Grades and progression in EKU graduate nursing

The B rule and the Satisfactory rule

The 2026-27 graduate catalog says MSN students "must complete all required course work with a grade of 'B' or higher" and finish prerequisites before moving on; the DNP and both post-graduate certificates carry the same B rule. EKU's graduate scale has no plus or minus grades (A is 4.00, B 3.00, C 2.00, D and F zero), and the catalog says its grade rules are to be read precisely as stated.

The archived 2021-22 MSN Student Handbook adds two points. Department policy "prohibits grades from being rounded up," so a score just under the B line stays under it. And practicum and internship courses need "a satisfactory grade." For NP students that rule reaches the clinical courses, NSC 800 and the NSC 876 or NSC 886 internship, so ask your faculty how each enrollment is graded.

The consequence: a grade below B, or an Unsatisfactory, means the student is "immediately dismissed from all MSN required courses and the MSN program." The catalog's version is that a student who misses the progression rule must apply for readmission, and that readmission to a nursing course is not assured.

Repeats, incompletes and In Progress grades

EKU's catalog lets a graduate student repeat a course once for grade replacement unless the program forbids it, with the best grade counting and a third attempt needing written approval up to the Graduate School dean. For MSN nursing courses, a failing grade triggers dismissal first, so a repeat happens only after readmission.

An Incomplete (I) needs extenuating circumstances and a request made while classes are still running. The catalog expects roughly 60% of the course already done to a satisfactory standard. Faculty, student, chair and dean all sign an Incomplete Grade Agreement, and the Registrar has to receive it no later than 15 university business days after grades are due; miss that and the I converts to an F. You then have until the close of the following fall or spring semester, and you may ask once, before that date, for one more semester.

Clinical courses have a separate tool, In Progress (IP), which EKU reserves for approved courses such as practicum. The clock on it is the calendar year: an IP practicum or internship left unfinished by then is recorded as No Credit (NC). Ask about it before the course ends; clinical attendance covers making time up.

Dismissal, reinstatement and readmission

Dismissal can come from the clinical side too. Under the handbook, a student removed from a clinical area for unsafe practice or unprofessional conduct receives an Unsatisfactory in the clinical course and is dismissed, with reinstatement by application to a committee. The clinical evaluations guide sets out how EKU defines both terms. After a progression dismissal, the route back under the archived handbook and the catalog runs like this:

1. File 60 days aheadThe School of Nursing readmission application is due no later than 60 days before the term you hope to rejoin.
2. Committee reviewThe readmission committee meets before the next term and emails its decision to your EKU account within 10 business days.
3. Expect competitionReadmission is competitive, a delay of up to a year before re-enrolling is possible, and the readmission term must fall within two years of your last enrollment.
4. Mind the 24-month ruleThe catalog adds that students away more than 24 months, or who withdrew from the University, must reapply and be reinstated by the program.

Appeals: the order EKU expects

EKU sends different disputes down different routes, and each route must be followed in order.

For academic complaints, the University Student Handbook recognizes only two formats, a signed letter or a message sent from your official EKU email, so write from myMail.