Academic Standing and Policies
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Academic Standing and Policies
The Ohio State University and the College of Engineering have academic standards and progress requirements for each student (at the university, college and department levels). Each semester, we review the grades of every Engineering student to review their academic standing and progress. Students who are struggling are sent an notification advising them of their status, outlining terms they must meet during their next term of enrollment. Additionally, the students are encouraged to connect with their academic advisor and utilize support resources to ensure academic success in future terms.
To read more about the College of Engineering academic standards and progress policies, please visit the ASAP Policies Handbook 2022-2023 (Download the 2022-2023 ASAP-Handbook.pdf).
Accordions
Accordions
You can check your grades online at BuckeyeLink. The registrar does not mail (or e-mail) grades to students.
The grades used by the university and their points per credit hour are shown in the following chart:
| Grades | Numbers of Credit Hours per Class | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| A | 4.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 16.0 | 20.0 |
| A- | 3.7 | 7.4 | 11.1 | 14.8 | 18.5 |
| B+ | 3.3 | 6.6 | 9.9 | 13.2 | 16.5 |
| B | 3.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 12.0 | 15.0 |
| B- | 2.7 | 5.4 | 8.1 | 10.8 | 13.5 |
| C+ | 2.3 | 4.6 | 6.9 | 9.2 | 11.5 |
| C | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 |
| C- | 1.7 | 3.4 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 8.5 |
| D+ | 1.3 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 6.5 |
| D | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
Note: Ohio State does not offer the grades of A+ and D-. You earn no grade points for an E or an EN, but the hours are calculated into your grade point average. (An EN grade indicates that, at some point during the semester, you stopped attending the class.)
Calculate your GPA
Other marks are listed below. Note that points are not awarded for the following marks:
EM examination credit
I incomplete
K transfer credit
NP non-pass
P progress
PA pass
R audit
S satisfactory
U unsatisfactory
W withdrew
Incomplete
An "I" indicates that a student has completed a major portion of the work in the course in a satisfactory manner, but for reasons judged by the instructor to be legitimate, a portion of the course requirements remains to be completed. If illness or an emergency prevents you from finishing a course, you may request an “Incomplete” from the instructor. When you receive this grade, you must consult with the instructor as soon as possible to make arrangements for completing the course requirements. Incomplete work must be completed no later than the sixth week of the following semester. If the work is not made up by the due date, the “I” mark will be changed to the alternate grade the instructor reported.
Pass/Non-Pass option
- You may take a maximum of 20 credit hours of electives on a pass/non-pass (PA/NP) basis.
- You cannot take general education, major, minor, or prerequisite courses pass/non-pass.
- You must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA to use the pass/non-pass option.
- You must work with your advisor in order to use this option.
- Please visit registrar.osu.edu and select "Registration, Fees, and Important Dates" for semester, term, and session deadlines for registering for the pass/non-pass option.
*During Spring 2020, as well as the 2020-2021 academic year, the University approved the use of Pass/Non-Pass in response to the global health crisis.
Auditing a Course
You may choose to audit a course in order to refresh yourself on the material or to learn more about a subject without earning a letter grade. Fees are assessed for auditing a course, but no credit hours are awarded. You cannot audit a course and then later take the course for a grade. Auditing a course requires the permission of the instructor and the permission of your college office, the latter obtained through your academic advisor.
Academic standing is a measure of your level of academic success. It may be based on your grade-point average for a single term, your cumulative grade-point average, your progress toward a degree, or some combination of those factors. In any case, it is intended as one measure of your academic achievement.
Any student whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 will be placed on academic probation. The College may make exceptions to this policy for students who are being dismissed because they failed to meet the conditions of their previous probation, and for new first-term students who can be placed on academic warning rather than probation. Students placed on warning will be placed on probation the following term if their cumulative GPA is still below 2.0.
If you are in academic difficulty, or if you believe you are in danger of falling into academic difficulty (even if your cumulative GPA is above 2.0), you should see your academic advisor as soon as possible to discuss the issues that may be affecting your academic performance and to get advice on how to earn and maintain good academic standing.
The notation of Dean's List on the academic record recognizes a strong academic performance in a completed academic term. Typically, students awarded Dean's List have completed at least 12 hours (full-time enrollment) that term. Of the 12 hours, at least 9 credit hours have earned a grade that is factored into the GPA (in a typical semester this would be A-D) and a term GPA of 3.5 or higher. The student must not have earned failing marks of any kind (E, NP, or U grades) or incomplete marks (I).
Part-time Dean's List recognizes students who, while not enrolled full time in any term during a year, have earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher while completing at least 12 graded hours during that year, with no failing marks of any kind.
Dean's List is not applied retroactively, after Grade Forgiveness has been applied.
Although a student may be in good academic standing (maintaining a 2.0 or higher cumulative GPA), students in the College of Engineering can be placed on Lack of Progress (LOP) status for not progressing through engineering curriculum. LOP can result in dismissal from the College of Engineering and can occur for any of the following reasons:
- A student is enrolled in classes, but has not taken eligibility coursework (courses required in order to submit an application to major) for two consecutive semesters.
- No application to major submitted, although course ready.
- Two major applications cancelled, although course ready.
- A student who has not switched out of the College of Engineering after two application to major attempts that have not resulted in admission to a major program.
- A student who has submitted two applications to majors, but has declined all admission offers.
- Other extraordinary circumstances that demonstrate lack of progress through the curriculum.
Any student in academic difficulty is at risk of being dismissed from the university. There is no particular cumulative GPA that warrants a dismissal. Decisions to dismiss students are made on a case-by-case basis, after thoughtful review of the academic record. Dismissed students will be notified of their status via e-mail, in a letter from the Director of Academic Advising.
Reinstatement Petition Process
After being academically dismissed from the university, students can petition for reinstatement to the university after waiting for a period of at least two semesters. Reinstatement is not guaranteed, and a student’s desire to return is not sufficient support for a petition. Petitioning students need to prove that they are ready to succeed if they are allowed to return to the university. It is advisable to take academic course work at another institution during your time away from Ohio State, to demonstrate that you are capable of succeeding in quality college-level work. Contact an Engineering academic advisor in your primary program of interest to discuss the reinstatement petition process. The advisor can help you start the petition and assist in the selection of courses at another institution that will transfer back to Ohio State and help you earn credit toward your degree.
Effective autumn semester 2015, under the recently approved Grade Forgiveness Rule, students can petition to complete a second attempt at a course and apply grade forgiveness to the first attempt. The parameters of the Grade Forgiveness Rule are as follows:
- Students must submit a Grade Forgiveness Rule petition online no later than the tenth Friday of the term in which the student is enrolled in the second attempt of a course. Summer term and sessions follow different deadlines; please visit regsitrar.osu.edu for details.
- Students seeking to repeat a high-demand course in which they have already earned a passing grade may not receive permission to repeat it until students who truly need to take the course have had a chance to enroll.
- If approved, the first attempt's grade and credit hours will be removed from the Ohio State cumulative grade-point average (GPA) upon completion of the second attempt.
- Forgiveness only impacts the Ohio State cumulative GPA calculation. All grades remain on the student's transcript.
- Academic standing is not retroactively reviewed if a first attempt's grade is removed from the GPA calculation due to forgiveness.
- For students admitted to Ohio State Autumn 2015 and later, a maximum of three courses can be repeated under this policy. Students who were admitted to Ohio State Summer 2015 or earlier should review the information below to determine their eligibility.
Returning students who have a cumulative GPA under a 2.0 or who have been dismissed from the university may want to petition to use Fresh Start. This will eliminate any deficiency points that you may have earned previously and will let you restart at Ohio State will a clean cumulative GPA (0.00).
If you have not been enrolled at the university for 5 or more years, you may petition for the Fresh Start Rule. While all courses will remain on your permanent record, only courses in which you received a C- or higher will be counted for credit. Other course work will not be counted for credit, towards any requirement, or toward graduation. You will return to Ohio State with a recalculated cumulative GPA of 0.00. You must complete a minimum of two semesters and 30 semester hours after using the Fresh Start Rule before you are eligible to graduate. Meet with an Engineering academic advisor for more information.
Keep in mind that if you are considering applying to graduate or professional schools, or even to other colleges at Ohio State, their admissions processes will look at all of your grades and may recalculate the original grade(s) into your total.
The Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM) is responsible for helping to maintain the academic integrity of The Ohio State University by establishing procedures for and investigating all reported cases of alleged academic misconduct by students.
NEW: Useful information for migration of courses online
More information on the Code of Student Conduct, FERPA, and COAM Procedures & Rules
- Is the COAM office open?
The COAM office is not open to in- person visits. COAM staff are working remotely. Email and phone messages are being monitored and will be answered. Please send email to coam@osu.edu or leave a phone message at 614-292-7262. - My COAM case is open and unresolved. What will happen?
COAM is working to develop a process for administrative hearings. Once that process is in place, COAM will begin to hold administrative hearings. Administrative decisions are continuing as normal. - My hearing is scheduled, what will happen now?
COAM is unable to hold normal panel hearings at the current time. All previously scheduled panel hearings have been postponed. Once a process is in place for administrative hearings, COAM will begin to hold administrative hearings. Priority will be given to hearings for students who have applied to graduate at the end of the current academic term. - I need to report allegations of academic misconduct to COAM. What should I do?
The normal procedure for reporting allegations of academic misconduct to COAM remains in place. Please complete the online Incident Reporting Form.
Academic Resources
