Fall 2020 Semester Grading System

Dear Students and Faculty,

Regarding letter grades (such as “A”, “A-“, “B”) affecting the Grade Point Average (GPA) for undergraduate and graduate courses, the rules and conditions below have been unanimously decided by the Academic Council, for the Fall 2020 semester:

• After the final letter grades for Undergraduate and Graduate School of Business Masters level courses are determined, students are allowed to select one of the options below:
  • The original final letter grade affecting the GPA can be kept as is in the transcript,
  • If the final grade is “D” or above, the student can choose to be graded with “S” grade,
  • If the final letter grade is “F”,
    • For courses that are taken for the first time in Fall 2020 semester, the grading will automatically be switched to “U” option.
    • For courses that are repeated in the Fall 2020 semester:
      • If the previous grade is “F”, the student will not be allowed to choose the “U” grading option as the final grade in Fall 2020. However, based on current repeat rules, the previous “F” grade will be excluded from the GPA and the new “F” grade will be included in the GPA.
      • If the previous grade is “U”, the student can choose the “U” grading option for Fall 2020 as well.
      • If the previous grade is a passing grade (such as “A”, “B”, etc. or “S”), the student will not be allowed to choose the “U” grading option. Based on current repeat rules, the previous passing grade will be valid, and the “F” grade obtained in Fall 2020 will not be included in the GPA.

• For Graduate level courses excluding Graduate School of Business Masters Level courses, students are allowed to select one of the options below:
  • The original final letter grade affecting the GPA can be kept as is in the transcript,
  • If the final grade is “C” or above, the student can choose to be graded with “S” grade,
  • If the final letter grade is below “C”,
    • For courses that are taken for the first time in Fall 2020 semester, the grading will automatically be switched to “U”
    • For courses that are repeated in the Fall 2020 semester:
      • If the previous grade is below “C”, the student will not be allowed to choose “U” option as the final grade in Fall 2020. However, based on current repeat rules, the lower grade will be excluded from the GPA, and the higher grade will be included in the GPA.
      • If the previous grade is “U”, the student can choose the “U” grading option for Fall 2020 as well.
      • If the previous grade is a passing grade (such as “A”, “B”, etc. or “S”), the student will not be allowed to choose the “U” grading option. Based on current repeat rules, the previous passing grade will be valid, and the current Fall 2020 grade will not be included in the GPA.

Please note that for all undergraduate and graduate courses,

• Letter grades (such as “A”, “A”-, “B”) shall continue to affect GPAs by the numerical equivalent of the grade, as is the case currently.
• Courses with “S” grades shall still count toward degree requirements, with students still receiving credit for Satisfactory, but the grade shall not affect the student GPA.
• Courses with “U” grades will not earn any credits, will not count toward degree requirements, and will not affect the student GPA.

Please also note that this new regulation applies to courses from exchange programs to be transferred from other institutions in Fall 2020 semester.