Grade Definitions and Symbols

Term Grade Report (Semester Grades) 

Grades are not posted anywhere nor are any written term grade reports automatically issued.  Grades will not be given out over the phone, via email, or FAX.  The way students may find out their grades for a given semester after the end of the final exam period is to use the Online Grades Report. Grades are available approximately 48 hours after the final exam has been completed.    Please note that the Online Grade Report may only be accessed with a valid NetID and Password. 

Students may also order a single semester grade report (necessary for some employment re-imbursements or other purposes) by going to the Term Grade Report Request. This request form generates a hard copy semester grade report that may be either picked up at the One Stop Office in person or mailed to a specified address. Semester Term Grade reports may be ordered within one academic year of the time of the semester.   Individual semester grade reports more than one year old are not available – the student must order a full transcript in those cases.  When picking up an official transcript, diploma, enrollment verification, or term grade report, a student (or their proxy) must bring a Driver’s License or other State-issued ID. If the student’s proxy is picking up the transcript, the student must have given written permission to the One Stop Office (physically or via email) prior to the proxy visiting the office.

Grade Definitions and Symbols

Grades represent the student's performance in a course and are recorded by the instructor within 48 hours of the end of the exam period.  

Grades are given out with the following symbols:

*D is not a valid grade for most of the graduate programs.

Please note that Rutgers does not give out "minus" grades (such as "A-" or "B-") except within the Law School.  A grade of C or better is usually required for Major or Minor courses, while General Requirement courses must only be passed with a D or better.

Other valid grade symbols are:

• S/U: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory - given only when a course is taken on a non-credit basis or for some non-graded Graduate courses. Courses graded S/U do not count towards the total number of credits for graduation and do not affect the student’s grade point average (GPA), but count as credits attempted for purposes of determining full-time/part-time status or for financial aid.   
• PA/NC: Pass/No Credit - a non-numerical grade of PA/NC is assigned only to Rutgers University regularly enrolled students who have registered for an undergraduate course on a Pass/Fail basis when such registration is in accordance with the regulations of the school. PA (Pass) is equivalent to an A, B, or C, while NC (No credit) is equivalent to a D or F.  PA/NC grades are not factored into the term or cumulative GPAs, but count toward the total number of credits for the term and toward graduation.  PA/NC generally cannot be used to satisfy major, minor, or general education requirements.
• IN: Incomplete - may be used by the instructor when the student is unable to fulfill the course requirements and the completion of such would substantially improve the grade. The instructor must submit an Electronic Change of Grade to change the IN to an appropriate letter grade.  Instructors must use the Incomplete Grade Extension Form to extend the IN grade beyond the normal deadline. Undergraduate students who receive a grade of Incomplete will convert to an F if the grade is not actively changed by the instructor according to the following schedule:
  Fall: February 1
  Winter:  February 15
  Spring: June 1
  Summer: September 15
  Graduate IN grades do not convert to an F grade.

• W: Withdrawn - indicates a student has officially withdrawn from the class. A W grade counts toward credits attempted, but does not count toward credits completed for a term or toward graduation.  The W grade is not factored into the term or cumulative GPAs. If a student has stopped attending/never attended a class but did not formally withdraw, the professor should assign a grade of F and note on the roster that the student never attended or stopped attending and the last date of attendance.
• TZ: Temporarily assigned to a student who is involved in a grade dispute appeal or other circumstance where a grade may not be posted to the transcript.  Note: TZ’s should not be used to indicate a student that stopped attending or never attended a class – those students should be assigned a grade of F.
  TZ’s will convert to F’s according to the following schedule:
  Fall: May 1
  Spring: December 1
  Summer:  December 1
  Winter: April 1

• RD/RF: Re-examination permitted. For use only when the instructor cannot assign a grade better than D and considers the final examination grade to be dramatically inconsistent with the student’s previous work as to merit a re-examination. The instructor should arrange with the student a re-examination, and the instructor must then process a change of grade. This must be done before February 1 for Fall and Winter, June 1 for Spring, and September 15 for Summer. At that time, an RD will convert to a D and an RF will convert to an F unless a change of grade has been submitted.

Graduate Programs Use the Following Grades (by school):

• Graduate School–Camden: A,B+,B,C+,C,F,S/U,IN,W,TZ
• School of Business–Camden: A,B+,B,C+,C,F,S/U,IN,W,TZ
• Graduate School-New Brunswick: A,B+,B,C+,C,F,S/U,IN,W,TZ
• School of Social Work: A,B+,B,C+,C,F,IN,W,TZ
• Graduate School-Newark: A,B+,B,C+,C,F,S/U,IN,W,TZ
• Law School: A+,A,A-,B+,B,B-,C+,C,C-,D+,D,F

Warning Grades

Warning grades are no longer submitted through the REGIS system, but are collected using Raptor Connect (EAB).  Do not enter warning grades using the REGIS system.  Contact the Office of Student Academic Success for more information.