What are the GPA requirements for certification?
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires that any student recommended for certification has a 2.50 cumulative GPA. This is calculated using all hours a student has completed at every college and/or university attended. If you would like to read the DESE rule relating to GPA requirements and calculations, click here. While you will see that DESE counts plus and minus grades (A+, B-), Missouri State does not use plus and minus grades in calculating your overall GPA. Our office is required to follow Missouri State policies and procedures in calculating your GPA. Therefore, our GPA calculation may be slightly different than the one done by DESE or the college or university you attended. Usually this difference is only a few hundredths of a point.
What if my cumulative GPA is below a 2.50?
If your cumulative GPA is below a 2.50, you will not be admitted to the Post Baccaluareate Teacher Certification Program and your analysis will not be completed. If your GPA is at or below a 2.50, you may follow the appeal process to be re-considered for admission to the program. If you attend another institution to raise your GPA, you can always reapply once your overall cumulative GPA is above a 2.50.
What if my cumulative GPA is ok, but my content area GPA for Secondary Education is below a 2.50?
If your content area GPA is below a 2.50, you will not be allowed to enroll in any professional education courses until that content GPA is at or above a 2.50. DESE will not certify you without a 2.50 in your content area, so it is in your best interest to get that GPA up as quickly as possible. If your content area GPA is low, it is recommended that you meet with the Coordinator of Teacher Certification to develop a plan that will help you raise your GPA while also making progress toward certification.
How is an Overall Cumulative GPA calculated?
Overall Grade Point Average is calculated by dividing the total grade points earned by the total credit hours attempted. The semester grade point average is calculated by dividing the credit points earned for the semester by the credit hours attempted for the semester. See “Grading and the Credit Point System” and “Repeat Policy” sections below for more details on grade point average calculation.
Grading and the Credit Point System
Grades are awarded to indicate the quality of a student’s work and are assigned as follows (point values per credit hour appear in parentheses):
A (4) = Excellent work. Performance was clearly outstanding.
B (3) = Very good work. Performance was clearly above satisfactory.
C (2) = Satisfactory work. Performance was adequate and clearly above the minimum passing work. Minimum grade accepted toward a graduate degree. Graduate students become ineligible to continue graduate studies if more than 9 hours of “C” or lower are earned in graduate courses.
D (1) = Passing work. Performance minimally met course requirements. Will not count toward graduate degree.
F (0) = Failed – no credit. Performance was not at a level worthy of credit.
N (0) = No Penalty Drop–course dropped without academic penalty.
P (0) = Pass–student passed the course under the pass/not pass system.
NP (0) = Not Pass–student did not pass the course under the pass/not pass system.
I (0) = Incomplete–assigned when due to unusual circumstances a small portion of a course, such as a term paper or final examination, has not been completed. (See “Incomplete Grade.”)
V (0) = Visitor–student enrolled in and attended the course as an auditor.
Z (0) = Deferred–grade to be given only to students enrolled in 600 to 800level courses, restricted to graduate theses, graduate problem courses, or graduate seminars which might not be completed within a semester. If a Z grade is not removed within two calendar years, it will become an N.
XF (0) = Failure due to academic dishonesty.
Repeat Policy
In general, students may only receive credit once for completion of a course unless the course description states otherwise. Undergraduate students may repeat a course to improve their GPA under certain conditions. Graduate students may only repeat graduate courses with written permission from the advisor and approval of the Dean of the Graduate College. The repeat policy is applicable to transfer credit as well as credit earned at Missouri State. For example, if a student earns a D in a course at Missouri State and repeats an equivalent course at another institution, the D will be removed from the calculation of the Missouri State GPA per the policy described below. The transfer grade, however, will be included only in the transfer and combined grade point averages. Transfer credit is evaluated and recorded only if students enroll at Missouri State subsequent to completion of such credit. See Grade Equivalencies in the "Transfer Credit Policy" section of the catalog for further information. Students should also be aware that even though a course prefix, number, and/or title changes, it is still considered the same course for repeat policy purposes. Number and prefix changes are shown in the catalog for a minimum of five years. The Office of the Registrar maintains the complete listing of course prefix and number changes and should be contacted for such questions. Courses can be repeated as follows.
Repeat of D or F or NP or XF grade:
The first repetition (second time taken) of the course replaces the original D or F grade in all grade point average computations from the time of the repetition. The original grade will continue to appear on the academic transcript with a comment of “R” for repeated and will be removed from the GPA calculation upon completion of the repeated course. A repeat of a NP grade will also have the comment of “R” and will remain on the academic transcript, however the original NP grade has no GPA effect to be removed. The repetition of the course will have a comment of “RD” for Repeat of D grade, or “RF” for Repeat of F or XF grade, or “RQ” for Repeat of NP grade; as appropriate.
- If the first repetition results in a D grade, a student may NOT repeat the course again without first obtaining Special Permission to repeat (see below).
- If the first repetition results in an F grade, the student loses credit if the original grade was a D. The F grade will remain in the GPA calculation even if it is subsequently repeated again. The subsequent repeat does not require special permission.
- If the first repetition results in a NP grade, there will be no GPA effect and no special permission is required for subsequent repeats. Only courses graded Pass/Not Pass only fall into this category as the Pass/Not Pass option is not allowed on a course that is taken to repeat a previous D or F grade (see Pass/Not Pass regulations).
- On occasion, the credit hours of a course may change. When such a course is repeated the original credit hours and grade points are removed from the GPA and the current credit hours and grade points will be accumulated into the GPA.
- Students should be aware that material covered in variable content courses may not be offered again, or a particular course may be discontinued. In such cases whereby the student may not have the opportunity to repeat a course where a D or F grade was received, a department head may authorize a similar course to be used for the subsequent repeat by submitting Authorization To Repeat Form to the Office of the Registrar. Such authorization must be granted in advance of when the course is to be taken.
Special permission to repeat a C or better grade, or a second repeat of a D grade:
With advance written permission of the head of the department in which the course is to be taken, a student may repeat a course in which a grade of C or better has been received, or a course in which the repetition resulted in a D grade. Such a course will have a comment of “SP” posted to the academic transcript. This repetition will be accumulated into hours attempted and grade points so as to have a GPA effect. It will not be accumulated into hours passed. However, the hours will count for enrollment status purposes. Previously earned grade(s) will remain in the GPA calculation. An Authorization to Repeat Form indicating approval for such a repeat must be received and processed by a staff member in the Office of the Registrar or it will be considered an invalid repeat and will not be counted toward hours passed or GPA.
Permission to exceed the repeatable limit of a course:
With advance written permission of the head of the department in which the course is to be taken, the repetition of a course will be accumulated into hours attempted, hours passed, and grade points and will have a comment of “EL” for Exceeded Repeatable Limit posted to the academic transcript. An Authorization to Repeat Form indicating approval for such a repeat must be received and processed by a staff member in the Office of the Registrar or it will be considered an invalid repeat and will not be counted toward hours passed or GPA. This option may only be used under the following conditions:
1. Variable content course that allows repeats, but the student has exceeded the repeatable limit.
2. Courses completed over 8 years ago and are disallowed toward program completion requirements.
3. Course content has changed substantially either due to passage of time or due to changes to course content or course number.
4. Course is not repeatable but is a 500-level course that is required to be completed for both an undergraduate and a graduate degree program.
Invalid Repeat
Any repetition of a course outside of the parameters listed above will be considered an invalid repeat. A grade may be earned and posted to the academic transcript, however, the credit hours and the grade points will not be accumulated into student totals and will not affect GPA. Such a course will have a comment of “IR” for Invalid Repeat.
Grade Equivalencies
Transfer grade equivalents will be determined and recorded with the student’s transfer credit. Credit will be awarded for courses in which a “D” or higher was earned. Grades of “F” are included in the calculation of the transfer grade point average. Transfer grades and grade point averages are assigned on the basis of the Missouri State University grading policy. For courses taken at institutions that use a plus/minus grading system, the pluses and minuses are dropped in determining grade equivalencies. For courses taken at institutions that use combined grades (e.g., “AB”), the lower grade will be used. Courses taken at institutions that use a grading system not comparable to the Missouri State grading system will be evaluated with the transfer grade equivalents of Pass or Not Pass. “Withdraw failing” grades are calculated in a student’s transfer grade point average as “F” grades. Grade equivalencies are assigned as follows.
Missouri State Grade Transfer Equivalent Explanation
A /TA Excellent
B/TB Very Good
C/TC Satisfactory
D/TD Passing
F/TF Failed
P, EX comment TE Credit by exam
P, no comment TP Passed
NP TT Not passed
No equivalent TX No grade
No equivalent TS Non-standard grade*
*This grade equivalency is used when it is necessary to combine two transfer courses into one Missouri State course and the courses had different grades (e.g., two hours of A and two hours of B which equate to a four hour course with 14 grade points). This grade entry is also used when it is necessary to compensate for fractions.
When fractions are accumulated and awarded as general electives, grade points are accumulated in similar fashion. For example, a student who took one four quarter hour course with an “A” and two four quarter hour courses with a “B” would receive general elective credit (to compensate for fractions) for two credit hours and six grade points.
Courses for which transfer credit is awarded that are taken at colleges and universities not accredited by a regional accrediting agency or the AABC will be treated as “Pass/Not Pass” courses for grading purposes. A student’s grade point average at Missouri State is based only on courses completed at this institution. A transfer grade point average is carried as part of the student’s total record. The Missouri State and transfer grade point average are combined into an overall grade point average to determine academic standing, eligibility for admission to certain programs, graduation and honors, as described in this catalog.