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Business Administration Program Mastery & Grades

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration has 39 courses (65 credit hours), each of which covers a specific set of competencies essential to business management. A key characteristic that distinguishes Competency-Based Education (CBE) is that you make progress by demonstrating the knowledge and skills required for each subject, rather than making progress based on fixed amount of time in the classroom. As a result, you can go as fast or as slow as you would need to in order to demonstrate mastery of the content.

The 39 courses are grouped into 20 “competency areas” – you can think of these like subjects. For example, to master the subject “Managerial Accounting” you will need to complete three, one-credit courses. You must master each course in the program to earn the bachelor’s degree.

If you’re seeking tuition reimbursement, the following memo may help explain the CBE grading format to your employer.  If the PDF option does not fulfill your needs, please contact oel-registrar@uwex.edu with additional questions.

Grades & GPA

Your academic work is evaluated against a set of rubrics that are made available to you upon enrollment in any course. Generally speaking, you must pass every assessment in a course with an 80% in order to pass the course. Each letter grade also carries a certain number of quality points per credit. Those quality points are averaged, and form your Grade Point Average (GPA). Your GPA will be nationally recognizable and on a 4.0 scale. 

Overview of Grades & Equivalent Points
Grade  Description Quality Points Traditional Letter Grade Equivalency
MD*  Mastered with Distinction (MD) 4.00 A
M*  Mastered (M) 3.00 B
F  Fail (F) 0.00 F
The following grades are assigned no grade points and are not counted when the GPA is calculated.
PR*  Progress
I  Incomplete
W  Withdrawal

 *Grades used in the UW Flexible Option program only

Calculating your Term Grade Point Average

Each letter grade carries a certain number of quality points per credit.  For example, a grade of MD is worth four quality points per credit.  If you received a MD in a 2-credit course, you would have earned a total of 8.00 quality points (4 x 2.00).

Your subscription period GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned in the subscription period by the total number of credits attempted.

Example:

Course Credits Grade Quality Points Total Quality Points
BAEF 100
Microeconomic Market Analysis I		 1 MD 4.00 4.00
BAEF 101
Microeconomic Market Analysis II		 2 M 3.00 6.00
BALM 200
Business Law and Ethics		 3 MD 4.00 12.00
 Total 6     22.00

Total Quality Points / Total Credits = Term G.P.A
22.00 Total Quality Points / 6 Total Credits = 3.66 GPA

Note: G.P.A. calculations are truncated and not rounded (i.e. 3.777 is reported as 3.77 and not rounded to 3.78)

Grade Definitions

Click on any of the following headings to learn more about the grades used in this program.

Mastered with Distinction (MD)

This is a permanent grade assigned when you reach a distinguished level of achievement on the stated criteria for mastery of a course. This is equivalent to a traditional “A”.

Mastered (M)

This is a permanent grade assigned when you meet or exceed the stated criteria for mastery of a course. Once this grade has been assigned, students may not reattempt a course. This is equivalent to a traditional “B”.

Progress (PR)

This is a permanent grade assigned in UW Flexible Option programs when you complete part, but not all, of the requirements toward mastery by the end of the subscription period. This grade is permanent but does not count toward degree attainment or calculation of grade point average.

You are required to achieve mastery in each course within six attempts. This means that once you receive a “PR” grade in any single UW Flexible Option Business Administration course five times,  you will not be eligible to receive another “PR” grade in the same course on the sixth attempt.  A grade of “F” will reported on the sixth attempt if mastery is not achieved.

While continuous enrollment in a course with a PR grade is not required, you must demonstrate progress towards mastery by re-enrolling in the course (retake) within six calendar months from the end of the subscription period for which the last PR grade was assigned.  Beyond six months, there is no guarantee that your prior work will carry forward into a new version of the course.

You may not have more than five open course with In-Progress status in any subscription period.  If you have five open courses, you may not register for additional courses until you complete one or more of the open courses.

Incomplete (I)

This temporary grade is assigned to a UW Flexible Option course if you, due to extraordinary circumstances (e.g. family/medical emergencies), have requested an incomplete for a course that is near completion to allow the extra time to complete. A grade of Incomplete is assigned at the discretion of the instructor, guided by the following policies:

  • A grade of Incomplete may be reported for a student who has maintained a passing grade until near the end of the course and who then, because of unusual and substantiated cause beyond the student’s control, is unable to take or complete the final examination, or to complete some limited amount of work. The grade of Incomplete must be accompanied by the instructor’s description of the work that has yet to be completed.
  • Students requesting an Incomplete must submit official documentation related to the extraordinary circumstances within 30 calendar days of the end of the subscription period, however, an Incomplete may be initiated by an instructor on a student’s behalf if the instructor believes there is cause to do so.
  • A request to change an already recorded grade to a grade of Incomplete will not be carried out unless the instructor submits a Request for an Incomplete.
  • Students receiving a grade of Incomplete must master the course within three months of the end of the subscription period in which the grade was recorded.
  • An Incomplete course that is not mastered within three months will be changed to a PR.
  • A student will not graduate with an Incomplete on his/her transcript if failure in that course would make the student ineligible to graduate.
Withdrawn (W)

This is a permanent grade assigned if you drop a course after the 25th day of the subscription period through the 48th day of the subscription period. To see the dates specific to your subscription period, please view the academic calendar.

Transcripts & Academic Honors

Students in this program receive an academic transcript like any other student from UW-Parkside. The only difference is in place of seeing an “A” or a “B” as the posted grade, the transcript will reflect the students mastery level: “MD” or “M”, respectively. Your transcript will still reflect the courses you have taken, your GPA (on a 4.0 scale), and your degree conferred. UW-Parkside is a regionally accredited (Higher Learning Commission) institution.

Individuals who excel academically in this program may be recognized with academic honors. Students who have strong grades in a subscription period may be reflected on that season’s (i.e. Fall or Spring) Dean’s List. Those who complete the degree with a strong GPA will be recognized at graduation with academic honors. Academic honors are: Cum Laude (GPA of 3.50 – 3.69), Magna Cum Laude (3.70 – 3.89), and Summa Cum Laude (3.9 – 4.0). It is considered a great achievement to graduate with academic honors, and it will be printed on your transcript as well as appear on your diploma itself.

Furthermore, students who excel in their business curriculum may be invited to join UW-Parkside’s chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma – the international business honors society.

Administrative Withdrawals

If you fail to pay your account balance in full or have not completed the required Flex Check In (FCI) for each course in which you are enrolled, you will be administratively withdrawn after the eighth day of the subscription period.  No grade will be assigned.  If you do not demonstrate educational engagement (defined as submission of one non-practice assessment) after the eighth day of the subscription period, you may be administratively withdrawn.  A W grade will be assigned.  Administrative withdrawals are not counted as an attempt. There may be a fee associated with administrative withdrawals.

You are encouraged to review the UW-Parkside Academic Catalog to become familiar with the academic policies.