Grades and Grading

University Policy

College of Communication Policy

Courses in COM can be taken Pass/Fail on a case-by-case basis. This must be approved by both the instructor of the course and the department offering the course. No courses taken Pass/Fail can be accepted as transfer credit. No courses taken as an Audit can count toward graduation.

Questions about a grade should be addressed first to the instructor of the course. Then, should the questions persist, to the chair of the department. Any further grievances can be addressed through the Grade Grievance Policy offered through COM Student Services (undergraduates) and/or Graduate Affairs (graduate students).

Students cannot retake coursework for credit. Courses taken more than once can only count once toward graduation, though grades for any courses that are retaken are still calculated into the student’s GPA. The grade received for a repeated course cannot replace the original grade.

Grade changes are handled by the instructor either through the department or through COM Student Services (for undergraduates) or Graduate Affairs (for graduate students). Any grades of Incomplete must also be accompanied by an Incomplete Contract signed by both the student and the instructor, a copy of which will be maintained at COM Student Services or Graduate Affairs.

Final grades, grade changes, transfer credits, or any other academic material necessary for a student’s graduation in May must be received by COM within five (5) days of official University Commencement in order to be included within the final audit of a student’s record. For January and September graduation, those deadlines are January 15 and September 15 of each year, respectively.