Managing Your GPA

Maintaining a strong Grade Point Average (GPA) can be important because:

• Students with high GPAs may qualify for scholarships or graduate with honors.
• Employers may use GPA as a screening standard for job applicants.
• Your GPA may determine whether or not you are admitted to graduate school.

You can keep a strong GPA by considering some of the following strategies:

Plan a manageable course load

• Don't take more credits than you can handle.
• You should plan to spend approximately 8-12 hours a week studying for a 4-credit semester course, maybe more depending on your assignments and experience with the subject.
• Taking three, 4-credit courses per term is the equivalent of a full-time job.

Check and follow prerequisites

Instructors expect you to know the material taught in prerequisite courses. Taking a course without taking the prerequisite almost guarantees that you will be lost, confused, and at a disadvantage compared to other students. Refer to the current college catalog or Web site for course prerequisites and descriptions.

Get help early and often

When struggling in a course, don't wait until you are hopelessly lost. Seek out assistance immediately if personal issues, family difficulties, learning difficulties, career stress, or other difficulties are interfering with your ability to complete courses successfully.

• Talk with your instructors about why you are having difficulties--discuss options.
• Organize an online study group.
• Use tutors.
• Talk with your advisor about strategies.
• Seek assistance from counselors and advisors for study skills, time management, or personal and family issues.

Repeat courses if necessary

Students may repeat (R) courses or other learning in which they receive grades of D, F or no competence. If learning is repeated, both the grade and R are recorded on the transcript. If learning is repeated once, only the higher grade is used in computing the grade point average. If learning is repeated more than once, the grade point average includes all attempts after the first one. Students who receive a grade higher than a D may not repeat the learning, except as an auditor, without the approval of the dean of the college or school. The student or advisor will need to fill out a Repeated Course Form and submit it to the registration office or records office.

Use pass/fail grading judiciously

If you are concerned about a course that is in one of your weaker subject areas, consider taking the course Satisfactory/ No Credit (S/N) at Metropolitan State instead of for a letter grade. However, don't expect the course to be less work to pass -- at least C- level work is required to earn a passing grade. If you plan to apply to graduate schools, take your major courses for a letter grade because many institutions convert S or P to a C in order to calculate your GPA. At least 75% of a student's credits must be taken for a letter grade if a student wishes to receive an official GPA. Courses taken for general education and liberal studies (GELS) requirements have no restriction.

Maintain a strong grade point average (GPA)

Grade point average (GPA) is a short-cut measure of how strong a student you are and determines your academic standing. The GPA scale is as follows:

Letter Grade	General Rating	Quality Point/Credit Hour
A	Excellent	4.0
A-		3.67
B+		3.33
B	Good	3.0
B-		2.67
C+		2.33
C	Adequate	2.0
C-		1.67
D	Partially Adequate	1.0
F	No grade or credit	0.0

To determine what grades you will need to improve or maintain your GPA, you can use the GPA calculator.