Policy 304.1

THE UNIVERSITY SENATE OF MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

COURSE GRADES

Senate Policy 304.1

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 semester often depends on grades received in the preceding semester.

2) The economical and efficient operation of the Registrar's Office is impaired when work for a new semester is interrupted to post late grades from the preceding semester.

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

The following procedures shall normally be followed by instructors:

1) At the end of each semester, 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 would be extremely helpful if they were delivered as soon as possible after the scheduled course final so that they can be processed immediately. The Registrar's Office requests that instructors try to turn their grades in within 48 hours of the 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 an instructor, because of illness or other unavoidable absence, is unable to meet this deadline, the department chair (or school dean/director) 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 INSTRUCTOR 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 an instructor 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/director) is required on change-of-grade forms.

3) Change-of-grade forms will also be used for changing a grade from Incomplete (I), Condition (X), or Progress (P) to a final grade.

Development of Proposal 25-94:

26 Jan 1994: Senate President asks the Instructional Policy Committee to review the Faculty Handbook section titled Course Grades.
19 Apr 1994: Instructional Policy Committee transmits a revision of the section to Senate officers.
25 Apr 1994: Senate officers assign proposal number 25-94 to policy. The background and history of the proposal are added.
27 Apr 1994: Proposal 25-94 Course Grades is sent to senators for consideration on the Senate floor.

11 May 1994: Proposal 25-94 is approved by the Senate.

19 May 1994: Proposal 25-94 is transmitted to the administration.

06 Feb 2008: Proposal 13-08 "Revision to Reflect Conversion from Quarters to Semesters"
13 Feb 2008: Proposal 13-08 Adopted by Senate
16 Feb 2008: Proposal 13-08 Approved by Administration