Grading Scales
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 This includes incomplete, withdrawn, repeated, failed, pass/fail, transferred, and developmental education course grades.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 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. In instances where course expiration policies apply, the credits are no longer applicable to that program and do not impact the calculated GPA; however, the grades will remain on the student's transcript.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 Policy to understand the impact of grades in the calculation of Cumulative Grade Point Average.
Developmental Education Course Grade Scale
All Developmental Education courses are satisfactory/unsatisfactory (SX/UX) courses. The following grading scale is then used to determine if students have passed the courses:
| Grade | Threshold |
|---|---|
| SX | 73% or higher |
| UX | Below 73% |
Undergraduate Programs Common Grade Scale
This applies to all courses numbered 100 through 4999.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 100 to 93% |
| A- | 92 to 90% |
| B+ | 89 to 87% |
| B | 86 to 83% |
| B- | 82 to 80% |
| C+ | 79 to 77% |
| C | 76 to 73% |
| C- | 72 to 70% |
| D+ | 69 to 67% |
| D | 66 to 63% |
| D- | 62 to 60% |
| F | Below 60% |
Common Grading Scale
Some General Education courses may contain a lecture component with a corequisite lab component. If a grade is achieved at or above the threshold of 60% in both components of a course which consists of lecture and lab components, each component will receive the grade earned independently. Failure to earn a grade at or above the threshold of 60% in either the lecture or lab component will result in failure of both components of the course.
Point Scale Alphabetical Grading System
| Letter Grade | Grade Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4.00 | Excellent |
| A- | 3.75 | |
| B+ | 3.50 | |
| B | 3.00 | Very Good |
| B- | 2.75 | |
| C+ | 2.50 | |
| C | 2.00 | Average |
| C- | 1.75 | |
| D+ | 1.50 | |
| D | 1.00 | Below Average |
| D- | 0.75 | |
| 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 Drop |
| W/WX/WL | NA | Withdrawal |
See the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for more information on how grades are used in determining how each of the standards are met for Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Health Sciences Programs Grade Scale
The following grade scale applies to all upper- and lower-level courses with prefixes of BSC, HIM, HSC, MEA, MLT, MTS, PHT, PTN, RTE, and STS.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 100 to 93% |
| A- | 92 to 90% |
| B+ | 89 to 87% |
| B | 86 to 83% |
| B- | 82 to 80% |
| C+ | 79 to 77% |
| C | 76 to 73% |
| F | Below 73% |
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.
Nursing Programs Grade Scale
Students are required to earn at least a "C" in their Nursing courses. This applies to all NUR and PRN courses numbered 100 through 4999.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 100 to 94% |
| B | 93 to 85% |
| C | 84 to 78% |
| F | Below 78% |
Nursing core courses 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. Failure to earn a satisfactory assessment in the laboratory and/or clinical component will result in failure of 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.
Competency-Based Education (CBE) Course Grade Conversion Scale for Undergraduate Programs
The following course grade conversion scale can be used to convert competency-based education course scores to letter grades. This applies to all courses numbered through 4999.
| Competency Report Scale | Percentage Range | Letter Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 100 to 94% | A |
| 3 | 93 to 85% | B |
| 2 | 84 to 78% | C |
| 1 | Below 78% | F |
Master's Programs Grade Scale
Students are required to earn at least a "C" in their master's-level courses. This applies to all courses numbered 5000 through 6999.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 100 to 94% |
| B | 93 to 85% |
| C | 84 to 78% |
| F | Below 78% |
Doctoral Programs Grade Scale
Students are required to earn at least a "B" in their doctoral level courses. This applies to all courses numbered 7000 through 8999.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 100 to 94% |
| B | 93 to 85% |
| F | Below 85% |
Doctoral Programs Pass/Fail Grade Scale
| Pass/Fail | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| P | 100 to 85% |
| F | Below 85% |