Undergraduate 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 college 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 |
| MAT 161 | B- | 4 | (X2.67) | 10.68 |
| SOC 101 | A | 3 | (X4) | 12.00 |
| ENG 250 | E | 3 | (X0) | 0 |
| HEW 101 | C | 1 | (X2.00) | 2.00 |
| PHI 220 | D+ | 3 | (X1.33) | 3.99 |
| Total | 14 | 28.67 |
The student has attempted 14 credit hours, successfully completed 11, and earned 28.67 quality points. The formula for computing this student’s term average follows: 28.67 / 14 = 2.04
(Term Quality Points / Term Credit Hours) = (Term GPA)
If the student had taken an additional 3-credit-hour course, DES 371, and received a P grade, the average would not change. If the student received an F grade in DES 371 using the pass-fail option, the average would not change.