Tuition, Grades, and Transfers

All Sokolov Executive MBA students are required to submit a nonrefundable tuition deposit before beginning the program to secure a place in that cohort. Tuition and fees are payable in seven quarterly installments to the University of Chicago. The tuition deposit is applied to the first quarterly tuition installment.

Students are responsible for paying tuition bills on time regardless of who is actually paying the tuition. Students with unpaid balances after the payment due date will be restricted from registering in future courses and will be charged late fees and penalties. The University of Chicago registrar will strictly enforce this rule.

If a student permanently transfers during their first academic year (Autumn to Spring Quarters), they will pay the remainder of their tuition at the new cohort’s rate. If a student permanently transfers during their second academic year (Summer to Spring Quarters), they will pay the remainder of their tuition fees at their original cohort’s rate.

Extended Curriculum

When a student resumes studies after a leave of absence, the local campus cohort team carefully manages their degree completion plan. As noted in the Leave of Absence and Resumption of Studies sections, the curricular offerings and seat capacities can vary from year to year, resulting in occasional situations in which students take fewer number of courses than in a typical quarter. For example, a student may be enrolled in only 50 or 100 units of course work, rather than 200–300 units. Being enrolled in less than 200 units may impact loan and US visa requirements. Students are required to pay the current tuition and fee installment in full for the new cohort they are joining.

Restricted Registration

The university will restrict any student who fails to meet their financial obligation to the university and charge the student both late registration fees and late payment fees. All restricted students are subject to the following penalties:

1. The student will not be provided with course materials nor permitted to attend classes.
2. The student will not be entered on any official class list, and no grades will be recorded.
3. Online transcripts will not be accessible.
4. No transcripts or diplomas will be given.
5. No loan funds will be disbursed.

The university will assess a late payment fee to a student any time the student’s tuition installment is late and a late registration fee once registration is reinstated.

Once the student pays their financial obligation to the university in full, the local campus cohort team will petition the university to have the student’s registration and record reinstated.

Loans

Information regarding student loan programs is available from the Chicago Booth Financial Aid Office in Chicago. Several loan programs are available to students. Programs administered by Chicago Booth include both government and private loans. These loans are typically available to US citizens or permanent residents and to others with a US citizen cosigner.

Each student is also encouraged to investigate loan opportunities in their own country. For information about loans administered by Chicago Booth, students should review the financial aid website by clicking the financial aid link within the Booth intranet. Students may also contact the Chicago Booth Financial Aid Office at financial.aid@chicagobooth.edu.

Financial Aid Eligibility

Students must be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP), which equates to a cumulative grade point average of 2.33 and completion of at least 66 percent of attempted units, to be eligible for US federal financial aid programs. Courses in which a student receives a grade of F or Incomplete or from which they withdraw may not be counted as completed units.

For SAP, the maximum time frame for completing the program is 2,300 attempted units or 10 quarters, whichever comes first. SAP is evaluated annually at the conclusion of the Spring Quarter.

Appeals may be granted to students who fail this standard due to personal injury or illness, the death of a relative, or other exceptional or mitigating circumstances. Appeals must be sent in writing to Financial Aid at financial.aid@chicagobooth.edu. Students whose appeals are approved will be granted a one-quarter financial aid probation during which they will be eligible for federal aid. A student whose academic performance remains below the SAP standards at the end of the financial aid probation period may submit an appeal indicating why their progress remains unsatisfactory and include an academic plan endorsed by the local campus cohort team. Ineligible students who do not appeal may regain their eligibility for federal student aid by meeting the cumulative SAP requirements listed above.

Important note: Financial aid lenders (including federal loans) typically require that students are enrolled in 200 units per quarter. Failure to comply may make the student ineligible for a loan. If a student intends to drop or does drop below 200 units, please contact Financial Aid at financial.aid@chicagobooth.edu for guidance.

Chicago Booth Grading Policy

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business grading policy states that faculty will not exceed a maximum grade point average of 3.33 for each course taught in a quarter. Grades are usually available between two to four weeks after the last cohort has completed the final exam.

Obtaining Grades

Once faculty submit grades, students can check their grades via the Booth intranet by clicking Check Grades / Create Letter link.

Transcripts/Lifetime Transcript Fee

Official transcripts may be ordered through the university’s registrar at registrar.uchicago.edu/transcripts. A lifetime transcript fee is assessed to students’ university bursar accounts in the first quarter. This one-time fee allows current students and alumni to order unlimited copies of their transcripts.

Course Grades

The following grades are used in the Executive MBA Program: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, F, I (Incomplete), R (Registered), P (Pass), X (Status Pending), and W (Withdrawn). The grades of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, and D are passing grades. The grade of F indicates unsatisfactory work (see Repeating Courses). When computing a student’s GPA, A+=4.33, A=4.0, A-=3.67, B+=3.33, B=3.0, B-=2.67, C+=2.33, C=2.0, C-=1.67, D+=1.33, D=1.0, and F=0. I, R, W, and X grades do not count in GPA calculations (see Incompletes and R Grades). A grade of F in a course—whether the course is repeated or not—will count in the GPA calculation, even though the course is not counted toward the degree requirement. Half-credit courses (e.g., Managerial Psychology) are included in the GPA calculation with half-grade weighting. Grades of Incomplete and Withdrawn have a negative impact on SAP for financial aid eligibility, as does a cumulative grade point average less than 2.33. 

R Grades

An R signifies that the student was registered and attended the class but no credit was earned (e.g., Analytical Methods). The grade of R cannot be changed to any other grade.

F Grades

Students cannot graduate without successfully passing all Sokolov Executive MBA Program courses. If a student earns a failing grade (F) in any course, they must repeat the course (see Repeating Courses). Please refer to the sections of the handbook on Foundations Courses and Prerequisites as well. A failing grade will likely result in delay of graduation. The local campus cohort director will work closely with the student to develop a completion plan; however, there is no guarantee of an available seat the next time the course is offered. The student is guaranteed a seat in the course only at the time their cohort is scheduled to take the course.

Students should be aware that the course sequence or curriculum may change from year to year, which could delay graduation. Occasionally, it may happen that the required course is no longer offered. In such cases, the student must petition the local campus cohort director to request a substitute. Petitions are reviewed with the academic coordinator on a case-by-case basis, and if approved, the student must take and successfully complete the approved substitute course in the following year. Factors affecting petition decisions include: cumulative GPA and capacity in the substitute course. Note that the original F grade will remain on the student’s transcript and cannot be changed, and will be included in the computation of the student’s GPA.

The student is responsible for paying new tuition at the current Chicago Booth tuition rates for the course being repeated or substituted.

Incompletes

Chicago Booth expects all students to complete course examinations, papers, projects, and all other assignments by the faculty’s specific dates (see Missing Classes, Assignments, or Examinations). If it is not possible for the student to complete the course requirements per the course schedule, the student may, with permission of the faculty member, be assigned a grade of Incomplete (I). Incompletes may be appropriate when the student has taken the midterm or completed a significant portion of the course and needs to complete only one remaining element of the course (e.g., a final paper, project, or examination).

A student who needs to retake the entire class and complete all assignments will not receive an Incomplete. Instead, they will be withdrawn from the classes and will be reregistered when the class is repeated. A “W” will be recorded on the student’s transcript.

If a student completes the Incomplete within one year, they will not incur additional tuition charges. However, students will be required to purchase new course materials and books.

A student who has not successfully completed two or more courses may have to take an administrative leave of absence (“inactive”) and may not be able to register for additional courses in the program until they successfully complete the relevant course(s). Petitions to continue to take courses even if a student has a grade of Incomplete in two or more courses must be submitted in writing to the local campus cohort director. The petition will be reviewed by the academic coordinator of the program. All Incompletes for courses counting toward the degree must have final course grades submitted by the fourth week of the quarter in which the student is expecting to graduate if the student is a candidate for honors and by the eighth week if the student is not an honors candidate.

Repeated Course Grades

When a course is repeated, both courses and grades appear chronologically on a student’s university transcript, with both grades included in the student’s cumulative grade point average; however, repeated courses only count once toward the student’s degree requirements.

Academic Probation

Students encountering academic difficulties at any time are encouraged to speak with their faculty and teaching assistants.

A student is placed on academic probation when their quarter or cumulative grade point average is less than C+ (2.33) and the student has completed at least four full courses in the program, except in the case of Foundations courses (please see section on Foundations Probation). The student remains on probation until their cumulative grade point average is at least 2.33.

If a student fails to meet the minimum grade point average of 2.33 in two or more quarters once the quarter grades are posted (typically in the middle of the following quarter), the student may be placed on administrative leave of absence. If a student is placed on administrative leave, they may have the option to petition to complete that quarter, or request an incomplete for the quarter. (Please note that full refunds will not be possible as students have already begun the classes and/or students have received federal loans.) Completing the quarter may require students to return to campus the following quarter for final exams. This is at the student’s own expense.

Chicago Booth reserves the right to dismiss a student for a lack of academic progress or performance. All correspondence regarding students on probation will be kept in their academic and financial aid files. Academic probation has implications for students receiving financial aid (see the Loans and Financial Aid Eligibility sections).

Grade Appeal Procedure

A student who believes that there is an error in the grading on any graded material in a course (i.e., assignment, paper, project, examination) should follow the guidelines provided by the faculty for a grade appeal. If the faculty does not provide specific guidelines either in the syllabus or verbally, the student should:

1. Discuss the potential grading error with the faculty.
2. Submit a written request for a review of the graded material to the faculty.
3. If the student believes that the appeal was not given appropriate consideration by the faculty member, the student should contact the local campus cohort director.

The local campus cohort director can verify that the procedure outlined above has been followed. If there is evidence of a grading error, it will be brought to the attention of the faculty member. Note that program administrators cannot alter a grade. Unless a faculty member informs students otherwise, a grade change appeal must be initiated no later than the quarter after the course is completed.

Students are encouraged to raise issues and concerns in email regarding academic matters with the faculty, when appropriate, to the associate dean of faculty and academic services. Academic grievances not related to a grade change may be brought, in email, directly to the dean of students. Issues that cannot be resolved by the dean of students or associate dean of faculty and academic services will be taken to the Deans’ Office for further review.

An academic grievance appeal must be initiated no later than the quarter after the course is completed. The university’s Office of the Student Ombudsperson is also available to provide resources and support at ombudsperson@uchicago.edu.

Temporary Transfers between Cohorts

At some point during the program, students may need or want to take courses with another cohort. Temporary transfers are allowed, and we will honor these requests whenever possible. These requests cannot always be honored. Before making a request, students should be aware of the relevant processes and constraints. Following this process closely will increase your chance of having the temporary transfer approved.

1. The ability to transfer temporarily (one or two quarters only) to another cohort is on a space-available basis. For transfer requests for more than two quarters, please see the section on Permanent Transfers between Cohorts.
2. Requests should be made, in writing, to the local campus cohort program team.
3. Transfer requests are recorded on a first-come, first-served basis. However, in most quarters, there will be multiple requests and limited seat availability. Priority will always be given to students who have legitimate and documented business needs for attending class sessions with another cohort. Students may be asked to provide a letter from their company supporting the request and the necessary business reason(s).
4. In order to accommodate students appropriately, the local campus cohort program team, in most cases, will wait to provide final approval confirmation until four weeks prior to the start of the first class session in the original or new cohort, whichever comes first. No transfer is guaranteed or approved until students have been officially notified by the local campus cohort program team. Until students have final approval, students should assume they will be attending their normal class session and prepare accordingly for assignments and exams.
5. While the local campus cohort program team will try to accommodate these requests, there is always a possibility that accommodations may not be possible due to space restrictions in another cohort. This is regardless of when the request is made or if the request is made for documented business reasons. This is especially true, however, when requests are made at the last minute (i.e., less than four weeks before the start of the class session in the new cohort).
6. In cases where a request cannot be accommodated and students are unable to attend their scheduled class session, they will be required to take a leave of absence for that quarter. The local campus cohort program director will work with students on a plan for completing their degree by taking the missed courses at a later date. All students have eight years in which to complete the degree. See the sections on Missing Classes, Assignments, or Examinations and Leave of Absence.

Important note: If students transfer to another cohort temporarily, they will be required to complete all coursework, including any preliminary assignments, liaising with the new study group members, and preparing assignments per faculty deadlines. For transfers between Europe and Asia, students are also required to submit any final assignments, and sit for any final exams from the previous quarter’s classes, on the schedule of the cohort they are transferring to. In some instances, this will mean that they have less time to prepare for a final exam or assignment than if they remained with their original cohort. Students should take this into consideration at the time the request is made.

Permanent Transfers between Cohorts

If a student wishes to request a permanent transfer to another cohort to complete the remainder of their Executive MBA Program, the student must submit a written petition to the local campus cohort director. Valid reasons for a permanent transfer are related to change of employment or relocation. The written petition should include a reason for the transfer and any other documentation in support of the request (e.g., copy of a job offer letter). Petitions should be made at least four weeks prior to the start of the quarter.

The probability of approving transfers diminishes the closer to the session date the request is made. Approval depends on capacity in the classroom, the reason for the request, faculty approval for final exam schedules, and other factors.

If approved, the student will be required to complete all course work for the class, including any preliminary assignments, for the new cohort. The student might have to return all class materials received from the original cohort, if already received.

Important note: Please refer to the Tuition section regarding any tuition changes for permanent transfers.