Grades and Reports

Graduation is dependent upon quality as well as upon quantity of work done.

A student earns quality points as well as semester hours if his/her level of performance does not fall below that of a “D-.”

Letter grades are used. They are interpreted in the table below, with the quality points for each hour of credit shown at right.

A grade in the “A” range indicates distinguished performance in a course.

A grade in the “B” range indicates an above-average performance in class.

A grade in the “C” range indicates an average performance in which a basic understanding of the subject has been demonstrated.

A grade in the “D” range indicates a passing performance despite some deficiencies.

A grade of “F” indicates failure.

Grades of “A” through “F” are permanent grades and may not be changed except in case of error. After an instructor has certified a grade to the Registrar, he/she may change it before the end of the next regular grading period. The change must be made using the online grade change system that requires electronic approval of the department chair.

An “I” grade signifies incomplete work because of illness, emergency, extreme hardship or self-paced courses. An “I” grade is normally not given when a student has missed more than 30 percent of the class work. It is not given for a student missing the final examination unless excused by the appropriate department chair upon communication from the student. The student receiving a grade of “I” completes all work no later than nine class days after mid-semester grades are due during the following semester. A final grade is submitted to the Registrar by the instructor the following Monday. After this date the “I” grade automatically changes to “F” unless an extension is granted by the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.

A grade of "NR" signifies that the grade was not received in time for processing. An “NR” is replaced upon receipt of an official grade change form. An “NR” not resolved by the university’s published deadline is automatically converted to an “F”.

A grade of "NG" is only used for laboratory sections where the lab grade is factored into the lecture portion of the course. A grade of "NG" is not associated with any academic credit and does not factor into the cumulative GPA.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

The GPA is computed by dividing the total quality points on work attempted at Elon University by the number of hours attempted except for courses with grades of “P,” “S,” “WD” or “W,” “WM,” “AU,” “T,” “I,” “NR,” or “BE.”

Grade Point Average Calculation

Students may access online assistance for calculating their GPA (cumulative, major, or minor).

Grade Reports

Students are graded at mid-semester as well as at the end of each semester. Mid-semester grades serve as progress reports and are not entered on students’ permanent records.

President’s and Dean’s Lists

The Dean’s List recognizes and encourages excellence in academic work. A student who has no grade below a “B-” and a GPA of at least 3.5 in a minimum of 12 semester hours in any semester is placed on the Dean’s List for the following semester. Those students who have no grade below an “A-” in a minimum of 12 semester hours in any semester are placed on the President’s List. Classes passed on a Pass/Fail basis or classes with grades of “S,” “WD” “WM,” “W,” “T,” “AU” or “BE” are not included in Dean’s List or President’s List eligibility. Students who have an “I” or “NR” grades are excluded from President’s and Dean’s List honors until those grades have been converted to an appropriate letter grade.

Graduation With Honors

Students completing at least 66 credit hours at Elon University may graduate with honors. Candidates for graduation with an average of 3.9 or above are graduated summa cum laude; those with 3.7 or above, magna cum laude; and those with 3.5 or above, cum laude. In computing eligibility for honors, only work attempted at Elon will be used.

Notification Of Student Rights Under FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. They are:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s records within 45 days of the day that the institute receives the request for access.

   Students should submit to the Registrar a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the students of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

2. The right to request an amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate or misleading.
   1. Students may ask the institution to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the Registrar, clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.
   2. If the institution decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the institution will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
   3. The process of amending the academic record only pertains to information that has been recorded inaccurately or incorrectly. It is not a process to appeal grades, disciplinary decisions, or other university decisions with which the student disagrees but which have been recorded accurately. Normal review and appeal channels must be used where the dispute is with the decision itself and not with the accuracy with which the decision or information has been recorded. Information pertaining to grade and disciplinary appeals may be found in the student handbook.
3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
   1. One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person whether volunteering for or employed by the institution in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the institution has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); staff in the Office of the Attorney General; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.
   2. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
4. The right to file a complaint with the United States Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Elon University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

   Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-4605

5. The institution will honor requests to withhold the information listed below but cannot assume responsibility to contact students for subsequent permission to release them. The institution assumes no liability for honoring instructions that such information be withheld.

   The items listed below are designated as Directory Information and may be released for any purpose at the discretion of the institution unless the student requests the information be withheld:

   1. Name, address, telephone number, dates of attendance, class, and electronic e-mail address.
   2. Previous institution(s) attended, major field of study, awards, honors (included Dean’s list), degree(s) conferred (including dates).
   3. Past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities, physical factors (height, weight of athletes), date and place of birth

Transcripts of Student Records

Requests for copies of a student’s record, official transcripts, should be made to the Office of the Registrar. All transcripts reflect the student’s complete academic record. No transcripts are issued without the written authorization of the student. No transcript is issued for a student who has a financial obligation to the university.

Work at Other Institutions

Students, who plan to take courses at other institutions must have prior written permission from the Registrar.  The request to transfer credit form is available online on the Office of the Registrar ‘s website.  Students are encouraged to consult with their academic advisors to review their academic planning prior to submitting the request to transfer credit form.

Currently enrolled students must be in good academic standing and have a minimum 2.0 GPA in order to transfer course credit from another regionally accredited institution to Elon University. Each course is evaluated on an individual basis and must be approved prior to registration in order to assure credit will be transferred.

Students transferring courses worth fewer than four credit hours must still meet the total semester hour requirements in the affected program area. To earn a bachelor’s degree from Elon University, students must earn a minimum of 132 total semester hours.

A grade of “C-” or higher must be posted on the official transcript for each course in order for the credits in that course to transfer. Courses posted in an un-graded format, including but not limited to pass/fail, audit, or credit/no-credit, will not transfer. Grades do not transfer, only the credit hours will be posted to the Elon University transcript with no change to the Elon grade point average. A grade of “T” for transfer is used to indicate transcript credit accepted.

Credits will not transfer for a course in which the student has already earned credit hours at Elon. Students may not transfer courses in which they have incurred an honor code “F” at Elon University.

If the course under consideration does not meet the specific requirement the student seeks to fulfill, he/she will be directed to the appropriate academic department chair.

Students must complete a minimum of 60 semester hours at Elon University.

Class Rank

Elon University does not calculate class rank.