Courses, Grades, and Grade Point Average
Cumulative GPA
Grade Appeal
Repeated Courses
Dean's List
Graduating with Academic Distinction
Academic Conduct
Academic Probation
Academic Suspension

Courses, Grades, and Grade Point Averages

Courses and grades are given on a semester-hour basis. Normally, one semester hour of credit means one hour of instruction per week for a semester (15-16 hours of class instruction) plus two or more hours of study for each hour of instruction, but instructional time and credit hours may vary. Grade reports are issued to students at mid-term and following the end of each semester. Only final grades for courses are entered on the student's transcript. The transcript is the individual student's permanent academic record, maintained and secured by the Registrar's Office.

The University uses the system of grades, grade symbols, and quality points described below to report each student's academic achievement on grade reports and transcripts.

All courses taken on a letter grade basis (A through F) are used to compute Grade Point Averages (GPA). For grades in courses repeated, see below. A student's GPA is calculated by dividing the number of grade points earned by the number of credit hours attempted on a letter grade basis. As a result, GPAs range from 0 to 4.0. Courses taken on a Pass/Fail (P/F) basis are not computed in the student's GPA. Few courses are offered on a P/F grade basis. The grades of "I," "W," and "AU" earn no credit and are not computed in GPA.

The grade of "I"(Incomplete) can be given by an instructor at the end of the term only when both of the following conditions are met: (1) the student is unable to finish the work of a course because of exceptional circumstances which can be documented, and (2) the student has completed at least three-fourths of the coursework and can complete the remaining work apart from class meetings. Faculty should file a plan for completion of incomplete work with the Registrar. All incomplete work must be completed by mid-term of the following semester. After this time, if the "I" has not been removed, it will automatically convert to a grade of "F." Additional work will no longer be accepted, and the grade appeals policy (see page 36) will apply.

A student may withdraw from a class with a grade of "W" until the last week of classes for the term as defined by the Academic Calendar. The grade of "W" will not be calculated into the student's GPA. A student may not withdraw from a class after this date.

The grade of "AU" is given to students who formally register as "auditors." Auditors must have the approval of the instructor prior to registering and are expected to attend regularly. They receive no credit, and no grade is given, but the hours are included in determining a student's academic load. Upon the report from the professor that an audit has been satisfactorily completed, notation of the audit is made on a permanent record. Special or part-time students pay normal tuition rates to audit courses.

Cumulative GPA

In the work offered as a basis for graduation, a student must have attained a "B" average (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) for all courses and for all courses. A maxium of two grades below a 'C' are allowed, and grades below a 'C' will not count towards graduation. Additional grade point and other standards are stated for individual programs.

Grade Appeals

Students have the right to appeal a grade. All student appeals must be initiated, in writing, within one calendar year of the date the grade is first posted. In all steps of that appeal, the faculty member must be consulted and the burden of proof is on the student. Students should first make every effort to resolve grade issues with the course instructor. This is the most likely avenue to produce satisfactory results.

If the issue is not resolved with the course instructor, the student should next appeal to the regional site coordinator. In these appeals, the course instructor will be consulted and the grade cannot be changed without the instructor's consent.

If the issue is still not resolved and if the student wishes to continue the appeal, the student should consult the regional site coordinator for directions in presenting a petition to the Extended Studies Committee (undergraduate petitions) or the Graduate Studies Committee (graduate petitions). Students may also choose to complete the Grievance Form for review by the Extended Studies Committee. The course instructor will be consulted in advance, notified of any hearings, and permitted to be present at the hearing. If a two-thirds majority of the respective committee judges that a grade change is warranted, the committee will direct the Registrar to make the change. The decision of this committee is final and binding on all parties. (Faculty-initiated grade change requests must be completed and filed with the Office of the Registrar within one calendar year of the date the grade is first posted).

Repeated Courses

Students may retake courses in which they earned Ds or Fs. A student may repeat courses in which they earned a C or higher with permission from the Provost. The highest grade earned will be counted in the student's grade point average. All registrations and grades will be entered on the permanent record, but a notation that the course has been repeated will be added to previous enrollments in the course.

Rules governing financial aid: Students may repeat any course in which they received a grade of A, B, C or D one time and receive financial aid for the course. If a student receives a grade of F in a course, the student may repeat that course as often as necessary to achieve a passing grade. If the course was taken as dual credit the student may repeat it twice while receiving financial aid because they did not receive financial aid for taking it in high school.

Academic Conduct

The students of Central Methodist University are expected always to follow the rules of good conduct, including the specific policies of the University as outlined in the CMU Student Handbook. When they are participating in a class, whether in the classroom, a laboratory, or another setting, students are responsible to the instructor and are expected to comply with class policies provided by the instructor and with reasonable requests made by the instructor. Course instructors may request that any student be administratively dropped from a course at any time for academic misconduct, excessive absence, or disruptive or other unacceptable classroom behavior. With the approval of the Provost, or, at the Provost's request, by the Extended Studies Committee, the student will be withdrawn from the course. Additional penalties may be imposed under the Academic Conduct Policy.

Academic Conduct Policy

Central Methodist University believes that adhering to acceptable professional practices throughout life is a significant foundation of character and personal integrity.   The University's Academic Conduct Policy applies to all forms of academic work, including but not limited to quizzes and examinations, essays and papers, lab reports, oral presentations, surveys, take-home tests, etc. Every student is responsible for understanding this policy.   By registering at the University, every student accepts the obligation to abide by this policy. Students also are responsible for understanding the particular policy applications required by each of their instructors and to ask instructors to clarify any areas of uncertainty.

Academic Conduct requires that each person accept the obligation to uphold professional standards in all academic endeavors. Any conduct that unprofessionally represents a student's academic performance violates CMU's Academic Conduct Policy. Unprofessional practices include but are not limited to the following:

1. Cheating in any form (e.g., ghost-written papers; cheat sheets or notes; copying during exams, quizzes, or other graded class work; allowing anyone access to your courseware account to misrepresent their coursework as yours, or your coursework as theirs, etc.);
2. Unauthorized Collaboration with others on work to be presented in ways contrary to the stated rules of the course or the specifications of a particular assignment;
3. Stealing or having unauthorized access to examination or course materials,
4. Falsifying Information (records, or laboratory or other data);
5. Submitting Work Previously Presented in Another Course without the advance consent of the second instructor;
6. Assisting Academic Misconduct (intentionally or unintentionally) - This includes allowing any other student to use or submit your academic work or performance, or other academic work supplied by you, under a name different from the author of the work; and
7. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to (1) representing as your own work a paper, speech, or report written in whole or in part by someone else (from the un-credited use of significant phrases to the un-credited use of larger portions of material), including material found on the internet, (2) failing to provide appropriate recognition of the sources of borrowed material through the proper use of quotation marks, proper attribution of paraphrases, and proper reference citations. Always provide appropriate recognition of all borrowed materials and sources.
8. AI-generated content without advance consent of the instructor and proper attribution.

The University will discipline students for infractions of the Academic Conduct Policy with various sanctions which it deems appropriate, up to and including suspension or expulsion from the University. Penalties internal to a course, including grades and expulsion from the course, are at the discretion of the instructor. Students can appeal instructors' internal course penalties to the Extended Studies Committee (undergraduate petitions) or the Graduate Studies Committee (graduate petitions); the decision of either committee is final. Instructors must report all penalties which they impose for academic misconduct, with a brief account of the offense, to the Provost, so that all violations are recorded. For serious or repeated offenses, the Provost may impose further penalties beyond the course penalty.  These penalties include but are not limited to notations in the student's file, notations on the student's transcript, probation, suspension, and expulsion. A decision by the Provost can be appealed to the Extended Studies Committee (undergraduate petitions) or the Graduate Studies Committee (graduate petitions) by using a Grievance Form; the decision of either committee is final.

Academic Probation

Graduate students are placed on academic probation for failing to achieve a grade point average of 2.0 (or higher) in any given semester or a 2.5 for two semesters.   This serves as a serious warning of the need for academic improvement if the student is to succeed in the program.

Academic Suspension

Graduate students are placed on academic suspension for failing to achieve a grade point average of 1.5 (or above) in any given semester or 2.0 for two or more consecutive semesters. Suspended students may not return the following semester and must petition the Graduate Studies Committee for readmission at any later date. The petition should explain the reasons for previous academic difficulties, plans for improvement, and reasons for believing the plans will be successful.

Suspension Options:

1. Petition for readmission on full-time/part-time, probationary status: A suspended student who wishes to return full-time/part-time to CMU classes (at any campus/site or online) must petition the Extended Studies Committee (care of the Office of the Provost) to enroll as a full-time/part-time student at CMU (at any CMU campus/site or online or summer or regular CGES term). If that petition is successful, the student will be readmitted on academic probation. If a student enrolls in a January or May term class before the student is informed that he or she has been suspended, he or she may finish out only that term's classes. He or she may not enroll in any Summer or other regular term class without a successful petition of the Committee.
2. Enroll at another accredited institution during suspension period: A suspended student who chooses to enroll at another accredited institution during the period of suspension and who then petitions for readmission at CMU must submit official transcripts from that other institution for review by the Extended Studies Committee before the student is readmitted. The student still may not enroll in any CMU courses (at any CMU campus/site or online or summer or regular CGES) unless and until that student has successfully petitioned the Committee.