General Expectation
Students have the right to be evaluated in the classroom on the basis of satisfactory progress, academic achievement, and fulfillment of educational requirements with freedom of expression protected and respected.
Class Rosters
Faculty will receive grade rosters four times each semester for each section they teach. Each time the rosters are distributed, the Registrar sends a cover memo explaining what faculty are to do with the roster. The first roster is the unofficial class list and may be used to guide unregistered students to complete their enrollment. The second roster is the official class list and is used to report non-attending students. The third is the midterm class list for reporting grades and students who have quit attending. The fourth is the final grade roster.
Faculty are required to use the Banner system for reporting electronically.
Be sure to remember confidentiality requirements while handling class rosters. The rosters contain student I.D.s that are not to be distributed casually. The
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) dictate that personally identifiable information about students will not be released without written permission from the student.
Attendance Reporting Requirements
Rules and regulations of the Federal financial aid programs require that DMACC not disburse financial aid to students who have never attended classes. Faculty will receive reporting instructions from the Registrar when official class rosters are distributed.
Students Requesting to Change Sections After the Last Day to Add a Course
Faculty should be cautious about students requesting to change sections/instructors during the term (after the last day to add a course). If approached about signing an add form for such a transfer, please contact the other instructor. Performance records from the first instructor should follow the student to the second instructor, if permission is given to switch sections.
Course Withdrawals
Students may withdraw from a course through the 50th day of a fall or spring term. They do not need the instructor's signature and the Registrar does not notify the teacher. If the teacher wants to review the current class roster, the Banner Web system should be accessed. An instructor may drop a student if the student cannot provide satisfactory evidence that she/he meets the course prerequisites (during the first five class days) or if the presence of the student would pose an identifiable health risk to an individual.
Midterm Grades
Instructors are asked to submit progress report grades of C- or below for any students who are performing below average. These are normally due two weeks prior to midterm during the fall and spring semesters and at midterm during the summer term. Academic Records then notifies the students and encourages them to seek academic assistance.
Final Grade Reporting
Each instructor must report a grade for every student in the course at the end of the term.
Acceptable final grades are A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F, I or P (Pass/Fail courses only). Each instructor has the option to use the plus/minus grades, but students are to be informed of the grading policy in the course syllabus.
Class Attendance as a Factor in Grading
It is the institutional expectation that students will attend and participate in the classes for which they are enrolled. Furthermore, it is the student's responsibility to be aware of the role that classroom participation plays in satisfactory progress and the final grade for the course. However, the responsibility is on the faculty member to fully inform the students by way of the course syllabus of the instructor's grading practice. Faculty should meet the following expectations:
- Students will be informed through the course syllabus of the instructor's grading policy. If attendance and participation play a role in the final grade for the course, this must be defined in the syllabus.
- If the grading policy includes points for attendance and participation, denial of points or percentages for absenteeism shall be acceptable.
- The academic penalty for non-attendance shall reflect only the actual impact of the absence.
- No distinction will be made between an approved or unapproved absence in terms of student grade, potential for credit, or the right to make up missed assignments.
- Students will be informed by way of the course syllabus of the instructor's make-up policy. Failure to complete a makeup assignment within a reasonable designated time shall be grounds for failure of that assignment.
Incomplete Grades
The request for issuance of an "incomplete" grade is to originate from the student, but granting an "I" is the instructor's prerogative. An incomplete is generally granted when special circumstances beyond the student's control prevent completion of the course. Failing a final exam, project, or other assignment, or not submitting course work as a result of inadequate preparation are not valid excuses.
Assignment of an I grade requires the completion of a Contract for Incomplete Grade. (form attached.) A copy of the contract must be submitted to the Academic Records Office along with the final grade roster. Completion dates are intended to be no later than mid-term of the subsequent semester. If this is not possible, an Extension of Time-Incomplete Grade (form attached) must be submitted and the work completed by the last day of the subsequent semester of original enrollment. Additional extensions may not be granted. Once an "I" contract has been submitted, the student may no longer withdraw from the course. An instructor may change an "I" grade to any of the grades available for final reporting, but if no grade is submitted, the "I" grade will become an "F" once the completion date has passed.
Change of Grade
A faculty member may change a student's grade when appropriate. The Change of Grade Report is available in the dean's/provost's office. Do not allow the student to carry the form to the Registrar's office. No grade changes are allowed after one year has passed from the time the original grade was assigned.
Grade Books and Other Supplies
Faculty will be furnished grade books, marking pens, and other supplies. Check with your dean's/provost's office for the procedure on your campus.
Reference