Faculty Grading Handbook
Prepared by the Office of the Registrar, November 11, 1997; revised February 16, 2007
Preface
The purpose of this document is to give faculty a general overview of policies and processes involved in grade reporting at Governors State University. It is hoped that by understanding the policies and processes, instructors will be aided in providing students with accurate information as well as timely grade reports. If questions arise concerning grading, faculty members are encouraged to contact the Registrar's Office.
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Class Lists
Faculty may view and print their own class lists using Faculty View, GSU's faculty information system. Students may add courses through the first week of the term and may drop with a full refund through the refund deadline which is the 10th day of the term for regularly scheduled classes. Names of students who have officially dropped will no longer appear on the class lists.
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Checking Class Lists
Following the refund deadline, the Registrar's Office will notify faculty to review their class lists for discrepancies. In addition, faculty are to note on the lists any students whose names appear, but have not been in attendance. Only class lists with discrepancies noted are to be sent to the Registrar's Office. A few weeks before the grade submission deadline, the Registrar's Office will send a second notice to give faculty a final opportunity to notify the office of discrepancies.
When faculty fail to notify the Registrar's Office of discrepancies, problems are created for processing grades. Students may be attending who were not eligible to register and should not have been allowed to attend. Students who are attending but not registered must be notified to contact the Registrar's Office immediately. Students who fail to drop courses are still considered registered and should be graded accordingly.
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Course Withdrawals
A course withdrawal is initiated by the student and officially terminates the student's registration for a specific course after the tenth class day of the term and before the withdrawal deadline published in the academic calendar. A student who fails to withdraw officially from a course may be assigned an "F" grade. Students who officially withdraw will have a "W" on their academic record. In addition, a "W" will appear on the class list. Instructors may not specify a grade for students who have officially withdrawn from the course.
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Grades
The letter grades and codes at GSU are defined below:
A = Superior performance
B = Above average performance
C = Average performance
D = Marginal performance
F = Failure
P = Pass
NC = No credit earned in course taken under the pass/no-credit grading option
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Incomplete Coursework
- Granting an "I" or "E" grade shall be within the following limits:
- Incomplete: An instructor may grant an incomplete to a student if, in the Judgment of the instructor, the reasons for the non-completion of the coursework are acceptable.
- The time allowed for completing unfinished coursework will be determined by the instructor but will not exceed two weeks before the end of the subsequent term.
- Extension of Incomplete:A student may petition the college in writing for an extension of time beyond the time allotted by the instructor for the completion of unfinished work.
- An extension on the basis of extenuating circumstances beynd the student's control and/or for valid academic reasons may be contracted with the instructor subject to the dean's approval.
- The extensions shall not exceed two weeks before the end of the subsequent term.
- To graduate, all grades of incomplete (I or E) must be removed by the date posted by the Registrar.
- After the deadline for submittig work passed, and incomplete (I) or an extending incomplete (E) wil become an "F" for graded courses and an "NC" (no credit) for pass/no credit courses.
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Administrative Codes
M = Missing Grade (No Grade Reported) Code indicates the instructor failed to submit grades by the grade submission deadline. This is an administrative code only and is used until the instructor posts the actual grade by the grade submission deadline. Courses assigned an "M" are not included in calculation of grade point averages, or academic standing.
R = Repeated Course - Replaces the lower grade for a repeated course with a grade of "R". Courses designated as repeated ("R") are excluded in subsequent calculations of grade point averages.
V = Audit - Student is enrolled as a "visitor" for no credit and no grade. A "V" is not convertible to a letter grade, nor included in the grade point average, nor printed on the official transcript. Auditors may not register before the beginning of the term. Auditing a course may or may not include class participation, depending on arrangements with the instructor; ordinarily students auditing courses are not permitted to take course examinations. Students may change from audit to credit, or vise versa during the last week of registration.
W = Withdrawal - Student initiated withdrawal within the official withdrawal deadline for the term.
X = Administrative Withdrawal - Institutionally-initiated withdrawal of a student due to illness, disciplinary reasons or other administrative reasons. Administrative withdrawals do not appear on the official transcript.
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Grade Reporting
Approximately ten to fifteen days before grades are due the Registrar's Office will notify faculty of the grade submission period and deadline. Grades are submitted electronically using Faculty View. Grade submission deadlines are published in the Academic Calendar and cannot be submitted after the deadline.
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Posting of Grades by Faculty
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of l974 (FERPA) prohibits the posting of grades by student name, ID number or social security number without the student's written permission. Instructors who choose to post grades may do so by using code words or randomly assigned numbers that only the instructor and individual student know.
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Processing Procedures
LATE SUBMISSIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTED. Students registered in courses where faculty miss the submission deadline will receive a grade of "M" on their grade reports. The explanation accompanying grade reports advises the student to contact the instructor.
After grades are processed by the Registrar's Office, faculty will be notified when the grade submission period will be reopened for those faculty who missed the deadline and for faculty who issued grades of incomplete ("I").
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Grade Changes
Instructors may initiate changes to grades on the student's record in the following instances:
- to replace an incomplete or extended incomplete with a final letter grade;
- to replace a previously missing grade with a final grade;
- to correct an erroneous grade.
- Changing Incomplete and Extended Incompletes
To change an incomplete, instructors need only to post the final grade on Faculty View. The final grade should be posted as soon as possible but no later than the grade submission deadline. Final grades not posted by the grade submission deadline will automatically convert to "F".
Extension of Incomplete--A student may submit an Extended Incomplete Request Form to request an extension of time beyond the time allotted by the instructor for the completion of unfinished work. An Extension of an incomplete on the basis of extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control and/or for valid academic reasons may be recommended by the instructor subject to the dean's approval. The extension shall not go beyond the twelfth week of the subsequent trimester. A grade of "E" is manually posted by the Registrar's Office upon submission of the approved Extended Incomplete Request Form by the dean's office by the grade submission deadline.
To be eligible for graduation, all grades of incomplete (I or E) must be removed by the graduation processing date.
After the grade submission deadline has passed, an incomplete or an extended incomplete will become an "F" for graded courses and an "NC" for pass/no credit courses.
- Changing Missing Grades
When instructors fail to submit grades by the deadline, the Registrar's Office assigns a grade of "M" and the names of these instructors are reported to the appropriate dean. Instructors are given another opportunity to submit grades when the grade submission period is reopened. Failure to submit grades will result in an automatic conversion of "M" grades to "F".
- Changing Erroneous Grades
Once a final grade (A,B,C,D,F,P,NC) has been recorded on the data base, additional work CANNOT be submitted to raise the grade. However, in the event that a recording error has been made, the erroneous grade may be corrected using an Academic Record Change Form. Only faculty members or collegial representatives may secure these forms in the Registrar's Office.
Instructors needing to make grade corrections must complete the form indicating the reason for the change, the previously assigned erroneous grade, and the correct grade. Instructors must sign the completed form and secure the approval of the division chair and dean. Forms are then submitted to the registrar who approves on behalf of the Provost. Original signatures are required. A designee may NOT approve a change to a student's academic record. Incomplete, unsigned or unapproved forms will be rejected by the registrar.
Grade corrections must be submitted on or before the end of block 2 of the term subsequent to that in which the erroneous grade was given.
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Grade Policy
At the completion of the work for a course, a letter grade will be determined by the instructor. The method(s) of evaluation shall be described in the course syllabus.
The following letter grades shall be used:
A = Superior performance
B = Above average performance
C = Average performance
D = Marginal performance
F = Failure
P = Pass
NC= No credit earned in a course taken under the pass/no credit grading option
Other codes may be used to identify the status of the student in the course.
W = Student initiated withdrawal
X = Administrative withdrawal
I = Incomplete
E = Extended incomplete
M = Grade missing at time of processing
R = Repeated course
V = A student may register as a "visitor" to audit a class. Audit registration requires instructor approval. All attendance and work is voluntary. The registration will not appear on the official transcript.
Degree programs may request to use the pass/no credit grading option for all students for a specific course if the giving of grades can be demonstrated as a problem for the learning environment. The request must be approved by a university-wide committee as designated by the governance system. These courses will not be included in the grade point average computation.
An undergraduate degree-seeking student may choose to take a graded course on a pass/no credit basis only if the course is an elective in the student's degree program. The maximum number of elective hours which may be taken on the pass/no credit basis is twelve (l2). A graduate student may not elect the pass/no credit option for regularly graded courses which are used to fulfill any degree requirements. Grades shall be given by the instructor for students selecting the pass/no credit option and permanently recorded by the Registrar's Office. Grades of A through D awarded by the instructor will be automatically converted to pass (P) for students who selected the pass/no credit option when registering. The student's transcript will reflect a "P". However, the grade will be available if the student transfers to another degree program in which a grade is required.
The completion of coursework shall be within the following limits:
Incomplete--Upon written request by a student, an instructor may assign a grade of incomplete (I) provided that reasons for the noncompletion of the coursework are acceptable to the instructor. The time allowed for completing unfinished coursework will be determined by the instructor but will not go beyond the twelfth week of the subsequent term.
Extension of Incomplete--A student may petition the instructor in writing for an extension of time beyond the time allotted by the instructor for the completion of unfinished work. An extension on the basis of extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control and/or for valid academic reasons may be recommended by the instructor subject to the dean's approval. The extension shall not go beyond the twelfth week of the subsequent term.
To be eligible for graduation, all grades of incomplete (I or E) must be removed by the graduation processing date.
After the deadline for submitting work has passed, an incomplete or an extended incomplete will become an "F" for graded courses and an "NC" for pass/no credit courses.
Once a grade has been recorded on the student data base, additional work cannot be submitted to raise the grade. Furthermore, once a grade has been recorded by the registrar, corrections may be made only as a result of either:
- a formal grievance proceeding completed within the timelines set forth in the university grievance procedures or;
- a grade correction approved by the faculty member, chairperson, dean and provost on or before the end of block 2 of the term subsequent to that in which the erroneous grade was given.
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*(The above policy statement has been abbreviated for the purpose of this handbook).
For additional information, contact Nick Battaglia, Office of the Registrar.
