Final Exams, Grades, and GPA

Since June 1, 1950, a four-point grading scale has been in effect.

Beginning with the Fall 2016 semester, a four-point grading scale with plus and minus grades has been in effect for all students. Computations** are as follows:

*Effective Fall 2016.
**The Law School uses a different point-value system for its computations.  Please consult the Law School for more information.
***WU grades signify an unauthorized withdrawal from a course and are calculated in the grade point average with a 0.00 point value. 

Transfer college work gives credit only and is not included in computing the Drake University cumulative grade-point average.  Other marks not included in grade point calculation:

Q: Will all courses at Drake use the +/- system?

A: All instructors will have the option to incorporate + and – grades into their grading scales beginning with fall 2016 courses.

Q: Are all instructors required to offer + and – grades?

A: No. Instructors control the grading scheme of their courses, and some schemes may not include + or – grades.

Q: Will transfer credits be affected?

A: No. The minimum grade that must be earned for Drake to accept transfer credit is a “C-“.

Q: What about repeating courses?

A: The policy regarding repeating courses still applies. For example, if you earned a “B” in a spring 2015 course and then earned a “B-“ when you repeated that same course in fall 2016, the “B” would remain expressed on your transcript while the “B-“ would be changed to “XX”.

Q: How will this affect my grade point average?

A: Grades will be assigned a corresponding quality point value according to the table below.

Grades that are entered by the instructor will not appear on a student's record until the following day, as the system posts all students' grades and recalculates their GPA's automatically overnight.

• Midterm grades for the fall semester become available to students in mid-October, and midterm grades for the spring semester become available to students in mid-March.
• Final grades for the fall semester become available to students on or around November 1st, and final grades for the spring semester become available to students on or around April 1st.

The Important Dates calendar outlines the midterm and final grade entry deadlines for each semester.

Students can view all their final grades from their entire history at Drake by accessing their unofficial transcript.

How do I view my grades?

Q: I can access my grades for a particular semester, but it appears that at least one of my classes is missing a grade. Why is that?
A: Check the Important Dates calendar to determine the faculty grade-entry deadline. If that date has passed, contact your instructor directly or notify your college/school dean's office that your grade is missing.

Please note:  The calculator tool linked below is a third-party tool designed to help students estimate a future GPA (or the number of hours or minimum grades necessary to achieve a desired GPA).

In some cases, rounding variances may occur; therefore, the GPA estimations should not be considered students' official GPA at Drake University or at any other institution.

Go to the GPA Calculator

A student may repeat a course. Only the highest grade and credit hours are used in computing the student’s cumulative G.P.A. Lower grades are removed from the computation and appear on the permanent record marked by a designated symbol. Students cannot remove unsatisfactory grades received at Drake by repeating those courses at other institutions and transferring the credit to Drake.

Students should be aware that most law schools and many graduate schools recompute a student’s G.P.A. in such a way as to count all grades received and not just the highest grade earned for a course.