Academic Standing
Semester Credits and Course Load
Bachelor of Arts students are expected to satisfy the requirements for the bachelor of arts degree within eight semesters and they are expected to earn four credits in each semester. Students who plan a course schedule with fewer than four credits must have the approval of their class dean and faculty advisor. Students who enroll in fewer than three credits may have their enrollment in the University revoked. A student who plans a course schedule with five or more credits must have the approval of the faculty advisor. Candidates for the bachelor of arts degree may not enroll as part-time students (fewer than three credits). A three-credit program is the minimum required to be considered a full-time student and for which full tuition will be charged. The exception is for seniors completing the second half of their senior thesis who need only this credit to fulfill all degree requirements. They may enroll for only the one thesis credit in their last semester, which will not count as a semester in residence.
Grading System
A student’s academic performance in individual courses taken at Wesleyan will be evaluated either by letter grades (A-F) or by the designations credit (CR) or unsatisfactory (U). At the discretion of the instructor, all the students in a course may be restricted to a single grading mode, or each student may be allowed to choose between the two modes, also referred to as student option (OPT). Instructors announce the grading options in WesMaps. In courses in which students have a choice of grading mode, the final choice must be made one week prior to the deadline to withdraw from a course.
Whenever the credit/unsatisfactory mode is used, the faculty member is expected to submit to the Office of the Registrar a written evaluation of the student’s work in the course.
A student’s work in courses using letter grades is evaluated as follows: A, excellent; B, good; C, fair; D, passing but unsatisfactory; E, failure; and F, bad failure. These letter grades (with the exception of the grade of F) may be modified by the use of plus and minus signs.
The numerical equivalents of the letter grades are
| A+ | 98.3 |
| A | 95.0 |
| A- | 91.7 |
| B+ | 88.3 |
| B | 85 |
| B- | 81.7 |
| C+ | 78.3 |
| C | 75.0 |
| C- | 71.7 |
| D+ | 68.3 |
| D | 65.0 |
| D- | 61.7 |
| E+ | 58.3 |
| E | 55.0 |
| E- | 51.7 |
| F | 45.0 |
Sequence Courses
The granting of credit in two-semester courses (indicated by the “Required Course Sequence” notation in WesMaps) is contingent upon successful completion of both semesters. A student who has failed the first semester of a required course sequence may not continue in the second semester without the permission of the instructor and the class dean. A student who receives the grade of E (but not F) at midyear in a course running through the year and who is permitted by the instructor to continue the course in the second semester may receive credit for the first semester at the completion of the course upon the recommendation of the instructor to the class dean. At that time, the instructor may also recommend a revision of the first-semester grade. If this is not done, the grade for the first semester will remain recorded as E, but credit will be given for the first semester’s work. A student who fails the second semester of a two-semester course loses credit for both semesters.