Graduate Unit of Credit (Credit Hour)
The semester hour is the unit of course credit. It represents completion of one 50-minute class period per week for one semester. A course having three class periods a week will earn 3 semester hours of credit. Studio and laboratory classes usually earn 1 credit for each two hours of attendance unless otherwise indicated. The university expects student preparation of two hours for each hour in class.
Quality Point System
The quality point system is used for determining GPAs, as follows:
| Letter Grade | Description |
| A | 4.0 |
| A- | 3.67 |
| B+ | 3.33 |
| B | 3.0 |
| B- | 2.67 |
| C+ | 2.33 |
| C | 2.0 |
| C- | 1.67 |
| D+ | 1.33 |
| D | 1.0 |
| E | 0.0 |
| EV | 0.0 |
No other letters carry quality point value.
Term GPA
A student's term GPA is computed by dividing the total number of quality points by the total number of credit hours attempted in one semester. Only grades carrying quality points are included. For example, consider a student with the following courses and grades at the end of a semester.
| Course | Grade | Credit | Quality Point Value | Points |
| CRJ 602 | B+ | 3 | (x3.33) | 9.99 |
| EDU 640 | A | 3 | (x4) | 12.00 |
| PSC 605 | C+ | 3 | (x2.33) | 6.99 |
| SOC 501 | A- | 3 | (x3.67) | 11.01 |
| Total | 12 | 39.99 |
The student has attempted 12 credit hours, successfully completed 12, and earned 39.99 quality points. The formula for computing this student’s term average follows: 39.99 / 12 = 3.33
(Term Quality Points / Term Credit Hours) = (Term GPA)