Advising

Graduation requirements include that a student have a minimum 2.0 overall grade point average (GPA) and a minimum of 2.0 average in the concentration (s) and in any academic minors.  For BGS students, a 2.0 average must be maintained in the upper level courses required for the degree.  Grades of "C+" and higher add to the GPA; grades of "C" are neutral; grades of "C-" and lower subtract from the GPA.  Only graded courses (as opposed to courses taken Pass/Fail, Credit/No Credit, etc.) are included in this calculation.

A GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of Michigan Semester Hours (MSH) elected during a term into the total number of Michigan Honor Points (MHP) earned during the same term.  The Cumulative Grade Point Average is determined by dividing the total number of Michigan Semester Hours into the total number of Michigan Honor Points.  Notations of Pass (P), Fail (F), Credit (CR), No Credit (NC), Satisfactory (S), or (Not satisfactory (NS) are included in the GPA.  Notations for Incomplete (I), No Report (NR, no grade submitted by the instructor), or Unofficial Drop (ED—student is listed on the grade sheet but has not been in class), which indicate that a course has not been finished and graded on time for some reason, initially are not calculated into the GPA. If these courses are not resolved by the end of the 4th week of the next fall or winter term in residence or by a new deadline established by a formal time extension, then these grades are calculated as an "E," if the course had been elected for a grade.  A notation of a course that extends over two terms (Y) is not calculated until the course is actually finished.

On an LSA transcript each term’s course information is formatted to indicate Michigan Semester Hours, Credits Toward Program, Final Grade, and Michigan Honor Points.

Here is an example:

 Course
 Title
 MSH
 Grade
 MHP
 ENGLISH 125  Intro Comp

 4

 B+

 13.2
 HISTORY 261  US 1865-Present

 4

 B  

 12.0
 MATH 115  Anal Geom-Calc-I

 4

 C+

  9.2
 PSYCH 111  Intro to Psych

 4

 A-

 14.8
     MSH 16  CTP 16  MHP 49.2

MSH lists the number of credits attempted during the term; MHP indicates the numerical value of the grade received.  CTP indicates the number of credits earned toward the LSA degree.  In our example, since the student "passed" everything and took all four courses for a grade, the MSH and the CTP are the same.

The GPA is figured by dividing Michigan Semester Hours (MSH) into Michigan Honor Points (MHP).  MSH includes all the graded credit hours elected with U of M a recognized by LSA.  MHP includes all the honor points earned within UM in courses recognized by LSA as counting toward graduation.  In the example above, this student earned a term GPA of  3.075.

If our example student had taken one of these course Pass/Fail, and received a pass (P) in the course, then the MSH and the MHP would change.  Here’s an example of this particular scenario:

 Course
 Title
 MSH
 Grade
 MHP
 ENGLISH 125  Intro Comp

 4

  B+

 13.2
 HISTORY 161  US 1865-Present

 4

  P 

   0.0
 MATH 115  Anal Geom-Calc-I

 4

  C+

   9.2
 PSYCH 111  Intro to Psych

 4

  A-

 14.8
     MSH 16  CTP 16  MHP 37.2

In this case, the MSH is 12 because only 12 credits were taken for a grade.  The CTP, Credit Toward Program, remains at 16 since the student passed all four classes. The MHP changes to 37.2, reflecting the fact that pass/fail credits do not generate honor points.  The term GPA is 3.1 for this particular example.

Here's a full list of all grades and their numerical equivalent:

Letter Grade

Honor Points

A+

4.0

A

4.0

A-

3.7

B+

3.3

B

3.0

B-

2.7

C+

2.3

C

2.0

C-

1.7

D+

1.3

D

1.0

D-

0.7

E

0.0

Non-graded courses,
e.g., P, F, CR, NC

0.0



Why Honor Points Matter

How to Compute an Honor Point Deficit