Grading System, Audits, Pass/Fail, and Incompletes
Grading system
UW Madison uses the following grading system:
| Grade | Grade Points |
| A (Excellent) | 4 |
| AB (Intermediate Grade) | 3.5 |
| B (Good) | 3 |
| BC (Intermediate Grade) | 2.5 |
| C (Fair) | 2 |
| D (Poor) | 1 |
| F (Failure) | 0 |
The grading system is explained in more detail at: https://registrar.wisc.edu/student-grades/ Some special grading circumstances are outlined below.
Audits
Guest students and auditors require instructor permission prior to enrolling for classes. Once the instructor gives approval, submit that information to Maria Hartwig (enrollment@psych.wisc.edu) who enters the student specific permission into SIS; the student then enrolls for the course online. Students may not audit Laboratory classes and typically do not take examinations. Audited courses are graded either S (Satisfactory) or NR (No Report).
Pass/fail
Students may take certain elective courses for Pass/Fail credit. A grade of S is submitted for grades A through C, and U for grades D and F. These credits do not affect the student’s GPA. Any student who takes a pass/fail course must earn at least a C to receive credit for the course. Only elective work may be carried on a pass/fail basis. Final grades for these courses will be indicated as pass (S) or fail (U) without any computation of grade points for those courses into the term or cumulative grade point average.
Incompletes
Meant for students who have completed at least 2/3 of the course work with a passing grade – not for students who are failing. The L&S policy on incompletes is at: https://registrar.wisc.edu/incompletes/. Students are given four weeks into the next semester to complete the remaining course work. These are typically handled by the instructor.