Deficiency Grades
At the mid-term faculty are again requested to verify student attendance using the same parameters as at the opening of semester. Deficiency grades (D+, D, F and U) are collected on-line for undergraduate students. Faculty will be notified of the deadline for submission of deficiency grades and when access to WebAdvisor grading forms will open.
Faculty members are encouraged to record a deficiency grade for any undergraduate student who has discontinued attendance but failed to officially withdraw from the course. This will serve to advise the student of the academic consequences which will result from walking away from the class.
Specific Grading Policies
1. Withdrawals
F* -Student stopped attending but never officially withdrew from course, thereby incurring a failing grade. (Exception: a letter grade may be assigned if the student has already earned it.)
W - A "W" grade will automatically be assigned to students who drop a course during the time that a withdrawn grade is required. Faculty may alter that grade to "WP" or "WF" at their discretion. Faculty who wish to exercise the option to assign a "WP" or "WF" should so notify the Registrar's Office.
2. Incompletes
A student who has done satisfactory work in a course but has not completed the course requirements because of illness or some other emergency situation may be given the standing "I." An incomplete must be resolved within one month after the opening of the following semester. If the student fails to complete the required work within the time allotted, the course instructor will change the "I" to an appropriate grade. If the course instructor fails to do this, the Registrar will change the grade. In most cases, the temporary "I" will become a permanent "F*." It is the student's responsibility both to apply for "I" standing and to make satisfactory arrangements with the instructor for completion of course requirements. Thus, an "Incomplete" may not be assigned unless a student applies for this status and is eligible. The student may download the Request for Incomplete Form or obtain one at Room 90, Liberal Arts Center to be presented to the Instructor for signature. This form is assurance that the student is aware of University policy and may not subsequently shift the burden of responsibility for the "I" and its resolution to the instructor. The form should be completed by the Instructor and returned to the Academic Records Office. Note that the form includes the grade to which the Registrar should make the change should the student complete no additional work.
Faculty make grade changes from "I" to a permanent grade by completing a Change of Grade Form. The form must carry the signature of the instructor and date. The course instructor's grade change statement becomes a permanent record. These forms may be completed in person at the Office of Academic Records, submitted by fax, or scanned and submitted by email.
Approval for extension of "I" grades beyond the time allowed must be put in writing by the appropriate academic dean and submitted to the Registrar. The extension is not given beyond the end of the semester in which the "I" was to be resolved. It is the student's responsibility to seek this extension with the written consent of the course instructor. After an "Incomplete" has been changed to a failing grade, a student must retake the course concerned to obtain credit.
3. "X" grades
The "X" indicates that credit for the session's work in a course is withheld pending completion of course requirements. Unlike an "I," the "X" is initiated by the faculty member or in certain circumstances the Registrar. The student will be given an opportunity to complete the final examination or project provided there is a valid reason for the delay. Lack of academic effort does not constitute a valid reason. The "X" grade must be resolved in the same manner as an "I."
4. Grade changes
All grades are permanent grades (except "I" or "X"). Course Instructors should not make promises or in any way communicate to students the possibility that these grades may be subsequently raised on the basis of additional work received from the student.
A student's final grade, once issued, may not subsequently be changed by the instructor unless there has been an error in calculation or reporting of the grade. In such cases, the instructor must sign a Change of Grade Form indicating that an error was made. Any changes made by the faculty member must be made within 90 days of the end of the semester for which the grade was assigned, or in the case of resolution of an "I" ("Incomplete") grade, within 90 days of the filing of the grade.
Grade changes of any kind may not be submitted using on-line grading. All grade changes must be submitted in writing with the signature of the course instructor. Forms are available from the Academic Records/Registrar's Office.
