Semester Grades--Fall 2012

Deadline for Submitting Grades
Turning in Grades
Grade Request Forms
Acceptable Grades
Incompletes
Grading an Independent Study
Failure Forms and Comment Cards
Grades Available in Bearings
Grade Changes
Posting Grades in a Public Place

Deadline for Submitting Grades:

Wednesday, 2 January 2013, 5:00pm: All grades are due in the Office of the Registrar.

Turning in Grades:

The best way to submit your grades is to deliver them in person. (This ensures we receive them in time, and we can ask you any questions we have on the spot.)

Please note: The Office of the Registrar will be closed December 22 through January 1. Please do not place any items under our door during this time. You may turn in your grades in person before 5pm on Friday, December 21 or on January 2, or you may fax them to us at (207) 725-3338.

If you choose to fax your grades after Friday, December 21, please send our office an email at registrar@bowdoin.edu so we may confirm with you (on January 2) that we have received your fax. Please also make sure to include your contact information for January 2, so we may contact you if we have questions.

Please do not email us your grades; fax them instead. Please do not send your grades by mail--neither through the postal service nor through campus mail.

Grade Request Forms:

Grade request forms are delivered to each faculty member at department offices. Circle the correct grade to the right of each student's name. Please check carefully to ensure you have circled a grade for every student on each form, and remember to sign your grade sheets before submitting them. For a team-taught course, we only need to receive one grade sheet.

Acceptable Grades are:

A the student has mastered the material of the course and has demonstrated exceptional critical skills and originality;
B the student has demonstrated a thorough and above average understanding of the material of the course;
C the student has demonstrated a thorough and satisfactory understanding of the material of the course;
D the student has demonstrated a marginally satisfactory understanding of the basic material of the course;
F the student has not demonstrated a satisfactory understanding of the basic material of the course.1

1 Bowdoin College 2012-2013 Catalogue, page 24

Plus (+) or minus (-) modifiers may be added to B and C grades; only the minus (-) modifier may be added to the A grade. Students taking courses on a Credit/D/Fail basis have the grades CR, D, and F next to their names. A grade of CR (credit), D, or F (fail) should be submitted for these students. A student must have earned a C- or higher to be given a CR grade. A Failure Form must be submitted to explain each grade of F. Students who dropped a course after the deadline have received a W (withdrew).

Each student on your grade sheet must be given one of the above grades no later than the deadline for submitting grades. From the College Catalogue: "All final academic work, including final examinations, final papers, final lab reports, and final projects, is due at or before 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the final examination period; although instructors may set earlier deadlines, they may not set later deadlines." An INC (incomplete) grade may be given if an Incomplete Agreement Form has been signed (see next section). Instructors may only give a grade of NG (no grade) if instructed to do so by the office of the Dean of Student Affairs. If no grade is recorded on the grade form and an Incomplete Agreement Form has not been received in the Office of the Registrar by the grade submission deadline, a grade of F will be recorded.

Incompletes:

An INC (incomplete) grade will only be recorded if we have received a signed copy of the Incomplete Agreement Form. This agreement is made and signed by the student, the instructor, and the Dean of Student Affairs.

Students must initiate their request for an incomplete on or before the final class day of the semester (7 December 2012). Students must meet with a dean to receive an Incomplete Agreement Form. The agreement includes a date by which all unfinished work must be submitted. According to College policy, this will ordinarily be no later than the end of the second week of classes of the following semester--in this case, 1 February 2013. If an incomplete form has not been received in the Office of the Registrar by the grade submission deadline (and no grade was submitted on the grade form), a grade of F will be recorded.

Extensions of the deadline by which all work must be submitted may only be granted by the Dean of Student Affairs in consultation with the instructor. If an extension is granted, the agreement form must be amended and redistributed. Therefore, if a student asks for additional time to complete course work, please remember to direct him/her to consult a dean about an extension.

Grading an Independent Study:

For an independent study or honors course that will not continue past this semester, assign a letter grade for this semester's work and assign a permanent grade (on the separate form provided) for any previous semester of work for which an S grade was awarded. An independent study may not be taken on a Credit/D/Fail basis. For an independent study or honors course that will continue into another semester, instructors may choose to submit a grade of S (satisfactory) in place of a regular grade. Permanent grades are then submitted at the end of the final semester of work on the independent study.

Failure Forms and Comment Cards:

A Failure Form explaining a student's lack of achievement must be submitted for each grade of F. Use only Failure Forms, not Comment Cards, to explain failing grades. Instructors may complete Comment Cards for other students who, along with their academic advisors, might find the evaluation useful.

Grades Available in Bearings:

Students will be able to view their grades in Bearings by Saturday, 5 January 2013.

Grade Changes:

With the exception of correcting clerical errors, approval of the Recording Committee is required to change a recorded grade. In the case of a clerical error, the instructor should submit the change in writing directly to the Office of the Registrar. No special form is required. Be sure to state the reason for the change.

College policies are very clear that grades cannot be changed on the basis of additional student work without prior approval of the Recording Committee. Please be mindful of this policy if a student asks if s/he can do anything to raise a grade after that grade has been submitted.

Posting Grades in a Public Place:

Please remember that the posting of grades in a public place by name or traceable identification number is prohibited by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Bowdoin's student identification numbers are easily traceable, particularly in a small class. If you feel you must post grades, you should do so by a number that you have randomly assigned just for this purpose. Please call Jan Brackett (x3142) if you have questions about this.



If you have any questions, please let us know.

Helkin von Schwaab, Data and Reporting Specialist
registrar@bowdoin.edu
207-725-3521