Grades at Oakton include the following:
Grades
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | Excellent |
| B | Good |
| C | Satisfactory |
| D | Minimal passing |
| F | Failure |
| F20 | Failure (created for Spring 2020)1 |
| P20 | Satisfactory (created for Spring 2020; criteria for pass – a standard grade of D or higher)1 |
- 1
To support students in Spring 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, students enrolled in courses at the 100 level or above were offered the option to earn a pass/fail grade rather than a standard letter grade.
Grades (developmental classes only)
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AS | Excellent |
| BS | Good |
| CS | Satisfactory |
| DS | Minimal Passing |
| FR/FS | Failure |
| P | Successful completion |
Indicators
| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| FZ | Forgiveness (an “F” grade forgiven for satisfactory performance; no penalty) |
| I | Incomplete (by student request and faculty agreement) |
| IP | Course in Progress |
| IR/IS | Incomplete (developmental classes only) |
| I20 | Incomplete (created for Spring 2020) |
| J | Course drop (student initiated course drop during the zero-percent refund period) |
| N | Nonattendance (reported by instructor at midterm) |
| Q | No grade submitted by instructor |
| V | Audit |
| W | Withdrawal |
Indicators - Historic
| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| O | Withdrawal (withdrawal from course after midterm to the end of the 10th week of the regular term; not used after August 1996) |
| R | Repeat (not used after August 1984) |
| T | Successful completion (not used after August 1988) |
| X | Course still in progress (not used after August 1984) |
| Z | Forgiveness (an “F” grade forgiven for satisfactory performance; no penalty; not used after August 2006) |
When a course is repeated multiple times, the grade from each course attempt is reflected on the transcript. However, only the highest grade will be included in the Oakton GPA calculation, effective beginning fall 1990. For more information, call the Office of Advising, Transitions and Student Success at 847.635.1700.
Incomplete Grade
An incomplete grade is given by an instructor so a student can have an opportunity to successfully complete unfinished course work in a given time frame beyond the term for which the student enrolled in the course. A student or instructor may request a grade of “I” (incomplete) for unfinished work in a course, provided the work was incomplete because of circumstances deemed to be unavoidable or uncontrollable (as determined by the instructor). To be considered for an incomplete grade, the student must have made significant, successful progress toward the completion of the course. The work to be completed will be identified by the instructor. The unfinished work must be satisfactorily completed by the date agreed upon by the instructor and student. The date must not be any later than the deadline for completion of Incomplete Grades as specified in the College Academic Calendar at which point “I” grades rollover to “F” grades unless a Grade Change Form is submitted by the instructor. At the instructor’s discretion, students may request and be granted an extension to submit the remaining work at a later date. If the extension deadline is in a subsequent semester, the student should not register for the course for which they are seeking to complete the incomplete grade.
Normally, incomplete grade requests should be made after the final withdrawal date for the class. Detailed withdrawal dates are listed on the student’s concise student schedule.
Please refer to the Incomplete Grade - Statement/Process in the Student Handbook for details: www.oakton.edu/_pdfs/student-handbook.pdf
Auditing a Class
A student who wishes to audit a course is required to pay full tuition and fees, as well as an audit fee, and will receive a grade indicator of V for the course. The faculty member may elect to limit the extent of evaluation made available to the audit student. Students wishing to change from “credit” to “audit” status must submit a written request to the Enrollment Center within the first four weeks of the semester (pro-rated for classes of less than 16 weeks in length). Once students have changed to audit status, they cannot return to credit status later in the same semester in that course. To receive credit for a class which has been audited, a student must repeat the course for credit. A student auditing a course will not be considered enrolled in that course for purposes of financial aid, standards of academic progress, or athletic eligibility.
Withdrawal from Classes
It is the responsibility of the student to notify the college when dropping or withdrawing from class(es). Failure to attend classes or to pay tuition and fees does not constitute withdrawal. A student must officially drop or withdraw in person at the Enrollment Center, by mail or by web registration (webreg.oakton.edu). Failure to drop a course during the refund period will result in tuition and fees being due in full. Students who officially drop class(es) through the official drop date will not have the class(es) listed on their transcript.
Students who withdraw from a class after the drop period has ended, up to the withdrawal deadline, will have the class(es) listed on their transcript with a grade of “W.” See the Schedule of Classes for specific refund, drop and withdrawal dates.
Appeal of a Final Grade
- A student who wishes to appeal a final grade must first meet with the faculty member to review the criteria applied in assigning that grade.
- After this initial review, if the student is not satisfied, they may appeal in writing to the faculty member’s dean. After the appeal is read, the dean will meet with the faculty member to review the criteria applied to the student’s performance in assigning the final grade. When the faculty member and the dean have reached a decision, the dean will communicate that decision in writing to the student.
- If a student remains dissatisfied with the grade assigned, they may appeal in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for further review. When the faculty member and the vice president have reached a decision, the vice president will communicate the decision in writing to the student.
- The action of the Vice President for Academic Affairs is final.
- This process normally will be accomplished within one semester of the original grade’s assignment.
Forgiveness Policy
Students may petition in writing to the Enrollment Center to have F or FR grades removed from use in calculating the cumulative grade point average (GPA) under one of the following circumstances:
- The student has earned 15 hours or fewer of F or FR grades and in subsequent terms has earned 15 consecutive hours with no grades of D, F, or FR. Courses must be 100-level or above. Or,
- The student has earned more than 15 hours of F or FR, and has earned in subsequent terms a consecutive number of credit hours, with no grades of D, F, or FR, equal to the number of hours of F or FR. Courses must be 100-level or above.
Credits earned at other colleges or universities cannot be applied to expunge F grades. When F or FR grades are assigned because of academic dishonesty, the Forgiveness Policy will not apply to the F or FR assigned grades.
The Forgiveness Policy cannot be invoked before the necessary credits are earned. A student may have the forgiveness policy applied only once, but can have multiple F grades expunged. When the Forgiveness Policy is applied, a student’s cumulative grade point average will be recalculated with the F grade expunged from the calculation. If this new GPA is 2.0 or above and the student has met all other degree requirements, the student will be eligible for graduation. An indicator of FZ will be placed on the official transcript indicating that an F grade has been forgiven.