All Credit Transcript Key

All Credit Transcript Key - Undergraduate, Graduate, Law, and Medical

Undergraduate Career
Graduate Career
Law Career
Medical Career

Release of Information
In compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, this information is released on the condition that the recipient "will not permit any other party to have access to such information without the written consent of the student."

Official Paper Document
"Penn State" appears in small print on a blue background across the entire face of the official transcript which is printed with security ink. The official transcript bears the seal of Penn State and the signature of the University Registrar. The raised University seal is not required.

Official Electronic Document
An electronic signature and certification appears before you open the PDF transcript, and also on the front page of the transcript. The Statement of Authenticity bears the name of the University Registrar.

Accreditation
The Pennsylvania State University, whose prime purpose has always been to serve the people and the interests of the Commonwealth and the Nation, is accredited by the Middle States Association and is a member of the Association of American Universities.

Each of the Penn State Dickinson Schools of Law is on the approved list of the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

Institutional Code
The institutional code for The Pennsylvania State University is 003329.

Language of Instruction
Penn State courses are taught in English with the exception of some global language courses.

Undergraduate Career

Credits and Hours
Credits are awarded on the semester-hour basis. According to Senate Policy 42-23, a total of at least forty hours of work planned and arranged by the University faculty is required for the average student to gain one credit. While the distribution of time varies from course to course, generally one-third of the time is devoted to formal instruction, such as lecture, recitation, laboratory, field trips, etc., and two-thirds of the time to outside preparation.

Course-Numbering System
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES (1 to 399); General courses accepted in fulfillment of requirements for the baccalaureate or associate degree.

ASSOCIATE DEGREE COURSES (800 to 899 and 800 level); Prior to spring semester 2003, these were general courses accepted in fulfillment of requirements for the associate degree. Credits received for 800-series associate courses may be applicable to a particular baccalaureate degree program at the discretion of the appropriate college and major department.

Course Suffixes
Letters are frequently used following a course or section number.

The letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, and K appear after certain courses where the course content or title differs from the basic course description. They are frequently used for identifying unique titles for special topics courses (i.e., 297, 497, and 597).

H	Honors courses or sections
J	Individualized instruction courses
M	Honors and writing intensive courses
S	First-Year Seminar courses
T	First-Year Seminar with honors
U	United States Cultures and International Cultures, and honors
V	United States Cultures and International Cultures
W	Writing intensive courses
X	First-Year Seminar courses and writing intensive
Y	United States Cultures and International Cultures, and writing intensive courses
L, P, R	Lecture, Practicum (or laboratory), and Recitation sections

Basis for Grades
Grades shall be assigned to individual students on the basis of the instructor's judgment of the student's scholastic achievement using the grading system below.

Grading System
For undergraduate students, the grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, and F indicate a gradation in quality from Excellent to Failure and are assigned the following grade-point equivalents:

Grade	Grade-Point Equivalent
A	4.00
A-	3.67
B+	3.33
B	3.00
B-	2.67
C+	2.33
C	2.00
D	1.00
F	0

Incomplete Grade Symbols
NG	No Grade Reported
DF	Deferred

Other Symbols
P	Pass	FL	Fail	NCP	Pass, Course Carries No Credit
PS	Pass	XF	Fail, Academic Dishonesty	NCF	Fail, Course Carries No Credit
AU	Audit	LD	Late Drop, No Grade	NDC	Not Degree Credit
AUS	Audit, Attended Regularly	WP	Late Drop Passing	CRX	Credit by Examination
AUU	Audit, Did Not Attend Regularly	WF	Late Drop Failing
R	Research	WN	Late Drop No Grade
SA	Satisfactory	UN	Unsatisfactory
W	Withdrawal	INCP & I	Incomplete Average
S	Proficiency Exam Passed

Method of Calculation of Grade Points
The number of grade points obtained by a student in any course shall be computed by multiplying the number of credits in the course by the grade-point equivalent of the grade in the course. Courses taken under the satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading system are not used in computing grade points.

Example: History 020, three credits, grade B, produces nine grade points; and Mathematics 021, three credits, grade F, produces zero grade points.

Graduate Career

Course-Numbering System
GRADUATE COURSES (500 to 699 and 800 level); Courses restricted to students registered in The Graduate School, seniors with an average of at least 3.50, and other students who have been granted permission to enroll by the dean of The Graduate School. The numbers 600 (on campus) and 610 (off campus) are available for credit in thesis research in all graduate major programs. The numbers 601 and 611 do not denote conventional courses but are used for non-credit special registration for thesis preparation by a Ph.D. candidate. Beginning fall semester 2006, 800 level courses on a graduate transcript are professional graduate level courses.

ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATE COURSES (400 to 499); Courses open to graduate students, juniors, seniors, and with the special written permission of the head of the department or chairperson of the program sponsoring the course, to qualified sophomores and first-year students. 400 level course work appearing on a graduate student transcript is applied toward the graduate degree.

Course Suffixes
Letters are frequently used following a course or section number.

H	Honors courses or sections
J	Individualized instruction courses
M	Honors and writing intensive courses
S	First-Year Seminar courses
T	First-Year Seminar with honors
U	United States Cultures and International Cultures, and honors
V	United States Cultures and International Cultures
W	Writing intensive courses
X	First-Year Seminar courses and writing intensive
Y	United States Cultures and International Cultures, and writing intensive courses
L, P, R	Lecture, Practicum (or laboratory), and Recitation sections

Basis for Grades
Grades shall be assigned to individual students on the basis of the instructor's judgment of the student's scholastic achievement using the grading system below.

Grading System
For graduate students, the grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, and F indicate a gradation in quality from Excellent to Failure and are assigned the following grade-point equivalents:

Grade	Grade-Point Equivalent
A	4.00
A-	3.67
B+	3.33
B	3.00
B-	2.67
C+	2.33
C	2.00
D	1.00
F	0

Graduate average computed on the basis of earned grades in 400-, 500-, 600-, and 800- level courses.

D, F - failing grades for graduate students

Plus and minus values were added to the undergraduate grading system fall semester 1987, to The Graduate School system in fall semester 1995. Student is in good standing unless stated otherwise.

Incomplete Grade Symbols
NG	No Grade Reported
DF	Deferred

Other Symbols
P	Pass	FL	Fail	NDC	Not Degree Credit
PS	Pass	XF	Fail, Academic Dishonesty	CRX	Credit by Examination
AU	Audit	LD	Late Drop, No Grade
AUS	Audit, Attended Regularly	WP	Late Drop Passing
AUU	Audit, Did Not Attend Regularly	WF	Late Drop Failing
R	Research	WN	Late Drop No Grade
SA	Satisfactory	UN	Unsatisfactory
W	Withdrawal	INCP & I	Incomplete Average
S	Proficiency Exam Passed

Example: History 020, three credits, grade B, produces nine grade points; and Mathematics 021, three credits, grade F, produces zero grade points.

Law Career - Students admitted prior to Fall 2015

Unit of Credit
The unit of credit is the semester hour. A semester hour of credit represents course work involving one 50-minute classroom hour per week over a period of 14 weeks.

Course-Numbering System
Courses in the 900 to 999 series are restricted to students enrolled in the J.D. and LL.M. programs and others receiving special permission.

Non-900 level courses appearing on the transcript are not calculated into the semester or cumulative grade-point average or class rank.

Class Ranking
Semester and cumulative ranking information appears on the transcript. Details regarding the ranking process are found on each of the law school's websites.

Course Suffixes
Letters are frequently used following a course or section number.

The letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, K, M, N, Q, S, T, X, and Z appear after certain courses for which a basic course description encompasses multiple course titles.

Basis for Grades
For the Master of Laws (LL.M.) program, the grades A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, and F indicate a gradation in quality from Excellent to Failure. Effective fall semester 2012, the Master of Laws grading scale eliminated grades A+, C-, and D+ and follows the Juris Doctor grade scale below.

Grades are assigned to Juris Doctor candidates on the basis of the instructor's judgment of the student's scholastic achievement using the grading system below.

Before fall semester 2000		Effective fall semester 2000		Effective summer semester 2005
90 and above	Distinguished	90 and above	Distinguished	A	Distinguished
85-89	Excellent	85-89	Excellent	A-	Excellent
75-84	Good	80-84	Good	B+	Superior
70-74	Qualified	75-79	Satisfactory	B	Very Good
65-69	Poor	70-74	Passing	B-	Good
Below 65	Fail (No credit)	65-69	Conditional Failure	C+	Satisfactory
		Below 65	Failure (No credit)	C	Passing
				D	Poor
				F	Failure (No credit)

Incomplete Grade Symbols
NG	No Grade Reported
DF	Deferred

Other Symbols
P	Pass	LD	Late Drop
AU	Audit	WP	Late Drop Passing
R	Research	WF	Late Drop Failing
W	Withdrawal	WN	Late Drop No Grade
XF	Fail, Academic Dishonesty	NC	Non-Credit
INCP & I	Incomplete Average	CR	Credit

LawD Career - Dickinson Law

Unit of Credit
The unit of credit is the semester hour. A semester hour of credit represents course work involving one 50-minute classroom hour per week over a period of 14 weeks.

Course-Numbering System
Courses in the 900 to 999 series are restricted to students enrolled in the J.D. and LL.M. programs and others receiving special permission.

Non-900 level courses appearing on the transcript are not calculated into the semester or cumulative grade-point average or class rank.

Class Ranking
Semester and cumulative ranking information appears on the transcript. Details regarding the ranking process are found on each of the law school’s websites.

Course Suffixes
Letters are frequently used following a course or section number.

The letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, K, M, N, Q, S, T, X, and Z appear after certain courses for which a basic course description encompasses multiple course titles.

Basis for Grades
Grades are assigned to Juris Doctor candidates on the basis of the instructor's judgment of the student's scholastic achievement using the grading system below. Effective fall semester 2012, the Master of Laws grading scale eliminated grades A+, C-, and D+ and follows the Juris Doctor grade scale below.

Before fall semester 2000		Effective fall semester 2000		Effective summer semester 2005
90 and above	Distinguished	90 and above	Distinguished	A	Distinguished
85-89	Excellent	85-89	Excellent	A-	Excellent
75-84	Good	80-84	Good	B+	Superior
70-74	Qualified	75-79	Satisfactory	B	Very Good
65-69	Poor	70-74	Passing	B-	Good
Below 65	Fail (No credit)	65-69	Conditional Failure	C+	Satisfactory
		Below 65	Failure (No credit)	C	Passing
				D	Conditional Failure
				F	Failure (No credit)

Incomplete Grade Symbols
NG	No Grade Reported
DF	Deferred

Other Symbols
P	Pass	LD	Late Drop	H	Honors
AU	Audit	WP	Late Drop Passing	HP	High Pass
R	Research	WF	Late Drop Failing	LP	Low Pass
W	Withdrawal	WN	Late Drop No Grade
XF	Fail, Academic Dishonesty	NC	Non-Credit
INCP & I	Incomplete Average	CR	Credit

Dickinson Law LL.M. students are evaluated separately from J.D. students, according to the following grading standards and scale:

Effective Fall semester 2015
A	Excellent
A-	Superior
B+	Very Good
B	Good
B-	Satisfactory
C+	Passing
C	Poor
D	Conditional Failure
F	Failure

LawP Career - Penn State Law

Unit of Credit
The unit of credit is the semester hour. A semester hour of credit represents course work involving one 50-minute classroom hour per week over a period of 14 weeks.

Course-Numbering System
Courses in the 900 to 999 series are restricted to students enrolled in the J.D. and LL.M. programs and others receiving special permission.

Non-900 level courses appearing on the transcript are not calculated into the semester or cumulative grade-point average or class rank.

Class Ranking
Semester and cumulative ranking information appears on the transcript. Details regarding the ranking process are found on each of the law school’s websites.

Course Suffixes
Letters are frequently used following a course or section number.

The letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, K, M, N, Q, S, T, X, and Z appear after certain courses for which a basic course description encompasses multiple course titles.

Grades are assigned to Juris Doctor candidates on the basis of the instructor's judgment of the student's scholastic achievement using the grading system below.

Before fall semester 2000		Effective fall semester 2000		Effective summer semester 2005
90 and above	Distinguished	90 and above	Distinguished	A	Distinguished
85-89	Excellent	85-89	Excellent	A-	Excellent
75-84	Good	80-84	Good	B+	Superior
70-74	Qualified	75-79	Satisfactory	B	Very Good
65-69	Poor	70-74	Passing	B-	Good
Below 65	Fail (No credit)	65-69	Conditional Failure	C+	Satisfactory
		Below 65	Failure (No credit)	C	Passing
				D	Poor
				F	Failure (No credit)

Incomplete Grade Symbols
NG	No Grade Reported
DF	Deferred

Other Symbols
P	Pass	LD	Late Drop
AU	Audit	WP	Late Drop Passing
R	Research	WF	Late Drop Failing
W	Withdrawal	WN	Late Drop No Grade
XF	Fail, Academic Dishonesty	NC	Non-Credit
INCP & I	Incomplete Average	CR	Credit

Medical Career

MEDICAL COLLEGE COURSES (700 to 799); Courses in the 700 to 799 series are restricted to students working in the M.D. program.

Basis for Grades
Grades shall be assigned to individual students on the basis of the instructor's judgment of the student's scholastic achievement using the grading system below.

Grading System

Grade
H	Honors
HP	High Pass
P	Pass
LP	Low Pass
F	Fail

Other Symbols
P	Pass	FL	Fail
PS	Pass	XF	Fail, Academic Dishonesty
AU	Audit	WP	Late Drop Passing
R	Research	WF	Late Drop Failing
W	Withdrawal	WN	Late Drop No Grade
SA	Satisfactory	UN	Unsatisfactory
NDC	Not Degree Credit	INCP & I	Incomplete Average
S	Proficiency Exam Passed	CRX	Credit by Examination