Grading Policies and Procedures
Assigning Grades
Follow these steps to assign grades:
- Log into our Student Information System (SIS).
- From your Faculty/Advisor home page, on the left side in the “My Classes” area, click to expand the appropriate class.
- Click the A+ Icon (grade roster) for the class. You will see the grade roster page. Note for faculty with large classes of hundreds of students: SIS can take two or more minutes to respond to a roster or grade list request.
- Next to the appropriate student, select the desired grade from the roster grade drop-down menu. Repeat for any additional students.
- Click “Submit Grades.” The grade will now appear in the roster grade column (without the drop-down).
- Submitted grades will be rolled up to official grades every night.
- Students can’t see grades until they become official.
- For classes with multiple faculty members, you will only see your students.
- More detailed instructions with pictures.
- If an error was made in submitting grades or an incomplete grade needs to be changed after the incomplete work has been submitted and graded, faculty can change the grade directly in SIS. Detailed instructions to update an official grade can be found on the SIS Faculty help page.
Grades
The standing of the student in each subject is expressed by one of the following letters.
- A. Superior work.
- B. Meritorious work.
- C. Work without marked merit or defect.
- COM, I. Complete, incomplete. Instructors should assign these grades to auditors taking continuing education classes (faculty member must submit to the registrar’s office a completed incomplete form which can be found in SIS).
- CR, NC. Credit, no credit. Instructors should assign these grades to SMFA undergraduate students taking studio art courses. A grade of NC is not acceptable for degree credit.
- D. Unsatisfactory work but allowable for credit, subject to the restrictions specified under the requirements for graduation. Some departments disallow credit toward the concentration requirement.
- EP. Exceptional Pass (EP), established in and for the spring 2020, fall 2020, and spring 2021 semesters only, will confer credit but no grade points for GPA calculation and will fulfill all degree requirements, including those for concentration or major.
- P. Passing work (D- or better) for courses taken under the pass-fail option, and for selected courses offered only pass-fail by departments. Grade point average is not affected. Students may select this option without the faculty member’s knowledge.
- PI. Permanent Incomplete. Do not assign this grade. All incomplete grades will turn into permanent incompletes six weeks into the following semester.
- F. Failure; no credit is received. A grade of F is included in the grade point average.
- NG. No grade since the instructor has no current knowledge of the student and no basis for assessing work not submitted.
- S, U. Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory. Instructors should assign these grades to SMFA graduate students taking studio art courses. A grade of "U" is not acceptable for degree credit.
- Y. Year-long course (applicable for graduate level courses only).
In computing a grade average, each course grade of A counts as 4.00; B, 3.00; C, 2.00; D, 1.00.
Grading Policy for Extraordinary Grades
I (Incomplete)
An indication by the instructor that more time will be allowed to complete the requirements for the course. An incomplete may be awarded only if the student has done substantial work in the course, the instructor judges the reasons for granting incomplete status to be valid, and the instructor determines that the work can be completed by the due date. Instructors are encouraged to consult with a student’s Advising Dean prior to awardingan incomplete.
If an Incomplete is granted, work in the course must be completed six weeks after the last day of finals in the semester; students in GSAS will have unitl 6 weeks into the subsequent term (fall or spring) to complete outstanding work. The instructor may set an earlier deadline or (with approval from the Dean of Undergraduate Education of the school where the student is enrolled) a later one, and the student must abide by that deadline.
The instructor must complete an incomplete form to have the incomplete grade awarded in SIS. The instructor is responsible for specifying on the incomplete form the reason for the incomplete grade, the conditions that must be satisfied for the awardingof a grade, and the grade the student will earn if the student does not complete the missing work by the deadline; the instructor should calculate the grade to reflect the impact of the missing work on overall course grade – even if F. The deadline for filing the incomplete form will be the same as the deadline by which faculty must post grades for the term the incomplete is awarded. If the form is not signed by both the faculty member and the student by the grading deadline, then the student will receive the default grade specified on the form — there will be no incomplete. A copy of this form will be shared with the student’s Advising Dean or DGS at the time the student completes the form.
A grade should be updated in SIS two weeks after the work is received by the instructor. If the student does not complete the missing work by the deadline, the instructor should update the incomplete in SIS to the default grade recorded on the incomplete form. If a student does not submit the work by the deadline, faculty should consult with the student’s undergraduate advising dean (or Director of Graduate Studies) right away to have a fuller picture of the student’s overall academic situation.
The Incomplete form may be found on the faculty SIS homepage under “Faculty Forms”. The instructor is responsible for specifying on the form the deadline for submission of work and the conditions that the student must satisfy to receive a grade. A copy of this form will be sent to the student and their Advising Dean.
Grades of Incomplete and changes from an Incomplete to a letter grade may be completed online via SIS. Detailed instructions for online grade changes may be found on the SIS documentation site.
Grade Changes
Submitted grades are final and not subject to negotiation. Exceptions should be limited to correcting clerical and calculation errors. Following a conversation with the course instructor, students who believe that there is an error with their grade may appeal to the department chair or program director and, if necessary, subsequently to a dean of the faculty. Any request for a change in a course grade must be made to the course instructor no later than six weeks into the following semester.
Faculty who wish to change a student’s grade may now do so online via SIS. Paper change of grade forms will no longer be accepted. Detailed instructions for online grade changes may be found on the SIS documentation site.
SMFA Policies
Certain grading policies and procedures are different for the SMFA at Tufts.