University of Guelph 1998-99 Undergraduate Calendar

VIII--Undergraduate Degree Regulations and Procedures


Grades

Grading System

Two-semester courses and double-weighted courses constitute two course attempts and will appear as such on the student academic record. These courses are indivisible and the same grade will apply for each attempt.

A refined grading system was approved by Senate on May 21, 1991 effective Spring 1992 as follows:

A+ 90-100%
A 85-89
A- 80-84
B+ 77-79
B 73-76
B- 70-72
C+ 67-69
C 63-66
C- 60-62
D+ 57-59
D 53-56
D- 50-52
F 0-49

Courses taken on exchange are graded using the Outstanding /Pass /Fail alternate grading system (refer to Exchanges, Section V-- Special Study Opportunities; Exchanges). In addition, selected University of Guelph courses, approved by the Board of Undergraduate Studies, will use this alternate grading system.

Alternate Grading System

OP Outstanding (Pass)
P Pass
F Fail

Other Grade Notations

AUD Audit
CRD Credit
DEF Deferred Privilege
INC Incomplete
INP In Progress
MNR Mark Not Received
SUP Supplemental Privilege
WF Withdrawn with Failure
WNP Withdrawn No Penalty

Grading Procedures

On May 1, 1976, the University Senate endorsed the following resolutions:

Resolution 1

That the assignment of grades at the University of Guelph be based on clearly defined standards, which are to be published in the Undergraduate Calendar for the benefit of faculty and students and that the definitions for each of the numerical grade range (letter grades) be as follows:

80 - 100 (A) Excellent. An outstanding performance in which the student demonstrates a superior grasp of the subject matter, and an ability to go beyond the given material in a critical and constructive manner. The student demonstrates a high degree of creative and/or logical thinking, a superior ability to organize, to analyze, and to integrate ideas, and a thorough familiarity with the appropriate literature and techniques.

70 - 79 (B) Good. A more than adequate performance in which the student demonstrates a thorough grasp of the subject matter, and an ability to organize and examine the material in a critical and constructive manner. The student demonstrates a good understanding of the relevant issues and a familiarity with the appropriate literature and techniques.

60 - 69 (C) Acceptable. An adequate performance in which the student demonstrates a generally adequate grasp of the subject matter and a moderate ability to examine the material in a critical and constructive manner. The student displays an adequate understanding of the relevant issues, and a general familiarity with the appropriate literature and techniques.

50 - 59 (D) Minimally Acceptable. A barely adequate performance in which the student demonstrates a familiarity with the subject matter, but whose attempts to examine the material in a critical and constructive manner are only partially successful. The student displays some understanding of the relevant issues, and some familiarity with the appropriate literature and techniques.

0 - 49 (F) Fail. An inadequate performance.

Resolution 2

That instructors are not to use evaluation techniques that take into account merely the number of books read, physical attendance, or other similar criteria while tabulating the final grade. (i.e. no portion of a final grade is to be based on such techniques).

Resolution 3

That instructors are not to use predetermined, arbitrary distributions in the assignment of grades in individual courses.

Resolution 4

That instructors must provide students, during the first week of the semester, with written course outlines which state clearly the course requirements and the methods of evaluation.

Resolution 5

That the methods of evaluation are not to be changed after the first week of the semester without the unanimous consent of the students in attendance at a scheduled class. Notice of proposed change and of the class at which consent is to be sought, must be given at a previous scheduled class. In a case where making a change is unavoidable but unanimous consent of the students has not been obtained to a proposed change, the instructor must receive the approval of the chair of the department before making the change.

Resolution 6

That all term tests, assignments, laboratory reports, etc., should be returned to, or discussed with students, without undue delay, and in any case, by the final class day.

Resolution 7

That departments must coordinate multiple section courses in terms of course content, evaluation procedures and final grades.

Department also refers to schools and to colleges (where multiple section courses are offered by, or coordinated by the Office of a College Dean).

Resolution 8

That each department must keep under continual review its grading procedures and matters that relate to academic standards to make sure the University's policies are being applied.

Resolution 9

That normally all courses at the 100 and 200 levels shall have final examinations and that exceptions require the approval of the Board of Undergraduate Studies.

To specify clearly the administrative responsibility of chairs with respect to the methods of evaluation, the setting of examinations and the determining of grades in courses in their departments. The Board of Undergraduate Studies has by formal resolution undertaken to do as follows:

Resolution 10

Senate resolved on June 21, 1977 that in determining grades for written assignments the instructor should take into consideration the student's ability to use correctly and effectively the language appropriate to the assignment.

Resolution 11

Senate resolved on March 21, 1978 that the chair should review, prior to the commencement of classes, the manner in which a faculty member intends to conduct a course and to determine final grades. If the chair disagrees with the faculty member's intention or subsequently with the implementation of the stated intentions, the chair will discuss his/her concerns with the faculty member. If agreement cannot be reached, the matter will be referred to an appropriate department committee which will advise the chair in reaching his/her decision. The advice may include a recommendation on examination procedures.

Submission of Final Grades

General Information

Undergraduate Program Services, Office of Registrarial Services, distributes the "Grade Report" forms to the departments one week prior to the examinations period for the semester. The grade reports contain an up-to-date list of students registered in each course and specify the deadline date for submission of grades to Undergraduate Program Services, Office of Registrarial Services.

Accompanying the final grade reports are a number of copies of the "Instructor's Recommendation" form.

Instructor's Responsibilities

The instructor (department) is to retain all final examination papers and term assessments not returned to students for a period of one semester. The "Grade Report" form distributed by Undergraduate Program Services, Office of Registrarial Services, will carry the due date for grades for each course. The due dates are established in accordance with the regulations of the Senate.

Grades must be submitted to Undergraduate Program Services by the deadline stated on the Grade Report. The early submission of grades will assist in their processing. Grades that are not received prior to the printing of student grade reports are reported as "MNR" (mark not received).

The "Grade Report" form lists all officially registered students in a class. The department must explain any changes to the list, e.g., in the case of:

  1. A student whose name is not on the list, but who has been attending class.
  2. A student whose name appears on the list, but for whom the instructor has no record.

Instructors must not grant an extension of time to any student beyond the final date for submission of grades. Instructors should report students who do not satisfy course requirements by that date on an "Instructor's Recommendation" form.

Instructor's Recommendation Form

Instructors should only submit grades for students who have completed their final work for a course. If a student does not complete a final examination or final assignment, the instructor must enter "INC" (incomplete) on the "Grade Report" form and complete an "Instructor's Recommendation" form for the student. The "Instructor's Recommendation" form is available from the chair of the department. Departments must submit the "Instructor's Recommendation" form(s) along with the "Grade Report" form to Undergraduate Program Services, Office of Registrarial Services. The Academic Review Sub-Committee will contact the faculty and/or department chairs at the time of meetings if this procedure is not followed. The instructor's recommendations assist the members of the Academic Review Sub-Committee in making their decision. The instructor must complete all of the sections of the form for each student reported.

Student's Responsibilities

Students must have all final assignments completed and submitted to instructors by the deadline dates indicated in the course outline. Instructors cannot grant extensions beyond the deadline for submission of grades. Students who are unable to satisfy the submission deadlines established by the instructor and who wish special consideration for medical, psychological or compassionate reasons should request academic consideration (refer to Academic Consideration and Appeals).

Department Chair's Responsibilities

The chair of the department signs student grades in the designated area on the "Grade Report" form. The department chair's signature indicates that he/she believes that the grades for that course adhere to the academic regulations of Senate.

If the chair has reason to believe that the academic regulations of Senate have not been adhered to, he/she will consult with the faculty member and, if necessary, the college dean. If the chair, after such consultation, still believes that the academic regulations of Senate have not been adhered to, he/she must submit the grades without approval through the college dean to the Provost and Vice-President (Academic). The grades must be accompanied by a complete report. The Provost and Vice-President (Academic) will act to ensure that the academic regulations of Senate are adhered to.

The department chair should be available for consultation during the meetings of the Academic Review Sub-Committees.

The Board of Undergraduate Studies strongly encourages each chair, at his/her discretion, to conduct a periodic review of the methods of assessment, class averages, distribution of grades and failure rates in courses offered by that department to ensure that grade abuse does not occur (refer to Final Grades).

Registrar's Responsibilities

Undergraduate Program Services records the examination results; notifies students of their grades; notifies program counsellors of incomplete grades; and records deferred privilege decisions (refer to Deferred Privileges).

Program Counsellor's Responsibilities

The program counsellor reviews the list of "INC" (incomplete) courses, matching medical documentation, requests for academic consideration, and counselling files (refer to Deferred Privileges). The program counsellor in conjunction with the Academic Review Sub-Committee assigns deferred privileges where appropriate and forwards decisions to Undergraduate Program Service, Office of Registrarial Services.

Release of Final Grades

University grades are official on the day that they are mailed to students (refer to Section III - Schedule of Dates). It is the responsibility of the Office of Registrarial Services to release the grades to the student and to record the grades on the student's official University transcript.

All grade reports are released by mail. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that correct address information is reported to Undergraduate Program Services, Office of Registrarial Services so that the grade report is released to the desired address. Duplicate copies are not released until the first day of classes of the subsequent semester. Students who require confirmation before that date may request an official transcript upon payment of the transcript fee. Changes of address for purposes of grade release must be reported to Undergraduate Program Services, Office of Registrarial Services, prior to the last scheduled day for examinations for that semester.

Grade reports for students who have been advised by Student Financial Services, Office of Registrarial Services, that they are on academic sanction will not be released by Undergraduate Program Services until notification/authorization is received indicating that the account has been cleared to the satisfaction of Student Financial Services. To receive grades, students must clear their sanction by the last day of classes.

Grade reports for graduating students not intending to return in the next semester will be forwarded to the graduation address as reported to and maintained by the Convocation Clerk, Undergraduate Program Services.

Students who are required to withdraw will be notified at their mailing address and at their campus PO box.

Fall and Winter grades for students who have indicated an intention to return in the following semester are sent to the campus PO box otherwise the grades will be sent to the mailing address.

Spring grades are sent to the mailing address.

Summer Session I grades are released approximately two weeks after the conclusion of examinations. The grades and the continuation of study status are considered to be unofficial until the end of the Spring Semester. An official and final grade report will be mailed at that time.

Grade Reassessment

Grade re-assessment is the process of reviewing the calculation of grades, or the methods and criteria used to establish final grades for a student in a course or misapplication of an academic regulation. The outcome of a grade re-assessment may be a grade increase, a grade decrease, or no change to the grade. The detection of errors or omissions in the calculation of final grades will result in the assignment of a revised grade. Students normally initiate grade re-assessments, but instructors may initiate this process. However, instructors must NOT use the grade re-assessment process to:

Calculation Errors or Omissions

Students who believe there have been errors or omissions in the calculation of their final grade for a course may request a grade reassessment. They must submit a request in writing to the chair of the department offering the course no later than the 10th class day of the succeeding semester. The request must pertain to work completed during the semester and must contain a statement of the specific reasons why the grade does not adequately reflect academic performance in the course. Students must also submit relevant assignments or tests that have been returned to them.

The chair shall forward the student's request to the instructor and the instructor shall respond to the chair within five class days. The instructor has the responsibility of reviewing the appropriateness of the assigned grade in relation to the student's work, and of ensuring that the calculation and totalling of marks is accurate. The instructor must reply to the chair, in writing, giving assurance that the review is complete.

Where there is a change in the grade, the chair forwards a "Grade Reassessment" form to the dean. Upon approving the grade change, the dean signs the form and forwards it to Undergraduate Program Services, Office of Registrarial Services. The Assistant Director will advise the student in writing of the change of grade. If there is no change to the grade, it is the chair's responsibility to inform the student in writing.

Methods or Criteria Used in Establishing Final Grades

The course outline distributed to the class at the beginning of the semester defines the methods and criteria used in establishing final grades for a course. The methods and criteria must conform to the grading procedures established by Senate and be continually reviewed by the department (see Final Grades).

Students who believe that the methods or criteria used by an instructor in determining a final grade have been unfair, unreasonable or inconsistent with the course outline, should request the chair of the department offering the course to review the methods or criteria used. They should submit the request in writing by the 20th day of the subsequent semester and should state the reasons for the request.

The chair shall make an effort to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of both parties as soon as possible without referring the matter to a third party or to a department committee.

If both parties are able to come to an agreement, the chair shall prepare a statement of the agreement to be signed by both parties. If the agreement results in a change to the grade of the student, the chair shall send a copy of the statement to the dean who shall take the appropriate action and inform Undergraduate Program Services, Office of Registrarial Services.

If at any time the chair decides that he/she cannot resolve the matter informally, he/she will terminate all efforts at reconciliation and notify both the student and the instructor of this decision. The chair will advise the student to make an appeal to the Senate Committee on Student Petitions. The student must appeal to the committee within 10 days of being advised of the termination of the chair's efforts. Both the instructor and the chair are free to discuss the student's work with the student or another instructor in the department, but are not obliged to do so.

Misapplication of an Academic Regulation or Procedure

Academic regulations and procedures pertaining to grades can be found in the subsection of the "Grades" section entitled "Grading Procedures". Students who believe that the misapplication of an academic regulation or procedure has affected their final grade in a course should discuss their concern with the instructor. If the concern is not resolved to their satisfaction they may submit a complaint in writing to the chair of the department offering the course.

If the chair has reason to believe that the instructor has not adhered to the grading procedures established by Senate (see Final Grades) or other academic regulations of Senate, the chair should consult with the faculty member and, if necessary, the college dean. Ultimately, the Provost and Vice President (Academic) may have to take the necessary action to ensure compliance with the academic regulations of Senate.


1998-99 Undergraduate Calendar
VIII--Undergraduate Degree Regulations and Procedures

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Last revised: March 16 1998.