Seoul National University Academic Grading Regulations

Regulation No. 2387, Sep 29, 2022

Office of Academic Affairs, Seoul National University

Article 1: Purpose

The purpose of these regulations is to prescribe matters concerning scholastic performance of students (hereinafter referred to as “grade”.)

Article 2: Course Registration

(1) Students shall enroll in courses in a given period, and the class hours of the courses shall not overlap.

(2) If a course designates or restricts student enrollment, only students who satisfy these conditions can enroll in the course.

(3) Students can switch or withdraw from enrolled courses within the first quarter of a semester. Students require the course instructor (hereinafter referred to as “instructor”)’s approval if they wish to withdraw from a course in the second quarter of a semester. Course withdrawals after the second quarter of a semester are only possible if a student is unable to fulfill the course requirements due to unavoidable circumstances and require the submission of supporting documents plus the instructor’s approval.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), students in the Master’s program of the School of Law cannot withdraw from courses if one of the following conditions applies: [Amended on July 11, 2011]

The course is a mandatory course to fulfill the graduation requirements.

The total number of enrolled credits in that semester drops below 6 credits after the course withdrawal.

Notwithstanding the conditions above, in case students are unable to participate in the course examination(s) due to unavoidable circumstances, withdrawal from a course is permitted after the submission of specific evidential documents.

(5) If the direct offspring of an instructor enrolls in his/her course, the instructor shall report that fact to the university president within the first quarter of the semester.

Article 3: Grading and Evaluation

(1) The grading guidelines for a course can be overridden by the executing college or department.

(2) The letter grades of a course shall be “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, and “F”. Except for the “F” grade, all grades are subdivided in the categories “+” (high), “0” (medium), and “-“ (low).
Courses can be designated by the Curriculum Organization Committee to be graded as “S”(Satisfactory) and “U”(Unsatisfactory).

(3) For undergraduate courses, the letter grades shall be distributed according to the following ratios.
“A” grade: 20~30%

“B” grade: 30~40%

“C” grade or below: 30~50%

The instructor is free to distribute grades with a different ratio to reflect special characteristics of a course.

(4) No grade is given for courses withdrawn from with the instructor’s approval. Such courses are marked with “W” in the academic transcript.

Article 4: Excused Absences

(1) The absence of a student from a class can be excused in one of the following cases (if subparagraph (1) or (2) applies, attendance must be acknowledged:

1. Participation in the physical examination for conscription, mobilization, readiness inspection and training in accordance with the 「Reserve Forces Act」 and the 「Military Service Act」: period of service

2. Absence due to infection or the possibility of infection in accordance with the「Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act」 or other related acts: period of infection or quarantine

3. Absences due to disease or injury: less than 1/3 of the semester

4. Absence due to menstrual discomfort: one day per month

5. Absence due to one of the following events

Classification	Subject	Excused period (days)
Marriage	himself/herself	5
	direct offspring	1
Giving birth	herself	20
	spouse	10
Adoption	himself/herself	20
Death	spouse, parents, parents in-law	5
	maternal or paternal grandparents of himself/herself or the spouse	3
	direct offspring, daughter or son in law	3
	siblings, sister or brother in law	1

6. Absence due to participation in official events with the permission of the university president: participation period

7. Any other cases permitted by the head of the affiliated department

(2) To be excused for class absences in accordance with Article 4 paragraph (1), students shall submit the relevant form (attendance acknowledgment request form) and supporting documentation to the course instructor.

(3) Approval for class absences shall be requested before the absence. Under special circumstances, class absences can be approved after the fact within 7 days of the end of the absence but before the end of the course period.

(4) Students failing to meet the criteria for obtaining credits for a course due to prolonged absences can be assigned extra work and graded in consideration of that extra work (reports, alternative assignments, make-up classes, etc.)

Article 5: Submission of Grades

(1) Instructors shall submit grades to the university president through the dean of the college within 1 week after the last day of classes of the semester. The final grade for grades marked “I”(Incomplete) shall be submitted 3 weeks after the last day of classes of the semester.

(2) Unsubmitted grades or grades marked “I” are converted to “F”/”U” grades at the grade entry deadline in dependence of the course grading (“A-F” vs “S/U”) and with Article 3 paragraph (2).

(3) In accordance with Article 2 paragraph (5), instructors who have reported that their child(ren) is(are) taking their courses must submit the grounds for the evaluation of their child(ren) to the head of the department who shall verify the fairness of the grading and submit the results to the university president.

(4) Evidential documents regarding grading shall be retained for a period of 5 years.

Article 6: Grade Corrections

(1) Errors or omissions in the awarded grades can be corrected within 4 weeks after the last day of classes of the semester. The instructors shall submit their requests along with specific evidential documents to the dean of the affiliated college who then passes the request on to the university headquarters.

(2) The president of the university shall allow the correction of grades that are requested according to Article 6 paragraph (1) when the due causes are recognized.

Article 7: Retaking Courses

(1) Undergraduate students may retake a course (the identical course or a replacement course) if the prior grade for the course is below “C+” or “U.”

(2) The highest awarded grade for a course retaken in accordance with paragraph (1) is “A0.” The new grade replaces the previous grade.

(3) In spite of paragraph (1) and (2), the retaking of courses in colleges that implement restrictions on promotion to the next academic year follows the Seoul National University Regulations On Academic Promotion.

Article 8: Grading of Students on Leave of Absence, etc.

In case a student takes a leave of absence, drops out, or is expelled from university, all registered courses of that semester shall be nullified.

Article 9: Grading of Students Subject to Disciplinary Measures

In accordance with the Seoul National University Academic Rules, the grading of students who are subject to disciplinary measures shall be decided by the faculty council of the affiliated colleges. However, all registered courses shall be withdrawn for a student who is subjected to suspension for more than 1/4 of the class days before the final exam or disciplined by heavier measures.

Article 10: Calculation of the Grade Points Average

(1) In accordance with Seoul National University Academic Rule Article 83, the grade point average (GPA) is calculated as follows: The sum of all course grade points multiplied by the course credits is divided by the total number of credits and rounded down to two decimal places.

(2) The ranking of students with an identical GPA shall be decided according to the following rules in order:

1. The total sum of grade points

2. The sum of all course credits

3. The number of graded courses

Article 11: Conversion of Grades

Letter grades, numeric grades, or the GPA can be converted to one of the following scales in accordance with the attached grade conversion table.

1. 4.0 scale

2. 4.5 scale

3. 100-point scale

Article 12: Measures in case of Violation

The university president can take appropriate measures against instructors who violate Article 2 paragraph (5) or Article 5 paragraph (3).

※ The original language of these regulations is Korean. In case of discrepancies between the       original and the English translation, the latest Korean version shall prevail.

[Form]

Attendance Acknowledgment Request Form

Student

Name

Student ID

Ex) 2021-12345

College

Department

Request

Reason

This request is in accordance with the「Academic Grading Regulations of Seoul National University」

Article 4 (Excused Absences) paragraph 1 subparagraph (   )

※ Reason and period of excused absences:

1. Absence due to participation in the physical examination for conscription, mobilization, readiness inspection, or training in accordance with the 「Reserve Forces Act」 and the 「Military Service Act」: call-up/training period

2. Absence due to infection or the possibility of infection in accordance with the 「Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act」or other related acts: period of infection or quarantine.

3. Absence due to disease or injury: less than 1/3 of class days of the semester

4. Absence due to menstrual pain: one day per month

5. Absence due to one of the following events:

Classification	Subject	Period(Days)
Marriage	himself/herself	5
	his/her children	1
Birth	herself	20
	his/her spouse	10
Adoption	himself/herself	20
Death	his/her spouse, his/her parents his/her mother or father in Law	5
	Maternal or paternal grandparents of himself/herself or his/her spouse	3
	his/her children, his/her daughter or son in law	3
	his/her siblings or his/her sister or brother in law	1

6. Absence due to participates in official events with the permission of the university president: period of participation

7. Any other absence permitted by the head of the affiliated department with a probable cause

Detailed

Reason

(Ex) COVID-19 Vaccination

Course

Course

Number

Lecture

Number

Course

Title

Class Time

Instructor (Name)

Date

Day

Period

I request approval to be excused for the absences as stated above.

Date YYYY-MM-DD

Student Name (Signature)

Evidential

Documents

※ Documents to be submitted for the different types of excused absences:

1. Documentary evidence related to military service (reserve force training certificate, etc.)

2. Medical certificate

3. Supporting evidence such as related official documents, etc.

4. No documents required

5. Supporting documents such as a wedding invitation, a death certificate, a family relation certificate, etc.

6. Certificate of attendance, official documents, etc.

7. Attendance certificate issued by the head of the department

[Attached Form]

Grade Conversion Table (Regarding Article 11)

Grade	GPA	Converted GPA		Percentage Equivalent	Grade	GPA	Converted GPA		Percentage Equivalent
	4.3 Scale	4.0 Scale	4.5 Scale	100-point scale		4.3 Scale	4.0 Scale	4.5 Scale	100-point scale
A＋	4.3	4.0	4.5	100	C＋	2.3	2.3	2.5	79
	4.25 4.2 4.1	4.0 4.0 4.0	4.45 4.4 4.3	99 98 97		2.2 2.1	2.2 2.1	2.4 2.3	78 77
A0	4.0	4.0	4.2	96	C0	2.0	2.0	2.2	76
	3.9 3.8	3.9 3.8	4.1 4.0	95 94		1.9 1.8	1.9 1.8	2.1 2.0	75 74
A－	3.7	3.7	3.9	93	C－	1.7	1.7	1.9	73
	3.6 3.5 3.4	3.6 3.5 3.4	3.8 3.7 3.6	92 91 90		1.6 1.5 1.4	1.6 1.5 1.4	1.8 1.7 1.6	72 71 70
B＋	3.3	3.3	3.5	89	D＋	1.3	1.3	1.5	69
	3.2 3.1	3.2 3.1	3.4 3.3	88 87		1.2 1.1	1.2 1.1	1.4 1.3	68 67
B0	3.0	3.0	3.2	86	D0	1.0	1.0	1.2	66
	2.9 2.8	2.9 2.8	3.1 3.0	85 84		0.9 0.8	0.9 0.8	1.1 1.0	65 64
B－	2.7	2.7	2.9	83	D－	0.7	0.7	0.9	63
	2.6 2.5 2.4	2.6 2.5 2.4	2.8 2.7 2.6	82 81 80		0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1	0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1	0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3	62 61 60 59 58 57
					F	0	0	0	0
Note: A two-decimal GPA shall be converted to its percentage equivalent by interpolating the corresponding percentage points in the table above. Example: GPA 3.25 → Percentage Equivalent 88.5 GPA 4.27 → Percentage Equivalent 99.4