LSA uses several grading systems:

Pass / Fail System 

1. • Uses grades P and F.

   • You are not notified which students elect to take a class pass/fail.

   • You report grades using the Letter System (A through E, below) and the Registrar converts the grade to Pass (C- and above) or Fail (D+ and below). Read more.

   • A grade of P earns credit and honor points. A grade of F does not earn credit or honor points.

Credit / No Credit System 

• Uses grades CR and NC.

• Courses need approval from LSA to use the credit / no credit system. Common examples: experiential and field courses.

• Students earn a grade of CR if the instructor believes that the amount and quality of a student's work deserve credit, or NC if not. Read more.

• A grade of CR earns credit but not honor points. A grade of NC does not earn credit or honor points.

Letter System

• Uses grades A through E.

• Letter grades earn the following honor points:

  • A+ / A = 4.0

  • A- = 3.7

  • B+ = 3.3

  • B = 3.0

  • B- = 2.7

  • C+ = 2.3

  • C = 2.0

  • C- = 1.7

  • D+ = 1.3

  • D = 1.0

  • D- = 0.7

  • E = 0.0

• Grades of A+ through D- earn credit and honor points. A grade of E is recorded as 0 honor points (and is used in the GPA calculation) but does not earn credit. Read more.

Key terms

• • Honor Points (HP): the numerical equivalent of a letter grade.

  • Michigan Semester Hours (MSH): credit hours; for a 3-credit course, a student earns 3 Michigan Semester Hours.

  • Michigan Honor Points (MHP): this is a grade in a course times the semester hours it's worth; An A grade (4.0) in a 3-credit course earns 12 Michigan Honor Points.

  • Credits Toward Program (CTP): the number of credits earned that count toward a degree.

  • Example: Computing Your Grade Point Average.

See above for the pass / fail, credit / no credit, and letter system grades.

Other grade notations:

• ED: If "NR" grades aren't resolved by the 4th week of the next term, they lapse to ED, which impacts GPA the same as an E grade would.

• I: "Incomplete" is a temporary grade for exceptional circumstances. Work needs to be completed by certain deadlines or grades will lapse to failing grades (depending on the course's grading system).

• IA+, IA, IA-, IB+, IB, IB-, IC+, IC, IC-, ID+, ID, ID-: These are for incomplete grades in courses (prior to Fall 2026) that used the letter system, but the student completed the work within the deadline. After Fall 2026, incomplete grades will be changed to the final letter grade only (without the I).

• ILE: "Incomplete lapsed to E" is used in courses that use the letter system. When a student has an incomplete and does not complete the coursework by the deadline, their I grade changes to ILE, which affects their GPA as an E would.

• ILF: "Incomplete lapsed to F" is used in courses that use the pass / fail system. When a student has an incomplete and does not complete the coursework by the deadline. It's not calculated in the GPA but will appear on the transcript. 

• NG: "No grade" is recorded when a student has been registered into a class after the web grade rosters have been sent to the instructor. If the grade isn't resolved by the 4th week of the next term, it will be recorded as an ED, which affects their GPA as an E would.

• NR: "No Report" is a placeholder for students who have been hospitalized, are facing a personal issue, or have a pending misconduct case.

• VI: "Visitor" is used when someone audits a course. It earns no credit and no honor points. 

• Y: A Y grade is used for an approved two-term course to indicate that the course is continuing. If the course is not approved, the student will earn an I (Incomplete) at the end of the first term. If it is approved and the student successfully completes the second term, the final grade will be recorded for both terms.

Deadlines and Instructions

After the last day of class, the Registrar's  Office generates grade rosters that you can use to submit final grades. Instructions. 

• • Grades are due 72 hours after the scheduled final exam time for your course. 

  • Missing grades cause serious problems for students 

    • Seniors may be wrongly denied graduation

    • Students may miss opportunities for scholarships or financial aid

    • Students may miss the end-of-term review for academic standing

Entering a Failing Grade

You are required to record a student’s level of participation and the last date of participation when you assign a failing grade, according to rules issued by the U.S. Department of Education.

In Wolverine Access on the Grade Roster or Grade Change pages, your choices will be:

• Full - student attended class and completed assignments

• Never – student never attended class or completed an assignment

• Partial – student attended at least 1 class or completed at least 1 assignment

• Note: Participation is not defined by the quantity or quality of participation, but by the student's last participation. In other words, a student could never attend class, but if they take the final exam, the Level of Participation is Fully Participated. Instructions.

Why date of last participation is required

The university disburses financial aid before the beginning of classes based on the number of credits for which the student is registered. The U.S. Department of Education requires the Office of Financial Aid (OFA) to determine if failing grades were awarded because the student did not attend or stopped attending the class. If the enrollment status at the time of disbursement changes by the end of the term, the student's aid must be adjusted. 

Grading a Two-Term Course

Some courses are approved as a "two-term" sequence, for example  senior Honors thesis courses, Global Course Connections, and some Biological Sciences research courses. 

• At the end of the first term, submit a Y grade to indicate the course is in progress. 

• At the end of the second term, submit the final grade. That grade will automatically be recorded as the grade for both terms on the student's transcript. 

Note: Two-term courses require prior approval. If you enter a Y grade for a course that is not approved to extend for two successive terms, the student will get a grade of I (Incomplete) on their transcript, and is subject to the regular deadline for Incompletes, including the I lapsing to an E by 4 weeks into the next full term if they don't complete the work.

Grading for "Audit" or "Visitor" Status

Officially auditing courses in LSA is unusual. The audit requires approval in advance from both the instructor and the Office of Student Academic Affairs. The student must then treat the course as a regular election by participating in class, fulfilling the usual exam and paper assignments, and paying regular tuition for the course as if it were for credit. 

If you do have students who are auditing your course, here's how to enter grades:

• Enter a grade of VI (Visitor) when the course is completed, if they completed the work to your satisfaction. 

• If the student did not complete the work, you can submit a grade of NR (No Record) and rate their level of student participation (see "Entering a Failing Grade" above). The GPA will not be affected, but the transcript will reflect that the audit was not completed. 

• Official audits may be treated differently by other units, so consult each department if you have more than one appointment.

A grade of I (Incomplete) is a temporary grade that indicates a course has not yet been completed. 

Incompletes should only be granted when:

• 1. The student has extenuating non-academic circumstances prohibiting the completion of the course (serious illness, car accident, death of a family member, etc.),

  2. The remaining amount of work in the course is small (such as a final exam or paper), and

  3. The student’s standing in the course is at least a C- or higher. 

     1. • Incompletes should not be used to allow a student to retake the course in a future term.

        • Incompletes should not be used as a substitute for a failing grade or withdrawal.  

You have the option to grant an Incomplete, and should only consider doing so if the above criteria are met AND you are willing to support the student in completing the remaining course requirements. 

The process

• A student must request the incomplete. 

• You and the student should both understand the reasons for the I grade and the expectations and timelines for completion of work. We recommend you have a written agreement of the work to be completed and a timeline. 

• Once a student has completed all necessary work and you are prepared to submit a grade, you will go to your web grade roster and select “grade change.” 

• First, enter the date the student completed the missing work, and then the final grade. 

Deadlines

• LSA's deadline for completing an Incomplete is within the first four weeks of the next full (Fall/Winter) term of enrollment. 

• Consequences of missed deadlines: If a grade has not been submitted within ten days after the applicable deadline for Incompletes, the course grade lapses to “ILE” and is treated as an E in their GPA calculation.

• Time extensions: A student can submit an “Incomplete Time Extension” request if needed. This request must be approved by both the instructor and the College. 

• If you do not approve it on the form, LSA will also deny the extension. 

• If you do approve it on the form, LSA will still need to approve the request and will consider the student’s history in the college, current circumstances, and other requests for extensions. Please provide as much detail as possible on the extension form regarding the amount of work still to be completed. Your advice and recommendation will be most helpful in this decision. 

• If the time extension is approved, the Registrar will allow ten days from the approved date to receive the grade.

• In general, extensions should be brief and should not extend beyond the ninth week of the term. If a longer extension is necessary, please provide a full explanation on the Incomplete Time Extension request form. Time extensions beyond the end of the subsequent term will not be approved. 

• If a student wishes to complete a class that has already lapsed into an ILE, they must submit an Incomplete Time Extension request, and any extension must be approved by both the instructor and the Office of Student Academic Affairs.

Final grade changes are used to correct an error or update incomplete grades.

• Grade changes are not allowed for students submitting “extra” work or retaking or revising an exam unless such an opportunity is available to all students in the class. 

• If you are unsure whether your situation applies as an error, contact the Office of Student Academic Affairs before you make any commitments to students. 

• lsa.saa.office@umich.edu

• • 734.764.7297

To submit a grade change  

• Note: You will need to provide an explanation justifying the grade change. 

• Step-by-step instructions for Wolverine Access.

• Some changes cannot be entered online. Contact your department office for a paper copy of the “Grade Change Report," and use it to report: 

• Changes to courses taken before Web Grades existed

• “VI” (audit) grade changes

• Student not appearing on your Grade Change roster

We encourage students to discuss grades with instructors if they have questions about a particular grade or need clarification about comments on their work. We encourage you to discuss their questions as thoroughly as possible and to help the student learn how to apply the feedback from previous work to future work. 

Students may contest a final course grade in a credit-bearing course if they believe an instructor has not followed fair and consistent grading procedures.

Students may request a review of a final grade only if one of the following applies: 

• A procedural error happened in calculating or recording the grade, or

• The grade was not fairly or consistently applied.

Students may not file a grade grievance because:

• They disagree with the course grading policy, or

• They disagree with the instructor’s evaluation of their work.

• Their grade is lower than the average grade reported in Atlas

Read more about Grade Grievance procedures. Once a final decision has been made, there is no further appeal within the college or university. 

Questions? Contact the Office of Student Academic Affairs (lsa.saa.office@umich.edu or 734.764.7297).

Attendance

What should I do if a student has not attended class or submitted assignments? 

In this situation, please assign the grade the student has earned in the course (most likely an E). They do not qualify for a grade of NR (No Report) or I (Incomplete).

What should I do if a student was active, but stopped engaging later in the term, and hasn't responded to my outreach?

We recommend assigning the grade the student has earned. The student has not requested or agreed to an Incomplete. If you assign a grade of NR (No Report), it could lapse to an E, even though the student may have earned a higher grade, even without the final assignment. If the student does reach out later, you have the discretion to allow them to make up the work and submit a grade change.

What should I do if a student has inconsistent attendance, only submitted a few assignments, did not follow through on our plan to complete the work, and then requests an incomplete?  

You can assign the student the grade they have earned in the course. They do not qualify for a grade of NR (No Report) or I (Incomplete).

Final exam

What should I do if a student is ill right before the final exam and is unable to take it with the rest of the class? 

First, you would schedule a make-up exam for the student in a few weeks. You would also assign the student a grade of I (Incomplete), assuming you believe they are likely to pass the course. If you believe they are unable to pass the course and taking the final will have no bearing on their grade, we recommend you assign the grade they have earned in the course so far.

If a student will miss the final exam, and it's worth 40% of their final grade, can I still issue an Incomplete? 

If the student has completed all of the coursework in the class outside of the final exam, you should issue them an Incomplete, even if the final exam makes up a large portion of the final grade and, thus, the student hasn’t completed 70% of the course. Incompletes are meant to be given when a student has only a small component of work OR the final exam remaining.  

Incompletes

If I issued an Incomplete, but the student never completed the work, can I enter the grade they earned before the Incomplete? 

Yes, you can always issue the grade the student earned, even if they do not fulfill the Incomplete. If you do not, the Incomplete grade will lapse to “ILE” and count as an E in the student’s GPA.

Can I change a submitted grade to an I (Incomplete)?

If a student's grade for your course is recorded as ED or NR, and the criteria for granting an Incomplete are met, you can change the ED or NR to an I by submitting an online grade change.

Grade change

How do I respond to students who request a grade change? 

You may be approached by students asking you to change a grade for a variety of reasons. Remember the restriction on changing a final grade, and change it only if the grade warrants re-evaluation due to an error.