Transfer of Course Grades and Credits on Resumption of Studies

Students who had previously withdrawn from their program of study at the University but who, after a period of time, are re-admitted to a program of study at the University, may be allowed to transfer their previous course grades and credits to the new program of study. Such a transfer of course grades and credits is restricted to courses which had been completed within five years prior to the resumption of studies at the University. In addition, these credits must not have been used to earn any academic qualifications either at the University or elsewhere.

Course Registration 7.12 Assessment Course Grading

Grades given in each course are based on student performance in the final examination, tests, essays and reports, presentations and other forms of classroom participation, assignments, and laboratory exercises, although not all these elements may be present in each course. A failing grade in the laboratory component, if any, of a course may result in a failure in the whole course. The instructor in each course will announce the course grading scheme to the class in the first week of lectures. Final examinations are scheduled following the end of lectures. Students will not be given any grade for the course nor be allowed to sit for the examination of that course if their names are not on the class enrollment list.

Absence from Final Examinations

Students who fail to attend the final examination as scheduled will be given zero mark for that examination. If the absence is due to extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control, such as medical emergencies, he/she may apply to ARRO within one week from the missed examination for a make-up examination to be held.

For absence due to medical reasons, the student is required to submit certification issued by a registered medical practitioner. Appropriate documentation would be required for absences due to other reasons.

ARRO will decide, in consultation with the Office of the Provost and the department or course instructor concerned, whether or not the student’s application should be approved. The student will be notified of the result of the application within one week from the date the application is lodged with ARRO. The make-up examination will be held within five weeks after the regular examination period. The format of the make-up examination will be decided by the course instructor concerned.

Postgraduate Grades

Students receive a grade in each course in which they are enrolled.

Grades range in equal increments from A+ to F. The grades C- to D-, and E, are not used in postgraduate courses. For the purpose of calculating the grade averages, numerical grade points are assigned to each course grade, except HP/P/LP/U/Y, AU, I, P, PP and W which

are not included in the calculation of the grade averages. The grades used are shown in the following table.

Letter Grades Grade Point Definition A+

8 Good Performance B-

C+

C

7 6

5 Marginal Performance

F ⁽¹⁾ 0 Failure

P/F Grades Definition

P⁽²⁾ Pass, Ungraded

Other Grades Definition

AU⁽⁶⁾ Audited

I⁽⁷⁾ Incomplete

PP⁽⁸⁾ Permitted to Proceed

W⁽⁹⁾ Withdrawal without Penalty

Notes:

(1) A failed course (graded F) will not be credited toward a degree.

(2) The Pass, Ungraded (P) grade is given only for courses that are indicated in the course description in the Academic Calendar that they will be graded as such.

(3) The HP, P, LP, U and Y grades are for use exclusively on courses of the Kellogg-HKUST Executive Master of Business Administration and the HKUST Executive Master of Business Administration programs offered by the School of Business and Management.

(4) An Unsatisfactory (U) grade will not be credited toward a degree.

Course Registration

(5) An Incomplete (Y) grade is used when there is initial delay in coursework.

This grade must be converted to a regular grade within a specified deadline;

otherwise it will be converted to a “U” grade.

(6) The Audited (AU) grade will be assigned when an auditing student has completed, to the satisfaction of the instructor, any conditions established at registration as an auditor. If the conditions are not met, the course will be deleted from the student’s record.

(7) An Incomplete (I) grade is used when work is necessarily delayed through no fault of the student, such as a medical problem or an equipment breakdown. This grade must be converted to a regular grade at least one working day before the start of the following semester; otherwise it is converted to a “F” grade.

(8) When progress in thesis or project work is satisfactory but not scheduled for completion at the end of a semester, the “Permitted to Proceed” (PP) grade is used.

(9) The Withdrawal without Penalty (W) grade is given when a student is granted special approval for withdrawal from a course after the add/drop period.

Grade Reports

After the examination period, students are required to check their own course grades which are available on the web-based student records system. Course grades will be posted on this web-based system as soon as they become available, but not later than six working days from the last day of the examination period for the semester. Printed grade reports are no longer issued to students.

Grade Review

A student may apply for a grade review of a course in which the student was enrolled in the semester just completed. This request should be made to the department offering the course within two weeks from the day on which grades are posted. If a review is granted, the grading will be reviewed by the course instructor or another faculty within three weeks after the date of grade posting. Any subsequent appeal against the departmental decision must be made to the dean of the school concerned/director of the IPO within two weeks of receiving the decision; their decision is final.

Grade Averages

A grade average (GA) is the weighted average grade obtained in a group of courses where each course is given a weight equal to its credit

value. Advanced credits, exchange credits and courses graded HP/P/LP/U/Y, AU, I, P, PP or W are not included in the calculation.

There are three grade averages. The semester grade average (SGA) is the combined grade average covering all courses taken in both the semester and the session immediately following. The cumulative grade average (CGA) is based on all the courses taken by the student which are expected at the time of calculation to be applied toward the graduation requirements in the current program. At graduation, a graduation grade average (GGA) will be calculated from the courses that are presented for an academic award. The GGA for all postgraduate programs must at least be “B”.

All GAs are reported using the closest letter grade, including C- to D- although they are not course grades.

Residency Requirements