Grading System (1978-Summer 2012)
Note: There is no official percentile equivalent for grades at American University.
| Grade | Quality Points (QP) | |||
| 4 point | 3 point* | |||
| A (Excellent) | 4.0 | 3 | ||
| A- | 3.7 | |||
| B+ | 3.3 | |||
| B (Good) | 3.0 | 2 | ||
| B- | 2.7 | |||
| C+ | 2.3 | |||
| C (Satisfactory) | 2.0 | 1 | ||
| C- | 1.7 | |||
| D (Poor) | 1.0 | 0 | ||
| F (Failure) | 0 | -1 | ||
| X (Failure: administrative penalty) | 0 | |||
* The 3-point system was used prior to fall 1970
| Grades not calculated in the grade point average: | ||
| I | = | Incomplete* |
| IP | = | In progress |
| L | = | Audit |
| N | = | No grade reported or invalid grade |
| P | = | Pass** |
| W | = | Withdrawal (after first two weeks of semester) |
| ZF | = | Fail on pass/fail option |
| ZL | = | Administrative withdrawal from audit |
| ZX | = | Fail (administrative penalty) on pass/fail option |
*Incompletes: Before fall 1980, an Incomplete could stand as a permanent grade.
Effective fall 1980, an Incomplete may no longer stand as a permanent grade. The Incomplete Contract between student and instructor includes a default grade specified by the instructor; this grade is recorded as the final grade should the student fail to submit the outstanding work by the end of the following semester.
**Pass: Indicates a quality of performance no less than C for undergraduates or B for graduate students on a conventional grading scale.
Discontinued:
| R = | Repeated course (follows the grade) **Reinstated Fall 2012 | ||
| S = | Satisfactory | ||
| U = | Unsatisfactory | ||
| WF = | Withdrawl failing | ||
| WP = | Withdrawal passing | ||
| Z = | No grade reported (on pass/fail option) |
