Academic rigor has a strong influence on the school's culture. The first semester, also known as the core, is often considered the most difficult semester by design. Courses are graded using letter grades and on the standard five-point MIT scale. In its graduate programs, anything less than a 4.0 ('B') average will result in the student not being allowed to graduate. Unlike most business schools, MIT Sloan does not offer any academic honors at graduation, consistent with the practice throughout all of MIT. The philosophy behind this is that the 'honor' is in being an MIT graduate.