American Public University System Catalog
2026 - 2027 Catalog
Grading Scales - Beginning Winter Quarter 2027
Grade Information
All grades and credits earned and attempted remain on the student's transcript. This includes incomplete, withdrawn, repeated, failed, pass/fail, transferred, and developmental education course grades. It also includes credits taken while attending Rasmussen University part of American Public University System ("Rasmussen") part-time and credits for which a student did not receive financial aid.
All attempted course credits and grades that apply to a student's program are considered when calculating Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). In instances where course expiration policies apply, the credits are no longer applicable to that program and do not impact the calculated GPA; however, the grades will remain on the student's transcript. See Course Expiration policies for core courses in the School of Design, School of Health Sciences, School of Justice Studies, School of Nursing, and School of Technology.
See the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to understand the impact of grades in the calculation of Cumulative Grade Point Average.
Refer to previous catalogs for Grade Scale information for grades earned prior to Winter quarter 2027.
Point Scale Alphabetical Grading System
| Letter Grade | Quality Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4.00 | Excellent |
| A- | 3.67 | |
| B+ | 3.33 | |
| B | 3.00 | Very Good |
| B- | 2.67 | |
| C+ | 2.33 | |
| C | 2.00 | Average |
| C- | 1.67 | |
| D+ | 1.33 | |
| D | 1.00 | Below Average |
| D- | 0.67 | |
| F | 0.00 | Failure |
| AUDIT | NA | Audit |
| CL | NA | Non-transcripted Grade |
| CW | NA | Course Waiver |
| FD | NA | Failure Dropped |
| I | NA | Incomplete |
| PD | NA | Pandemic Withdrawal |
| PT | NA | Pending Transfer Credit |
| S/SX | NA | Satisfactory |
| TO | NA | Test-Out |
| TR | NA | Official Transfer Credit |
| U/UX | NA | Unsatisfactory |
| UXD | NA | Unsatisfactory Dropped |
| W/WX/WL | NA | Withdrawal |
See the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for more information on how grades are used in determining how each of the standards are met for Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Developmental Education Course Grade Scale
This grade scale applies to Developmental Education courses, which are numbered below 100 and graded as satisfactory/unsatisfactory (SX/UX). An SX grade is required to pass a Developmental Education course.
| Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| SX | 73% or higher |
| UX | Below 73% |
Undergraduate Programs Common Grade Scale
This grade scale applies to non-Competency-Based Education (CBE) courses numbered 100 through 4999, excluding courses with the prefixes BSC, CHM, HIM, HSC, HUN, MEA, MCB, MLT, NUR, PHA, PHT, PRN, PTN, RTE, and STS.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | Quality Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93 to 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 to 92% | 3.67 |
| B+ | 87 to 89% | 3.33 |
| B | 83 to 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 to 82% | 2.67 |
| C+ | 77 to 79% | 2.33 |
| C | 73 to 76% | 2.00 |
| C- | 70 to 72% | 1.67 |
| D+ | 67 to 69% | 1.33 |
| D | 63 to 66% | 1.00 |
| D- | 60 to 62% | 0.67 |
| F | Below 60% | 0.00 |
Undergraduate Natural Sciences Grade Scale
This grade scale applies to non-Competency-Based Education (CBE) Natural Sciences courses numbered 100 through 4999 with the prefixes of BSC, CHM, HUN, MCB, and PHA.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | Quality Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93 to 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 to 92% | 3.67 |
| B+ | 87 to 89% | 3.33 |
| B | 83 to 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 to 82% | 2.67 |
| C+ | 77 to 79% | 2.33 |
| C | 73 to 76% | 2.00 |
| C- | 70 to 72% | 1.67 |
| F | Below 70% | 0.00 |
Undergraduate Nursing Programs Grade Scale
Students are required to earn at least a "C" in undergraduate School of Nursing courses at Rasmussen. This grade scale applies to all courses numbered 100 through 4999 with the prefixes of NUR and PRN.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | Quality Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93 to 100% | 4.00 |
| B | 85 to 92% | 3.00 |
| C | 78 to 84% | 2.00 |
| F | Below 78% | 0.00 |
Core courses in undergraduate, pre-licensure School of Nursing programs at Rasmussen (defined as the Practical Nursing Diploma program, Professional Nursing Associate’s degree program, and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program through the Standard Entrance Accelerated BSN Entrance Option and the Second Degree Accelerated BSN Entrance Option) may contain a corequisite lab component, corequisite clinical learning component, or both in addition to the lecture component of a course. Satisfactory performance in the lecture component (score of 78% or higher) and a satisfactory assessment in the laboratory and/or clinical experience are required to earn a passing grade in the course. The individual exam percentages, total exam score average, and total course grade will not be rounded up. For example, 77.9% will not be rounded up to 78%. Failure to earn a satisfactory assessment in any one component will result in failure in all components of the course. If a satisfactory assessment is achieved in the lab and/or clinical learning experience, courses with multiple components will receive a coordinated grade for each component equivalent to the earned grade in the lecture component.
Undergraduate Health Sciences Programs Grade Scale
This grade scale applies to non-Competency-Based Education (CBE) courses numbered 100 through 4999 with the prefixes of HIM, HSC, MEA, MLT, PHT, PTN, RTE, and STS.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | Quality Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93 to 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 to 92% | 3.67 |
| B+ | 87 to 89% | 3.33 |
| B | 83 to 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 to 82% | 2.67 |
| C+ | 77 to 79% | 2.33 |
| C | 73 to 76% | 2.00 |
| F | Below 73% | 0.00 |
In addition to the lecture component, a School of Health Sciences course may contain a corequisite lab component, a corequisite clinical/externship/practicum learning component, or both. Satisfactory performance (score of 73% or higher) in each of the learning components of the course is required to earn a passing grade in the course. If a satisfactory grade is achieved in all learning components of a course, each learning component will receive an independent grade. Failure to earn a satisfactory grade in all learning components of the course will result in failure of all components of the course. All learning component grades will appear on the student's transcript.
Competency-Based Education (CBE) Course Grade Conversion Scale for Undergraduate Programs
This grade conversion scale is used to convert competency-based education course scores to letter grades for courses numbered through 4999.
| Competency Report Scale | Percentage Range | Letter Grade | Quality Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 94 to 100% | A | 4.00 |
| 3 | 85 to 93% | B | 3.00 |
| 2 | 78 to 84% | C | 2.00 |
| 1 | Below 78% | F | 0.00 |
Master's Programs Grade Scale
Students are required to earn at least a "C" in master's-level courses. This grade scale applies to courses numbered 5000 through 6999.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | Quality Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 94 to 100% | 4.00 |
| B | 85 to 93% | 3.00 |
| C | 78 to 84% | 2.00 |
| F | Below 78% | 0.00 |
Doctoral Programs Grade Scale
Students are required to earn at least a "B" in doctoral-level courses. This grade scale applies to courses numbered 7000 through 8999.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | Quality Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 94 to 100% | 4.00 |
| B | 85 to 93% | 3.00 |
| F | Below 85% | 0.00 |
Doctoral Programs Pass/Fail Grade Scale
| Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| P | 85-100% |
| F | Below 85% |