Grade System

Distribution of Grades

Academic grades of undergraduate students may be released to parent(s) of a student claimed as a dependent for tax purposes. WPI presumes that all undergraduate students are dependents of their parent(s) unless they file a Declaration of Independent Status petition form with the Registrar’s Office. These forms are available in the Registrar’s Office. After the Registrar’s Office receives a Declaration of Independent Status petition form from an undergraduate student, the Office will not release the student’s academic grades to the parent(s) of such student until such time as the student rescinds their Declaration, in writing filed with the Registrar’s Office, or his/her parent(s) provide acceptable proof of tax-dependent status to the Registrar’s Office. 

Grade System Selection

The PLAN grading system applies only to admitted, degree-seeking undergraduate students. All other students such as Consortium (CO), nondegree-seeking Special Students (SX), and Graduate students will receive traditional A, B, C, D, F,  Withdrawal and Pass/Fail grades. The AD, AC grading system applies to all degree candidates who matriculated prior to May 1, 1986, and who have not exercised the one-time option to change to the A, B, C system.

Plan (Current System)

Projects: The following term grades are possible: A, B, C, SP (Satisfactory Progress), NAC (Not Acceptable) and NR (No record).

Courses: The following grades are possible: A, B, C, NR, and I (Incomplete). An instructor may also assign an "I" in an Independent Study course. AT (attended) is used to denote participation in seminars or college-sponsored programs.  If an undergraduate student repeats a course previously graded with an A, B, or C, both grades will appear on the undergraduate student transcript with the lower grade marked with a '/R' indicating a repeated class.  Only the higher grade will be used to calculate the student's numerical equivalent.

Traditional (System Before Mid-1970's)

Courses: The following grades are possible: A, B, C, D, F, Withdrawal, and I (Incomplete).

Grades for Completion of Degree Requirements

The overall evaluation of degree requirements (for the MQP, the IQP and the Sufficiency) will be graded in the student's respective grade system. The transcript will contain an abstract describing the content of the completed project.

No Record (NR)

The NR (No Record) grade is assigned by a faculty member for course or project work for which credit has not been earned. This grade applies to PLAN students (admitted, degree-seeking) only. The NR grade does not appear on the students' official transcripts, nor is it used in the calculation of satisfactory academic progress.

See Tuition & Aid FAQs for information about potential impacts of NRs on financial aid (scroll to the bottom to get to the NR FAQs).

Incomplete (I)

An I grade, when assigned, will be changed to NR after one term unless extended in writing by the instructor to the Registrar's Office. The I grade is not assigned for Qualifying Projects or the Sufficiency.

Satisfactory Progress (SP)

In project work (IQP, MQP only) extending beyond one term for which a grade is not yet assigned, an interim grade of SP (Satisfactory Progress) may be used on grade sheets. In such cases, the SP evaluation will count as units earned toward meeting the 15-unit rule, the distribution requirements, and the minimum standards for satisfactory academic progress. SP grades remain on the transcript until changed to the final grade as submitted on the Completion of Degree Requirement Form or through the grade change form procedure.

Other Grades

A ? or Q signifies a grade that has not been submitted.

Cumulative Point Average

WPI does not maintain a Cumulative Grade Point Average for undergraduate students. A student who needs a cumulative point average for external use may apply to the Registrar and receive a numerical equivalent. This information is usually provided only for students applying to graduate or professional schools when the application process requires a translation. Cumulative point averages will not be printed on student's transcripts nor shall class rankings be developed from them.

When requested by the student, the numerical equivalent of the cumulative point average will be based on a point assignment of A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0 while DIST and AC grades will be 4.0 and 2.75 respectively.

In order to assess progress throughout the graduate program, grades are assigned to the student’s performance in course, project, and thesis work.  Academic achievement is based on the following grading system:

A - Excellent

B - Good

C - Pass

D - Unacceptable for graduate credit

F - Fail

AU - Audit

NC - No Credit awarded; Not factored into GPA

P - Pass (minimum grade of C obtained)

I - Incomplete: transition grade only - becomes grade of F if not changed by instructor within 12 months

W - Withdrawal

SP - Satisfactory progress: continuing registration in thesis/dissertation, directed research

CR - Credit for work at another institution

UP - Unsatisfactory progress: this grade remains on the file transcript

Grade Point Average (GPA Calculated For Graduate Students Only)

Grades are assigned the following grade points:

A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0 and F = 0.0. The grade point average is calculated as the sum of the products of the grade points and credit hours for each registered activity (including courses, independent studies, directed research, thesis research and dissertation research) in the average, divided by the total number of credit hours for all registered activities in the average. If a student takes the same course more than once, the course enters the GPA only once, the most recent grade received for the course being used in the average.

A student’s overall GPA is calculated on the basis of all registered activities taken while enrolled as a graduate student at WPI. WPI graduate courses taken before a student had status as a degree seeking graduate student are included in the over-all GPA. A student’s program GPA is calculated on the basis of those WPI courses listed by the student on the student’s Application for Graduation form. The transcript will report the overall GPA.

Courses transferred from elsewhere for graduate credit (for which a grade of CR is recorded on the WPI transcript), and courses taken to satisfy undergraduate degree requirements or to remove deficiencies in undergraduate preparation, are not included in either GPA. Registered activities in which the student receives grades of AU, NC, P, I, W, SP or UP are not included in either GPA.

Only registered activities in which a grade of A, B, C or CR was obtained may be used to satisfy courses or credit requirements for a graduate degree.