Academic Standards and Grading System

Policy on Academic System

All graduate students are expected to be in good academic standing in order to maintain enrollment in the Masters Program. Good standing is defined as a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) and above.

MBA students whose GPA falls below a 3.0 after their first semester will be placed on academic probation and given through the Spring of their first year to achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 (inclusive of all coursework completed to date). If a 3.0 is not achieved, the student will be academically dismissed and any current registration will be canceled.

Business Masters students with an overall GPA below 3.0 at any time will be academically dismissed and any current registration will be canceled. All 400-level and above courses taken at any UM campus after admission is granted are included in the overall GPA.

In rare cases, at the end of a student’s first semester, that student may be asked to sit out until the following Fall and repeat all failed courses to raise a very low GPA. This may be asked of a student whose GPA was so low that it would be impossible to achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 during the probationary period. At the end of the second semester (or any subsequent semester), any MBA student whose overall GPA falls below 3.0 will be academically dismissed and any current registration may be canceled.

For courses that are repeated, the most recent grade received becomes part of the GPA. All previous grades received for the course will be removed from the GPA (though they do remain as a part of the student’s permanent transcript record). Please note that all courses are not available each semester.

Appeals Process - A student who has been dismissed may appeal to the Master’s Appeals Committee (composed of three faculty members) if the student believes mitigating circumstances exist. A letter of appeal should be directed to:

The Robert H. Smith School of Business
Master’s Appeals Committee
2308 Van Munching Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-1815

Consortium Courses - No consortium courses taken during a student’s probationary period will be counted by the college in calculating the GPA for probationary purposes. However, the student’s transcript may reflect the grade in the cumulative GPA.

For specific information and clarification of the policy on Academic Standards please contact your campus advisor.

Grading System

UMD and Smith graduate faculty use the following grading system:

The information below provides the numerical value of each grade. Complete grading policies can be found at The Office of the University Registrar.

Marking System

The University's marking system defining the standards for letter grades is as follows:

• A+, A, A- denotes excellent mastery of the subject and outstanding scholarship
• B+, B, B- denotes good mastery of the subject and good scholarship
• C+, C, C- denotes acceptable mastery of the subject
• D+, D, D- denotes borderline understanding of the subject, marginal performance, and it does not represent satisfactory progress toward a degree*
• F denotes failure to understand the subject and unsatisfactory performance*

The marking system defines the standards associated with letter grades under the previous, as well as the present, grading policy.

*The grades of D+, D, D-, F and I receive no quality points. Students do not earn credit toward the degree for courses in which they receive a grade of D+, D, D-, or F.