Purdue Global runs four grading scales at once, and knowing which one owns your course changes how you spend your weeks. Standard undergraduate courses pass down to a D at 60. Undergraduate nursing removes the low passes entirely: below 75 is an F, with no C-minus, D-plus, or D at all. Graduate courses fail below 70. And module plus doctoral courses run the hardest line, A, B, or F, with everything under 80 failing. Same university, four different definitions of danger, and your transcript does not care which one you thought applied.
The four scales, side by side
| Population | A | Passing floor | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate, standard | 93-100 | D at 60 | Forgiving floor, plus-minus steps throughout |
| Undergraduate nursing | 93-100 | 75, then F | C runs 75 to 76.99 and nothing passes below it |
| Graduate | 90-100 | 70 | Clean bands, C exists at 70 to 79.99 |
| Module and doctoral | 90-100 | 80, then F | No C at all; a B is the last passing grade |
The nursing floor at 75
The School of Nursing's undergraduate scale compresses everything below a C into failure: 75 to 76.99 is the entire C band, and 74.99 is an F. For RN-to-BSN students juggling shifts, the practical meaning is that nursing courses cannot be triaged the way a gen-ed course can; a strategic 70 that would pass elsewhere fails here. Our floor check runs nursing drafts against this scale specifically, and the session map flags nursing weeks as non-negotiable while a composition week can flex.
The module and doctoral scale: A, B, F
Modules and doctoral courses share the university's hardest line. There is no C to catch you: 80 to 89.99 is a B and the last rung, and 79.99 fails. On modules this concentrates into the summative assessment; in doctoral courses it runs through every graded piece. Either way the private target is 90, because aiming at the floor of a two-rung ladder is how people fall off it. The full module method lives in the module manual.
Cumulative grading, the multiplier on everything
Traditional courses build the final grade cumulatively from weekly scores, no high-stakes final, no late rescue. Combined with the scales above, the arithmetic gets sharp: a nursing student who posts two weak weeks early is doing recovery math against a 75 floor for the rest of the term. The defense is boring and total: every week banked, every graded item submitted, the running total known. Boring is what we sell, and at this school it compounds.
The playbook
Identify your scale on day one
Course type decides it: standard UG, nursing UG, graduate, or module and doctoral. Write the floor number where you can see it.
Set the private bar one band up
Nursing aims A-range, modules aim 90, graduate aims 80-plus. Floors are for margins, not targets.
Respect cumulative math early
Weeks one through three set the term's ceiling. Bank them.
Never guess mid-term
Send the gradebook; we compute the exact standing on the exact scale and plan the remaining weeks from arithmetic, not anxiety.
Playing your scale with backup
Course, gradebook, what is due. We run your numbers on your scale and draft what keeps you clear.
Sources and verification
Facts on this page come from official and independent sources, and anything that matters is worth checking against the originals:
- www.purdueglobal.edu: Purdue Global's official site, the primary source for program and tuition facts
- catalog.purdueglobal.edu: the official Purdue Global catalog, where grading scales and policies live
- www.hlcommission.org: Higher Learning Commission, the institutional accreditor
- www.ccneaccreditation.org: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the nursing accreditor
- apastyle.apa.org: APA Style, the official style authority behind the formatting rules