Part 9. Treatment of Grades and Credits
Credits: The unit by which academic work is measured.
Registered (Attempted) Credits: The total number of credits for which a student is officially enrolled at the end of the registration drop period each term.
Cumulative Registered Credits: Cumulative registered credits are the total number of credits registered for all terms of enrollment at the college, including summer terms and terms for which the student did not receive financial aid.
Earned Credits: Earned credits include grades of A, B, C, D and P. They are successfully completed credits that count towards the required percentage of completion (66.66%) as defined by the quantitative measure.
Attempted, NOT earned: Grades of F, FN, NA, FW, NW, I, N, NC, W, Z and IP (or a blank/missing) will be treated as credits attempted but NOT successfully completed (earned).
Academic Renewal: Credits for which a student has been granted academic renewal WILL be included in all financial aid satisfactory academic progress measurements.
Audited Courses: Audited courses are not aid eligible courses and are not included in any satisfactory academic progress measurements.
Consortium Credits: Consortium credits are those credits for which a student is registered at another college, which are accepted in transfer by this college and are included for purposes of processing financial aid at this college. These credits are included in all satisfactory academic progress measurements.
Developmental Credits: Developmental credits are those awarded for remedial course work (below 1000 level). Students may receive financial aid for developmental credits up to a maximum of 30 credits hours (excluding ESL). These credits are included in all satisfactory academic progress measurements. However, up to 30 developmental credits are excluded from the maximum timeframe calculation.
Repeat Credits: Repeat credits are credits awarded when a student repeats a course in order to improve a grade. A student may repeat a class as allowed by the institution. The institution will determine, based on its Repeated Courses policy, which grade will become the grade calculated in the GPA. All repeated credits are included in the percent of completion and maximum time frame calculations.
Transfer Credits: Transfer credits are credits earned at another college which are accepted by this college. Transfer credits which are accepted by Normandale and are applicable to the student’s program of study shall be counted as credits attempted and completed for calculation of completion percentage and maximum time frame. Grades associated with these credits are not included in calculating GPA.
Withdrawal: The mark of “W” (withdrawal) is assigned when a student withdraws from a class after the drop period. It is not included when calculating grade point average or earned credits. Thus, it does not impact GPA but does negatively impact earned credits and, therefore, negatively impacts the student’s percent of completion.
Incompletes: The mark of “I” (incomplete) is a temporary grade which is assigned only in exceptional circumstances. It will be given only to students who cannot complete the work of a course on schedule because of illness or other circumstances beyond their control. An “I” grade will automatically become an “F” grade at the end of the next term (not including summer sessions) if requirements to complete course work have not been satisfactorily met. Instructors have the option of setting an earlier completion date for the student. A grade of “I” is not included when calculating grade point average or earned credits. Thus, it does not impact GPA but does negatively impact earned credits and, therefore, negatively impacts the student’s percent of completion.