Grading System

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Grading System

July 23, 2023

Grading System: Policies and Procedures

Two grading systems are used to document students’ academic progress in specific courses: a traditional letter grading system and a Pass/Fail option. These systems are designed to recognize superior work and to indicate whether a student’s performance is satisfactory.

The following grades and quality points are used here at the School:

A (quality points 4.0) Assigned to students who have demonstrated a high proficiency in achieving course learning objectives and use of class material. Students earning this grade understand the material that was taught at a level so that they would likely be able to deploy it in constructive ways for new problems.

B (quality points 3.0) Assigned to students who have demonstrated an understanding of most course material and course learning objectives. Students earning this grade can accurately describe ideas and methods and identify contexts in which they are appropriately used. However, they have demonstrated less insight and are less likely to reliably deploy the methods and ideas to new problems.

C (quality points 2.0) Assigned to students who have demonstrated partial, but below average, understanding of the class material. Students earning this grade had some difficulty accurately describing ideas and methods or identifying contexts in which they are appropriately used. They have demonstrated limited insight and are much less likely to reliably deploy the methods and ideas to new problems.

D (quality points 1.0) Assigned to students who have demonstrated limited understanding of the class material. Students earning this grade have completed the course requirements but that effort satisfies only minimal expectations. Students earning this grade cannot reliably describe ideas and methods or identify contexts in which they are appropriately used.

F (quality points 0.0) Assigned to students who have not demonstrated adequate understanding of most of the class material. Students earning this grade cannot describe ideas and methods from the course material or identify contexts in which they are appropriately used.

In addition, the letter “I” is used to designate incomplete, “W” to indicate withdrawal, “MT” for multi-term courses (grade assigned in a subsequent term), “MR” or “X” in cases where the instructor fails to report grades. (Note: I, MT, MR and X grades are not final grades.) The designation “AU” indicates audit. No course credit will be acquired for courses in which a grade of AU (audit), F (fail), I (incomplete), or MR or X (grade not received from course instructor) is received.

Quality points earned for a course are calculated by multiplying the number of credit units times quality points associated with the grade assigned. Quality point average is defined as the sum of quality points earned divided by total credit units for which the student was registered for credit and for which s/he received a grade.

Courses graded as “Pass/Fail” are assigned grades of “Pass”, “D”, or “Fail”. A grade of “Pass” will be recorded on the official grade roster for those students who have elected the Pass/Fail option and whose performance would otherwise be rated as “A”, “B”, or “C”. For students who perform poorly, instructors will assign a grade of “D” or “Fail”. For courses taken as Pass/Fail, a "Pass" grade will not be assigned quality points and not included in the quality point average. However, grades of “D” and “Fail” are assigned quality points and included in the quality point average.

Field Placement, Thesis Research, Postdoctoral Research, and Special Studies and Research are graded strictly Pass/Fail and grades are not included in the calculation of the quality point average.

Pass/Fail or letter grades, once elected, may not be reversed on the student’s official academic record after the published deadlines for add/drop.

Each department determines, for its own students, which courses may be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. Students should obtain consent from their department, program office or advisor before electing the pass/fail option. Instructors are expected to evaluate student performance without regard to grading status and to give students appropriate feedback regarding their performance throughout the term.

Whether a “D” is considered acceptable to serve as a course prerequisite will be determined by the course’s sponsoring department.

Courses graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis are assigned grades of "S" (Satisfactory) when the student achieves a score of 70% or higher. A student may not graduate with a "U" (Unsatisfactory) on their transcript. Neither an "S" nor a "U" affects GPA.

Grade Submission: Policies and Procedures

Instructors must submit final grades to the Registrar within 10 calendar days after the conclusion of the term in which their courses are given. Requests for grade changes must be submitted within 120 days after the conclusion of the course, or before the last day of the term prior to degree conferral, whichever occurs first.

The Registrar must receive all grades for graduating students no later than 4pm on the last day of class of the graduation term. Only passing grades can be accepted in order for the course to be counted for degree credit. In cases where grades are not submitted to the Registrar by the grading deadline for graduating students, the department chair will be contacted to provide assurance that a grade will be forthcoming. Grades for graduating students that are still incomplete or blank after 4pm on the last day of class of the graduating term will be taken to the Committee on Academic Standards for final action. The Committee on Academic Standards will have the option of assigning a temporary grade of “B” in those instances where grades are not available. This temporary grade may be upgraded if a higher grade is received later, but cannot be downgraded if a lower grade is received.

The Advisory Board will be informed of these cases at its credentialling meeting prior to conferral of degrees.

Grade Changes: Policies and Procedures

Students who experience extenuating circumstances that prevent them from completing coursework within a given term may request an Incomplete (I) grade from their instructor via SIS Self-Service. An approval of an incomplete grade request is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

The designation “incomplete” (I) will be assigned by an instructor and entered on a student’s transcript when the Incomplete Grade Contract has been initiated by the student and approved by the instructor. An incomplete must be made up and replaced by a final grade within 120 days after the conclusion of the course, or before graduation, whichever occurs first.

Incompletes are not considered in the calculation of a student’s quality point average until they have been replaced by a final grade. In the event that an incomplete is not made up within the acceptable time period, a final grade of F will be assigned. No course credit will be acquired for courses in which a grade of “F” is received; however, the number of credit units assigned to such courses will be included in the calculation of the quality point average.

Grades of “X”, “MR” or blank not resolved within 120 days of the date upon which a course concludes will be processed as withdrawals resulting in a “W” on the transcript.

Grade changes submitted after the grading period has closed for a term must be submitted to the Office of Records and Registration via the Grade Change process in SIS Faculty Self Service. Grade changes that are not the result of clerical or computational error must be approved by the Committee on Academic Standards. A rationale for the change must be selected in the designated field. In cases where a grade change was the result of regrading an exam, quiz, or paper, or the completion of additional course work, the opportunity must have been offered to all students in the course.

Requests for any exception to these time limitations should be initiated in writing by the student to the Committee on Academic Standards. Granting of exceptions is rare and requires endorsement from the course instructor, the student’s advisor, and the Committee on Academic Standards. Retroactive withdrawals from a course will not be considered except in the case of administrative error. If the student was unable to continue in or complete any course that turned to an “F” in the term due to circumstances beyond their control, a request for exception may be submitted within 6 months of the date the grade reverted to an “F”. Examples of such circumstances include illness, injury, military deployment, leave of absence during the term or subsequent term.

Requests submitted more than 6 months after the date the grade reverted to an “F” or after the student has graduated will not be considered regardless of the circumstances.