Students with an overall GPA below 3.0 at any time may be academically dismissed and any current registration may be canceled. All 400-level and above courses taken at any University of Maryland campus after admission is granted are included in the overall GPA. 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. All courses are not available every semester, so it can be difficult to repeat a course.
A student who has been academically dismissed may appeal to the Master’s Academic Appeals Committee (composed of three faculty members) if mitigating circumstances exist. A letter of appeal should be directed to:
Robert H. Smith School of Business
Master’s Appeals Committee
2308 Van Munching Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-1815
If a student has already earned 30 credits, but does not have the required 3.0 cumulative GPA necessary to graduate, that student must repeat courses, or take additional Smith School elective courses (not classes from another program or outside of the Smith School).
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.
Business Masters students with an overall GPA below 3.0 at anytime 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.
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.
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
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.
Grade | Plus / Minus Grade Policy |
|---|---|
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+, D, D-, F | 0.0 |
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.
Complete grading policies can be found at The Office of the University Registrar.