Grading + Academic Progress

Find information on this page regarding grading and notation, the Academic Progress Report (APR), and the Graduate Progress Report (GPR).

Navigate to:

Grades and Notations
Academic Progress Report (APR)
- Defining Doctoral Candidate
Graduate Progress Report (GPR)

Grades and Notations

All courses are given a standard letter grade, a competency grade or a notation. Learn more in GGR 1.5 →

Courses that have competency grading systems will not count towards your CGPA and normally will not count towards your minimum university requirements unless it is a capstone course (thesis, extended essay, or project) or a comprehensive exam.

Students in certificate and diplomas must maintain a minimum CGPA of 2.5 to remain in their program and graduate. Students in master's and doctoral programs must maintain a minimum CGPA of 3.0 to remain in their program and graduate. When a student's CGPA is below the minimum, their progress is deemed unsatisfactory and a graduate program committee meeting will occur to review options. Learn more in GGR 1.8.2 →

DE (Defer mark) Requests

If you are unable to complete your coursework within the term, you must seek an extension from your instructor. If the instructor agrees, you may have up to the end of the first month of the next term to complete, and will receive an interim notation of DE on your transcript for that course. In rare cases where you require more time to complete, an extension to the end of that term may be approved if agreed by the instructor and graduate program chair. Failure to meet that final grade deadline will result in receiving the notation of "N".

Prior to that final deadline, if extenuating circumstances exist, you may apply for a WE. However, you will not receive credit for work done and if the course is a program requirement you will need to retake the course at a later date.

WD and WE

WD notations are automatically assigned if you drop after week 2 but before the final drop deadline at week 9. A WE is only given if a Withdrawal under Extenuating Circumstances occurs after week 9 and is approved.

Academic Progress Report

The Academic Progress Report (APR) is an interactive course mapping tool designed to help current graduate students understand their degree and program requirements.

As you progress through your academic program, the APR will show which program requirements have been satisfied and which are still outstanding. The APR does not replace meeting with your senior supervisor, graduate program assistant, and/or graduate program committee. The APR only captures the requirements that are based on courses. Other requirements that are not based on courses (i.e. language requirements) will not be shown on this report.

The APR does not guarantee that your degree/program will be awarded once all of the program requirements have become satisfied.

The report assumes that you will successfully complete any course(s) in which you are currently enrolled (in-progress). The courses you are currently enrolled in will be used by the report to satisfy the requirements, even though the courses is not yet complete. These courses are identified by a yellow diamond in the status column of the course grid.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this report. If you believe some information is incorrect, please contact your graduate program assistant.

Accessing your APR

The report cannot be run for exchange students, visiting students, qualifying students, or non-degree students. If you have completed or been withdrawn from your program, no report will be available for the program.

Log into go.sfu.ca
Click the 'other academic...' drop-down and find 'Academic Requirements'

The Academic Progress Report has two sections of requirements: requirements specific to your program and university minimum requirements.

The minimum University requirements listed on the report are based on the Graduate General Regulations and the student's degree level (i.e. Master, PhD, Certificate, Graduate Diploma).

When you enroll in capstone courses (e.g. thesis, project, extended essays), the requirement will display 'Satisfied' even though the course is still in progress. Please keep in mind that in order to graduate, you will need to receive a 'S' grade.

Exceptions

If your program has approved an exception for your program requirements, this will be recorded on your academic progress report. If you have had an exception approved but do not see it on your report, please contact your graduate program assistant.

Definition of Doctoral Candidate

To be considered a Doctoral Candidate, a student must have completed all university and program requirements for the degree except the thesis.

Doctoral students with questions regarding this, should contact your Graduate Program Assistant.

Graduate Progress Report

The Graduate Progress Report (GPR) is an annual review completed by all doctoral students and master’s students completing theses or research projects as per Graduate General Regulation 1.8.1. Some other programs make use of the GPR to assess student progress. It is a collaborative record of a student’s progress in the program allowing for input from the student, academic supervisory committee, and Graduate Program Chair.

Accessing and completing your GPR Prior to Fall 2026

You will receive an email when your portion of the Graduate Progress Report is available. The GPR is accessed through goSFU in the Student Service Center for students and Faculty Center for supervisors, committee members, and Graduate Program Chairs.

More detailed instructions for completing your portion of the GPR are available here:

Administrative resources for the Graduate Program Assistant are available in the Faculty and Staff section.

PLEASE NOTE

For students and faculty members completing the GPR (prior to Fall 2026), we advise you to save your progress often and mulitple times. goSFU has a short refresh-time and the GPR does not auto-save.

Saving often prevents the loss of your submission content.

Accessing and completing your GPR After to Fall 2026

Students are responsible for initiating their GPRs, which can be accessed via this link.

Timing of the report is determined by each program and/or acdemic supervisory committee. To determine when you are expected to complete the report, please contact your program assistant.

Once your portion is completed, it will be sent to your academic supervisory committee in the following order;

Supervisory Committee (includes academic supervisor, academic co-supervisor (if applicable) and academic supervisory committee members (if applicable)) → Graduate Program Chair.

Students will receive notification upon submission of their portion of the report and will receive the final copy once all stages are completed.

Review instructions on completing the GPR, as we recommend that you undertake some preparatory work in advance.

Review Student Guide

GPR Assessment Outcomes (Fall 2026 onward)

Exceeds Expectations: superior academic performance that surpasses goals determined by the supervisory committee. No further steps are required.
Meets Expectations: solid academic performance that meets goals determined by the supervisory committee. No further steps are required.
Satisfactory with Concerns: academic performance that nearly fulfills goals determined by the supervisory committee but requires action to ensure continued progress. A plan addressing concerns should be developed with your supervisory committee.
Unsatisfactory: academic performance that does not fulfill goals determined by the supervisory committee and requires review by the graduate program. This outcome triggers GGR 1.8.2.

What if you disagree with your progress evaluation?

If you disagree with the evaluation there are several options for you to pursue

If you have been assessed as exceeds or meets expectations, or satisfactory with concerns, we recommend you connect with your supervisory committee to discuss your concerns with their evaluation.

If you have been assessed as unsatisfactory, you will first need to go through the “Review of Unsatisfactory Progress” process (GGR 1.8.2). If following this process, you still disagree with the evaluation you can appeal the decision.

Appealing – Special Circumstances

You may appeal unsatisfactory progress decisions should they feel as though the decision was not properly considered by the graduate program committee.

Students may only submit an appeal after receiving a decision letter following a graduate program committee meeting held under GGR 1.8.2 “Review of Unsatisfactory Academic Progress” where the outcome is a requirement to withdraw or that progress has been deemed unsatisfactory

Faculty of Graduate Studies