Students may enroll in an individual, MSU Denver course a maximum of two times, unless the course is designated as repeatable. The department offering the course may approve additional attempts. A course for which a student has received an administrative withdrawal (AW) does NOT count as an enrollment attempt. All other grades and notations count toward the maximum number of enrollment attempts.
Metropolitan State University of Denver will award a posthumous degree to a deceased student who had maintained good academic and financial standing without a significant disciplinary incident. Any party interested in seeking a posthumous degree will contact the Dean of the College or School in which the deceased student's program resided. Upon final approval of the President and/or the Board of Trustees, the name of the deceased student will be announced at commencement as a Posthumous Degree and a plaque will be given to a person designated by the family.
The Audited Course (AU) notation is assigned when a student audits a course for informational purposes only. If space is available, students who meet MSU Denver admission requirements and are formally admitted to the University may audit a class with the permission of the instructor. Academic credit is not awarded for an audited course. The cost for auditing a course is based on applicable tuition and fees. The course appears on the academic record with an "AU" notation and does not count toward the student's attempted hours. The course is not calculated in the GPA or quality points. Audit approval forms are available from the Office of the Registrar, Student Success Building, Suite 160 (#3).
One semester hour or one base contact hour equals a minimum of 750 minutes; this equation translates to a minimum of 15, 50-minute class hours per semester. Time required for class preparation is not a consideration in the calculation of course credit.
The College Level Examination Program (CL) notation is assigned when a student transfers credit for an examination completed through CLEP. Credit for the examination does not count toward the student's attempted hours, counts toward earned hours, and is not calculated in the GPA or quality points.
The average course load for a 16-week semester is 15 or 16 semester hours; 18 semester hours is the maximum load for fall and spring semesters, with a maximum of 12 semester hours for summer semester. The maximum load for a two-week Winterim or Maymester term is 3 semester hours, excluding short-term study abroad courses. During fall and spring semesters, students with cumulative MSU Denver grade point averages (GPAs) of 3.25 or higher may take 19 or 20 semester hours, and those students with GPAs of 3.50 or higher may take 21 semester hours for the fall and spring semesters or 14 semester hours for the summer semester. Students must complete at least 15 semester hours at MSU Denver to qualify. Authorization for overloads for students without these qualifications must be obtained from the student's major department chair and the appropriate dean. Forms are available from the department, deans' offices, or online.
The Credit by Examination (EX) notation is assigned when an academic department grants a student credit for an existing MSU Denver course for which the student requests and passes an appropriate examination. Credit for the examination does not count toward the student's attempted hours, counts toward earned hours, and is not calculated in the GPA or quality points.
The informal resolution process must take place before the last day of the fourth week of the semester following the assignment of the grade. The student must meet with the instructor prior to meeting with the chair or proceeding to the formal appeal process.
The university supports open communication as the best means to resolve concerns about grades. If a student believes that the grade they received for a course does not reflect the quality of their work , the first step is to meet with the instructor for the course on an informal basis. The following will be the only acceptable grounds for formal grade appeals:
Students in the MAT program must complete the degree with a GPA of 3.0. No more than two grades of "C" will count toward degree requirements, and no grade lower than "C" will count toward the degree. All grade records remain on the master's transcript and count toward the GPA. A student who has received two grades of "C" will be placed on probation and required to meet with an advisor on a regular basis. A student who receives a third grade of "C" will be dismissed from the program.
Grade changes must be submitted within the first seven weeks of the semester following the completion of the class. Spring semester grades can be through the seventh week of the following fall semester. All grades can be changed online using the Faculty and Staff Hub portal.
The Satisfactory Education (SE) notation is equivalent to a grade of "B" or higher. Course credit counts toward the student's attempted and earned hours but is not calculated in the GPA or quality points.
The Administrative Withdrawal (AW) notation is assigned when a student, or representative, requests to be withdrawn from a course due to unforeseen or extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control. When the "AW" notation is assigned, no academic credit is awarded. The course remains on the student's academic record with an "AW" notation and counts toward the student's attempted hours. The course is not calculated in the student's GPA or quality points.
The cumulative GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points by the number of semester hours attempted.