required to maintain satisfactory academic standing.

**

Marquette University School of Dentistry does not assign a D grade. All grades below C- are unacceptable and do not fulfill the graduation requirements for the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. For courses taken in the College of Health Sciences which may have a different grading scale, students must adhere to Marquette University School of Dentistry grading standards. Courses with F grades may be remediated as described in the policy on Course Remediation. Submission of a last date of attendance is required for the grade of F. The maximum allowable grade for any course remediation is a C-.

For purposes of letter grade calculations, all numerical grades that are 0.50 or higher are rounded up to the next higher number, e.g., a numerical grade of 91.50 to 91.99 would be rounded up 92, giving a letter grade of A-. Conversely, numerical grades that are 0.49 or lower are rounded down to the next lower number, e.g., a numerical grade of 91.01 to 91.49 would be rounded down to 91, giving a letter grade of B+.

IN CERTAIN COURSES, ONLY S OR U GRADES ARE ASSIGNED.

Grading Other

Grade	Defined
S	Satisfactory completion of the course. Full credit earned and course fulfills graduation requirements for the Doctor of Surgery degree; however, the grade does not affect the grade point average.
U	Unsatisfactory completion of course. No credit earned and the course does not fulfill graduation requirements for the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree; however, the grade does not affect the grade point average. Submission of a last date of attendance is required for this grade.

The following letter grades are used to indicate circumstances involving audits, incompletes, absences and withdrawals.

Grading Other

Grade	Defined
ADW	Administrative Withdrawal; a permanent grade indicating the student was withdrawn from the course for administrative reasons, as determined by approved personnel of the university, including but not limited to the dean, or members of a committee involved in a formal hearing and/or appeal process. Submission of the late date of attendance is required for this grade. This grade will take precedence over any other grade assigned to the student at the time of the administrative withdrawal.
AU	Audit (no credit); a permanent grade indicating the credits are excluded from attempted credits.
AUA	Audit (no credit); a permanent grade, indicating the credits are included in attempted credits, used in Satisfactory Academic Progress.
I	Incomplete; a temporary grade assigned by the course director, indicating that the student has not completed the requirements/exams necessary for the assignment of a grade due to circumstances beyond the control of the student, e.g., excused absences. To be eligible for an Incomplete grade, students must complete at least 60 percent of the class as measured in weeks of attendance or participation in the session. In such cases the student must meet with the course director within five (5) school days of the assignment of the grade or the student’s return to school, to determine the requirements to successfully complete the course. Students who have not completed the requirements necessary for the assignment of a grade due to unexcused absences, inability to maintain an appropriate pace of study or poor quality of work will be assigned a grade of F or U. The assignment of a grade of I implies that the student is significantly behind in terms of completing the course requirements. All grades of I must be removed prior to the end of the following term or a grade of F will be recorded. Submission of a last date of attendance is required for this grade.
IC	Incomplete Course; a temporary grade assigned by the course director to students whose clinical course work is incomplete at the time of a formal grading period, i.e., end of the term, due to the scheduling of clinicals beyond the control of the student; however, the quality and quantity of work is appropriate. This grade is reserved for courses that may extend over two or more terms and its assignment carries no negative connotation regarding student performance.
IR	Incomplete Remediation: a temporary grade indicating the course is incomplete because the student needs to do some remediation for portions of the course.
NG	No grade; a temporary grade indicating grades were not entered by the grading deadline for the session in which the class was offered; a grade change is required.
PI	Permanent Incomplete; a permanent grade administratively assigned indicating that the student is unable to complete the necessary course work or clinical experience to be assigned a final grade.
SR	Satisfactory with Remediation: a permanent grade indicating satisfactory coursework, after remediation.
W	Official withdrawal; a permanent grade indicating withdrawal initiated by the student, with approval of the college office. Submission of a last date of attendance is required for this grade.
UW	Unexcused withdrawal; a permanent grade indicating withdrawal initiated by the associate dean for academic affairs when a student registered for a course, never attended and failed to officially withdraw.
WA	Withdrawn-Excessive Absences; a permanent grade, indicating withdrawal initiated by the associate dean for academic affairs due to excessive absences in the course. This grade cannot be overwritten by the W grade. Submission of a last date of attendance is required for this grade.
WF	Withdrawn-Failed; a permanent grade, calculated into the GPA, indicating a withdrawal initiated by the student after the deadline to withdraw for the class, or by the faculty/school when a student stops attending, also after the deadline to withdraw. This grade cannot be overwritten with any other grade, except in the case of the ADW grade, as described above. Submission of a last date of attendance is required for this grade.

Clearance of grades I, IC and IR are initiated by the course director who submitted the original grade and must be done within five (5) school days of the student completing the course. In the event the course director is unable to submit the grade change; the program director or department chair must assume that responsibility. Retroactive withdrawals may not replace an incomplete grade. 

The letter grades involving withdrawal, except for WF, (i.e., grades of UW, W, WA) do not involve any loss of grade points and do not affect a student’s grade point average.

No incomplete grade or permanent grade may be retroactively changed to a withdrawal grade.