Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Quantitative Standards - Grades and Credits

All credits attempted and earned at the University of Minnesota Duluth or at University of Minnesota coordinate campuses will be included when calculating your GPA, credit completion ratio, and maximum timeframe.

The following guidelines are used to calculate credit completion ratio and maximum timeframe:

  • Attempted credits include grades of A, B, C, D, F, I, N, NG, P, S, W, X, and blank. Plus and minus grades (e.g. B+, A-, etc.) will also be included.
  • Earned (successfully completed) credits include grades of A, B, C, D, NG, P, and S.
  • Grades of F (failed), I* (incomplete), X (incomplete in continuing course), W (withdrawal), and N (not passing) or blank grades will count as credits attempted but not successfully completed.
  • If you repeat a course, credits for each time you register for that course will be added to your attempted/earned credit totals. However, only the most recent grade received in the course will be used in the calculation of your cumulative GPA.
  • Repeated courses count as credits attempted in your credit completion ratio and timeframe calculations. If you earned a passing grade in a repeated course during a prior registration(s) for that course, the credits for every completed attempt will also be included in your credit completion ratio and timeframe calculations.
  • Remedial and ESL (English as Second Language) credit equivalences are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned credits.
  • Transfer and consortium credits accepted by the University of Minnesota Duluth will be included when calculating your credit completion ratio and maximum timeframe calculations, but not your GPA.
  • Extended term distance education courses are considered attempted, but not earned until a grade is submitted.
  • Audit (V) credits are not considered either attempted or earned.
  • Retroactively dropped courses through the petition process are also counted as credits attempted but not successfully completed.
  • Transfer credits and credits by exam will be included as attempted and earned when calculating your credit completion ratio and timeframe calculations.

* If incomplete (I) credits are a factor in failure to complete 75% of the attempted credits, completion of these credits may be used to reestablish eligibility for financial aid. Once an incomplete has been completed and a permanent grade has been recorded, it is the student’s responsibility to request reevaluation of his/her SAP status; otherwise, it will be recalculated in the end-of-the-term SAP evaluation.