Grades and Independent Study
The letter grades A, B, C, D and F are employed to designate excellent, good, average, poor and failing work. + and - grades are also used. University policy states that no grade below C- may be applied to a course in a student’s major area, therefore all Music courses in which a D+ or below is earned MUST BE RETAKEN. An Incomplete (I) grade may be given, at the discretion of the professor, when, in the professor's judgement, a student is prevented from completing the course because of an unavoidable circumstance, such as family hardship, illness, accident, or verified disability, but is still considered capable of passing the course. To be eligible for an Incomplete, a student must be passing the course. Incompletes cannot be used as a way of avoiding an F.
Students who have received a grade below C- for any Music course cannot retake the course as an Independent Study, but must do so as a regularly scheduled class unless written approval is given by both the Program Administrator and Department Chairman.
As a general rule, students will not be permitted to substitute Independent Study (MUS. 151 or 152) for a regularly scheduled course. Students wishing to substitute Independent Study for such a course must demonstrate extenuating circumstances: specifically (1) that the course is not offered during the semester when needed and cannot be taken during a regularly scheduled semester because of exceptional hardship, and (2) that the student's grade history demonstrates the student can accomplish the required work as an Independent Study. Independent Study courses intended to substitute for regular classes must be taken with a faculty member who normally would teach the course for which it is intended to substitute.