Summer Temporary Grading Policy - Changes to Undergrad Policy and Letter Grade Election

The following changes were announced on July 21, 2020 and rescinded on July 22, 2020. Refer to the Summer 2020 Undergraduate Grading Policy or the Summer 2020 Graduate Grading Policy for current information.

Rescinded July 22, 2020

Posted July 21, 2020

Colleagues,

     We have news of an important change to the temporary grading policy for undergraduate students this summer.  In response to concerns about the deadline for the election of the letter grade, Academic Affairs, faculty leadership, and the Registrar’s Office have been in consultation.  We have reviewed what is possible considering the schedule for summer and the varying end dates for summer courses, and we have changed the deadline for undergraduate students to elect the letter grade at the end of the term.  For courses with final grades calculated before Tuesday, August 25th, it is expected that faculty will allow at least 24 hours for students to consider their final grade and make an election before reporting grades.  End of quarter deadlines are as follows - final grades must be completed and shared with each student by noon, August 25th, and students will have until the end of the day on Tuesday, August 25th to request that their faculty member assign the letter grade.  

Grading Submission Timeline:

  • Before noon on August 25th—faculty will make final grades available for each student to see (using normal mechanisms that they use for communicating grades to students through the term, e.g. Canvas).  Note: grades may be posted through the grading module in Web4U at any time, but will not be revealed to the student,
    • Students are given at least 24 hours to opt for the letter grade, or until midnight on August 25th if grades are not completed prior to August 25th
    • Faculty enter (or edit) final grades in Banner as described below (Grading Submission Guidelines)

Deadlines:

  • Tuesday, August 25th at noon—deadline for faculty to complete grading and notifying students of their final grade
  • Tuesday, August 25th at midnight—deadline for undergraduate students to elect letter grade (possibly through the kind of Canvas quiz used in spring term).  The deadline for graduate students is unchanged from that announced previously.  (See below)
  • Wednesday, August 26th at noon—deadline for faculty to go to Web4U and make updates to letter grades for students who make that election
  • Wednesday, August 26th at 1:00pm—all grades roll and post to student’s academic records. Grade changes can not be made through Banner after this time

 

Reminder:

The election of the letter grade is not permitted for courses graded on the S/U grading scale.   

Grading Submission Guidelines 

Submitting grades for undergraduate courses.

Faculty will access Web4U where they normally enter grades at the end of term.  A drop down menu will be available for each student with options A,B,C,D,EP*,NP,K and the standard + and –  for letter grades.  According to the temporary grading policy for summer 2020, all grades of D+ and above will receive an EP* unless a student requests a letter grade, or unless a different passing grade was specified in the course syllabus at the beginning of the quarter. Faculty will post EP/NP for each student, or—for any student electing the letter grade—the faculty member will post the letter grade. 

Students will make their final election as to whether they want to be assigned the letter grade no later than August 25th. Many faculty are using the Canvas quiz template that was made available by Faculty Senate and ATUS to collect that information.   

Faculty teaching a class on the S/U grading policy will not see any changes to their practices, and Fairhaven’s grading practices will remain unchanged.  

Submitting grades for graduate courses.

Faculty will access Web4U where they normally enter grades at the end of the term.  A drop down menu will be available for each student with options A,B,C,D,F,EP*,NP,K and the standard + and – for letter grades.  According to the temporary grading policy for graduate courses in the summer 2020, all grades will be assigned under the letter grade scale unless a student requests a P/NP.  If a student requests a P/NP, the minimum grade for an EP* (the P in the temporary grading policy) is a C- unless a higher passing grade was specified in the course syllabus. Faculty will post the letter grade for each student, or—for any student electing the P/NP grade—the faculty member will post the EP/NP. 

Graduate students will make their final election as to whether they want to be assigned the EP/NP grade prior to the last week of the term (July 24 for the six-week term and August 14 for the nine-week term).  Many faculty are using a version of the Canvas quiz template that was made available by Faculty Senate and ATUS to collect that information.  

*EP (Pass – Exceptional Circumstance) is a construct determined to be necessary during our programming around the temporary grading policy.  It is to be used as the P grade in grade submission, in order to facilitate the appropriate qualification of the P grade in Banner and DegreeWorks during the period of the temporary grading policy.  The Registrar’s Office has posted information online about the new EP grade.