Letter grades are recorded by the registrar as A, A-, B+, B,
B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, or F. Students must complete all of the requirements in their major sequence with letter grades, with the exception of internships or fieldwork required within the major, which are graded pass/no pass, to be eligible to graduate. Equivalents of letter grades are as follows:

The grade point average (GPA) of each student is obtained by dividing the number of grade points earned by the number of semester course credits carried. To qualify for the bachelor's degree or pre-nursing certificate, the student must have obtained a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Grades for transferred courses are not calculated into the GPA, with the exception of grades for courses taken through cross-registration.

Other grades used to report student progress are:

Final grades are not subject to change by reason of a revision of judgment on the instructor's part or on the basis of a second attempt, e.g., a new examination or additional work undertaken or completed after grades have been submitted. 

Pass/No Pass (P/NP) Limit
Students pursuing their bachelor's degree may elect to take 2 semester course credits outside their major or minor using the P/NP option in courses that are normally graded. Pre-nursing certificate students may elect to take one General Education (GE) course outside the major as a P/NP. Grades are then reported in terms of a P (Pass) or NP (No Pass); a standard of "C-" work is required for a passing grade. Course credit earned is included in the total required for the degree, but a P/NP grade is not included in the calculation of the grade point average. Courses normally offered for P/NP are not counted in these limits.

Students select the P/NP option when registering. See Changing Grading Options for procedures on changing the grading option from a letter grade to P/NP and vice versa.

Note: Because all courses in the major and minor sequence are to be taken for a letter grade, any student who has not yet declared a major or minor should avoid electing the P/NP option for any course in a major or minor field that she is likely to choose. Students are reminded that a grade of "P" is considered to be "C-" level, at best, by most graduate schools. If a student is seriously considering graduate work, she would be better advised to enroll in a course for a letter grade rather than a P/NP.

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Class Attendance
Students are expected to attend all classes for which they are registered. Academic work proceeds up to the date and hour of the beginning of holidays and semester breaks and resumes promptly at the end of such breaks at the time specified in the Academic Calendar. Students are accountable for any work missed by absence from classes.

Instructor Drops
Instructors may, at their discretion, drop a student from a class for non-attendance at the first class meeting. In this instance, the student will no longer be registered in the course and the course will not appear on the student's schedule.

Deficiency Notices
If a student's work and/or attendance is unsatisfactory, a Deficiency Notice is filed by the instructor with the M Center midway through the semester. A copy of this Deficiency Notice is sent to the student, and to the dean of students and the student's advisor, who confer with the student regarding improvement of her studies.

Final Examinations
An examination period occurs at the end of each semester. The faculty member concerned decides whether an examination is to be given in a particular course. The final examination, if given, may be one of two types:

• A take-home examination with time and regulations determined by the faculty member
• A scheduled examination—the class meeting time determines the time at which the examination is scheduled (see Final Examination Schedule.)

Final examinations must be completed during the days designated as the final examination period on the Academic Calendar.

No undergraduate student may be excused from final examinations. Graduate students registered in undergraduate courses submit to the same examinations required of undergraduates.

All assignments, projects, and term papers are due no later than 5:00 pm on the last day of instruction. No examinations may be given by instructors during the last five teaching days of the semester.

Failure to take the final examination, or submit a paper or report that has been substituted for it, is counted as a failure in the examination. Exceptions are made for reasons beyond the student's control, at the discretion of the instructor. In such cases, students may submit an Incomplete Grade Request/Report form for the course, and with instructor confirmation, the course will be graded "I" until the examination has been taken, which must occur by the end of the following semester (see Incomplete Work).

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Incomplete Work
When, for reasons beyond her control, a student is unable to complete the final portion of her work in a course, she may request to receive the temporary grade of Incomplete ("I"). Once the outstanding work is submitted, the instructor will grade the work and the final grade will be recorded by the registrar with a notation of "Inc Grade Removed," which will appear on the student's transcript.

For a student to receive an Incomplete, she must obtain an Incomplete Grade Request/Report form and file it with the appropriate information and signatures. The form documents the percentage of work completed, the grade for this work, the work remaining to be completed, and the date by which the remaining work is due. This form must be filed by the last day of instruction, or, in the case of a student's inability to take the final examination, by the end of the final examination period (see Final Examinations). Without this form filed in the M Center, the instructor is required to assign a letter grade. A student applying for an Incomplete should refer to the Academic Standing section of this catalog to determine how the Incomplete will affect her academic standing.

Faculty members may not assign an Incomplete at will; nor may students simply elect to take an Incomplete without sufficient cause. An Incomplete is not intended to permit a student more time for the work of a course than is normally allowed, and will not be approved unless the student has already completed a minimum of two-thirds of the course work.

The student must complete the remaining work no later than the last day of instruction of the following semester, or the date agreed upon with the instructor, whichever is earlier, whether or not she is enrolled at Mills. If the remaining course work is not completed within the required time, the Incomplete will become an "F."

In extraordinary circumstances, a student may petition the Academic Standing Committee for an extension of the "Incomplete" deadline. If approved, the existing "I" grade will be replaced by an "IE" grade indicating that an extension was granted. Students may petition for only one extension. Further extensions will not be granted.

The same policy applies to graduate students enrolled in undergraduate courses.

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Grade Reports
Students may access their semester grades online in myMILLS via the Mills Resource Portal. Grade reports are not mailed; however, upon written request of the student, grade reports can be mailed to the student. Grade reports are not sent to the parents of students. Students who have not fulfilled their financial or other obligations to the College may not be able to access their grades until the obligations are met.

Grade Appeal Procedure
Any appeal of a grade must be undertaken before the end of the following semester or, in the case of seniors, before graduation. Reasons for appeal are to correct an actual error in computation or an error in entering the grade, or to address cases where some part of the student's work has been unintentionally overlooked. The first step in the procedure is an informal consultation between the instructor and student. If the matter remains unresolved, the next steps involve an appeal to the department head and to the academic dean of the division. If the matter still remains unresolved, an appeal may be made to the provost/dean of the faculty, who will make a final disposition of the appeal.

Repeating a Course
Students who have received a passing grade in a course are not allowed a reexamination therein, nor may they repeat the course. (Certain courses may be repeated for credit. This will be noted in the course description in the catalog.) Students may repeat any course in which they receive an "F." Although the "F" remains on the record, the second grade is also recorded and calculated into the GPA.

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