Grading System

The following is the +/- grading scale and grade-point system used at UMKC. This +/- grading scale and grade point system is used by all faculty, in all undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs.

In terms prior to and including 1985, any of the above grades may have been preceded by an R indicating a repeated course. These grades were not included in either total hours or the grade-point average. (Examples: RC, RD, RF.) Since 1985, all grades, including those in repeated courses, are included in the GPA calculation. Starting the 1993 Fall Semester, UMKC began using the plus/minus grading system for grades A, B, C and D. The grade of A+ is valid only for students in the School of Law.

Incomplete Grades

An instructor may assign the grade of I (incomplete) to students who have been unable to complete the work of the course due to serious illness or reasons beyond their control. An incomplete grade is appropriate only when enough work in the course has been completed for students to finish the remaining work without re‐enrolling in the course, attending additional classes, and no additional instruction is required from the instructor to complete coursework. The instructor and student must agree on remaining work and document the contract in the student file. Students should not re‐ enroll in a class for which they earned an incomplete. Students should not attend the course in a subsequent term in-person or virtually. The work must be completed within one calendar year or the incomplete grade will automatically lapse to an F. No exceptions or extensions to the one-year timeline will be granted. Students may not earn a degree or graduate with a UMKC incomplete on their transcript.

This policy is exclusive of Professional and some Graduate level courses which are considered directed individual studies, internships, special topics, practica, research and thesis, and dissertation courses. Because completion of such courses will quite often span several terms, incomplete grades assigned in such courses will not automatically lapse to an "F" grade after one calendar year, but will adhere to the completion period specified by the instructor.

Repeated Graduate-Credit Courses

Whenever students repeat a graduate-credit course, they must submit a course repeat form to the Office of the Registrar no later than the fourth week of the term. Students seeking graduate degrees are limited to repeating no more than 20 percent of the credits applicable toward a graduate degree. If approved by the school or department or Interdisciplinary Ph.D. supervisory committee, students may repeat a course once to improve the grade-point average or satisfy the program requirements. The second grade received will be used to calculate the grade-point average that will be used in satisfying degree requirements.