3.2.5 Course Grades

Final grades are the basis for admission to advanced courses, computation of grade point averages, the determination of academic honors or probation, scholarship status, etc. They are of fundamental importance to each student. Consequently, grade records must be maintained with meticulous accuracy and promptness.

For two important reasons it is essential that all final grades be delivered to the Registrar's Office by the specified final deadline:

1. Students' schedules and financial aid for the coming quarter often depend on grades received in the preceding quarter.
2. The economical and efficient operation of the Registrar's Office is impaired when work for a new quarter is interrupted to post late grades from the preceding quarter.

Details of grades and scheduling are given in the University Catalogs.

The following procedures shall normally be followed by faculty members:

1. At the end of each quarter, the person in charge of each course or section will enter final grades on the forms provided for this purpose, sign the forms, and deliver them to the Registrar's Office by the specified final deadline. (It is extremely helpful if they are delivered as soon as possible after the scheduled course final so that they can be processed immediately. The Registrar's Office requests that faculty members turn their grades in within 48 hours of their scheduled finals. A large volume in the last two days before the deadline negatively impacts the ability of the Registrar's Office to process the grades in a timely manner.) If a faculty member, because of illness or other unavoidable absence, is unable to meet this deadline, the department chair (or school dean) should arrange for assistance so that final grades can be delivered on time.
2. When a final grade (i.e., a grade other than incomplete (I), conditional (X), or progress (P)) has been delivered to the Registrar's Office, it becomes a part of the official records of the University, and no one other than the faculty member is authorized to change it. Normally, this is only done if there was an identifiable error in reporting the final grade (e.g., this could be due to an error in computing the grade, missing assignments that were discovered, etc.). Signed and dated corrections are made on change-of-grade forms which are obtained from the Registrar's Office after a faculty member has called them to report the need for the form and the change which is needed. The normal basis for such a correction should be a clearly identified error in the originally reported grade. (However, there is a place on the change-of-grade form to indicate that a clearly identified error was made in the originally reported grade. If that is not checked, a record of the original grade will appear on a student's transcript along with the changed grade.) The signature of the department chair (or school dean) is required on change-of-grade forms.
3. Change-of-grade forms will also be used for changing a grade from incomplete (I), conditional (X), or progress (P) to a final grade. (Senate Proposal 25-94)

The grades awarded by the University are:

S and E grades are reserved to indicate a student's performance when a student has elected to enroll in a course under the Pass-Fail option.

A course taken as an audit may be taken at a later date for credit subject to the approval of the student's major department. Students auditing courses will be charged the same tuition as if taken for credit. Students have six weeks from the start of instruction to change a course to an audit status. (Board of Control Policy 17.2.4)