Academic Programs Catalog

General Information, Policies, Procedures and Regulations

General Procedures and Regulations

Definitions of Terms Related to Calculations of Credits and Grade-Point Averages

Credits Passed

Total Michigan State University credits passed on the numerical system, the Credit-No Credit (CR-NC) system, the Pass-No Grade (P-N) system, and by examination plus all credits accepted in transfer from other institutions. For a course that was repeated, only the credits associated with the last enrollment are counted in the total number of credits passed.

Credits Repeated

Total credits repeated at Michigan State University and all Michigan State University credits repeated at and accepted in transfer from other institutions.

Credits Attempted

Total Michigan State University credits for which a grade was recorded or for which the W (no grade) symbol was recorded. Credits accepted in transfer from other institutions are included in the total number of Michigan State University credits attempted. Credits in courses taken on the CR-NC system count as credits attempted irrespective of whether the outcome is CR or NC. Similarly included are all credits in courses taken on the P-N system. Credits in courses for which a V symbol was recorded are not included in credits attempted.

Grade-Point Credits

Total number of credits in all Michigan State University courses for which a numerical grade was recorded.  Credits for courses repeated on the numerical system count only for the last grade recorded.

Grade-Point System

The grade-point system and the  numerical grading scale are identical. Grade points for each course are determined by multiplying the numerical grade by the number of credits for the course.

Grade-Point Average

A measure of the student's  academic performance in Michigan State University courses for which the student received a numerical grade. The grade-point average is truncated to three decimal places.

Semester

To compute the grade-point average for a semester, divide the total grade points for the semester by the total grade-point credits for the semester.

Cumulative

To compute the cumulative grade-point average, divide the total grade points for all semesters by the total grade-point credits for all semesters.

A cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 is required for graduation from the university for bachelor's degrees.  A cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 is required for graduate degrees.

For information on Grading Systems and Repeating a Course, refer to those statements.