Grading Policies & Procedures

| GRADING RUBRICS

Grading rubrics are essential tools for administrators, instructors and students. As a scoring tool, rubrics explicitly state the levels of expectation required and the characteristics and components of the assignment or work. Creating a rubric and a descriptive set of criteria helps establish the objectives of the assignment or exercise, and helps ensure grading consistency over time. Rubrics are also valuable tools for students to assess their own performance and work towards clearly indicated goals.

NYFA instructors are required to create or use departmental grading rubrics for oral presentations, projects, papers, performances, essays, practical tests and other assignments. The Department Chair or Coordinator may provide samples of grading rubrics or they may be included in your syllabus template. Grading rubrics should be submitted to the Department Chair for review, along with the course syllabus.

Failure to deliver grades on time may lead to a reduction of courses in the future. 

| GRADING POLICIES

Students enrolled at the New York Film Academy are graded on an A-F scale. 

Methods of evaluation and grading criteria must be provided in each course syllabus and grading rubrics, which outline the expectations for achievement. Percentage-to-grade ratios may vary. 

GPAs are calculated using the following grading key:

A          4.0 C          2.0

A-         3.7 C-         1.7

B+        3.3 D+        1.3

B          3.0 D          1.0

B-         2.7 F          0.0

C+        2.3

Further notations on students’ transcripts include:

W              Withdrawal from a course

IP              Courses in progress

P/F            Pass/Fail

E                Exceptional

SC              Section Change

AU             Audit

CR/NC      Credit/No Credit

*To successfully pass a NYFA course, a student must earn at least a D. Therefore NYFA does not use the grade D- as a D- is considered a failing grade and therefore the same as F.

| EARLY DETECTION

Members of the faculty are responsible for the success of their students at NYFA. While students must take personal responsibility for their education, it is imperative that faculty, staff, and administration maintain guidelines and standards that are clear and consistent, provide students with clear options and outcomes, and address student needs and aspirations. When a student is struggling in class and there is concern for their grade, whether due to non-attendance or difficulty with the material, faculty must contact the academic advisor (NY, LA)  or department chair (Miami). Additionally, faculty should also always communicate with the student about what they can do to improve in the class.

For LA and NY students whose midterm grade comes to a D or an F, instructors should email the student and the academic advisor (advisor.la@nyfa.edu (LA) advisor.ny@nyfa.edu (NY) ) to inform them of the midterm grade.  For Miami students whose midterm grade comes to a D or an F, instructors should email the student and the Department Chair to inform them of the midterm grade.

Please use this email to explain the reasoning behind the midterm grade  and let them know what they should be doing in order to earn a better grade for the second half of the course. The academic advisor/department chair will also follow up with the student, although you should also continue to communicate with the student to discuss strategies for academic improvement in the specific course.

NYFA  students are required to meet both qualitative and quantitative academic standards. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is a Federal Policy mandated by the U.S. Department of Education. This policy ensures that students are progressing through their program of study and identifies students who may be at risk of failing.

| GRADING DEADLINE

• Midterm and final grades MUST be posted in the Faculty Hub within 72 hours of mid-term date or the last day of the  semester. (See Academic Calendar for Dates.) 

• If you require additional time to post a grade, email the Registrar immediately.  

  • 1. In LA email: laregistrar@nyfa.edu

    2. In NY email: grades.ny@nyfa.edu.

    3. In Miami email: sbregistrar@nyfa.edu

•  Instructors who repeatedly fail to submit grades within 72 hours may be subject to warnings or write-ups  by the Human Resources Department. 

MISSING A GRADING DEADLINE

LA:

• If you miss a grading deadline a grade, please enter the missing grade as soon as possible in the Faculty Hub

NY/MIAMI:

• If you miss a grading deadline  for a midterm grade, please enter the missing midterm grades as soon as possible in the Faculty Hub

• If you miss a grading deadline for  a final grade, you will not be able to enter it into the Faculty Hub as classes are locked after the deadline. Instead, please email the grades including the student names, class name, and cohort and program information to grades.ny@nyfa.edu (NY) or sbregistrar@nyfa.edu (Miami).

Students who fail a course must retake it and may not be able to move forward with a part or all  of their curriculum until they do so as NYFA programs have a carefully scaffolded curriculum.  It is very important to enter midterm and final grades and notify advisors in a timely manner of struggling students so that our Advisors, Registrars, Academic Affairs team can work with struggling students and adjust their schedule appropriately if necessary because they fail a course. 

| EXTENSIONS AND FINAL GRADE CHANGE 

If, and only if, an unforeseen extenuating circumstance causes a student to miss a final project/test deadline, an extension can be granted.  Faculty must immediately notify the Registrar Office of any extensions granted. 

(*For registered SAS students extensions may be part of their Accommodation Letter and the following policy does not directly apply. For any student with Accommodations, please follow their Accommodation Letter.*)

If faculty need to change a final grade after entering, they Please view each campus’s Grade Change Procedure below:

• LA Campus: Please email laregistrar@nyfa.edu.

• NY Campus: Click here to view the NY Grade Change Form and Procedure.

• Miami  Campus: Click here to view the Miami Grade Change Form and Procedure.

Please remember that changes to midterm grades can be done by the faculty themselves through the Faculty Hub.

| GRADE APPEALS

Students are able to appeal final grades. To initiate a grade appeal, students must complete a Grade Appeal Form and submit it to the Academic Advising Department in LA and NY (advisor.la@nyfa.edu (LA) advisor.ny@nyfa.edu (NY)) and to the Department Chairs in Miami.

Grade Appeals forms are available through the Academic Advising Department (LA and NY) and from the Registrar (sbregistrar@nyfa.edu)  in Miami or on the NYFA Student Hub.

Students are required to submit grade appeals to the Academic Advisor no later than the Friday before the first week of classes in the subsequent semester following the receipt of the disputed fail grade. Exceptions will be made if the final grades were not submitted by the grading deadline.

• Click here to view the full policy.

| CREDIT/NO CREDIT (For AFA, BFA, BA Programs Only)

In certain undergraduate degree courses, Department Chairs can approve the option for students to obtain credit for the course without receiving a letter grade. If students decide to take this option, they will receive “Credit (CR)” instead of A, B, C, or D and will receive “No Credit (NC)” instead of F. 

Students may consult with the Registrar Office to confirm if a course is eligible for CR/NC, or may refer to the course syllabus. Department Chairs are required to provide a list of eligible courses to the Registrar Office and must ensure the course syllabus is updated accordingly. 

If a student is approved to receive a CR/NC grade for a course, the Registrar will post the appropriate CR/NC grade for the student. If you see a CR/NC grade posted for a student, please do not override. If you have concerns about the CR/NC (ie. this is not a grading option on your class syllabus), please contact the Registrar Office. 

• Click here to view the  full policy. 

| COURSE ADD/DROP/CHANGE WITHDRAWAL 

ADD/DROP:

Typically, only Liberal Arts & Science courses can be added or dropped.  Students have two (2) weeks from the start of a semester to petition to add, drop, and/or change a course section. The add/drop/change deadline is 5:00 pm Friday, at the end of Week Two (2). 

Add/Drop dates are listed in the Academic Calendar of this handbook. 

Students must get approval from all applicable departments or staff including the Chair of the Liberal Arts & Sciences Department, the Department Chair, their Academic Advisor, the International Office, the Veterans’ Services Office, Academic Affairs, and the Financial Aid Office, before adding or dropping a course. Add/Drop/Change forms are available at the Registrar’s Office.

No transfer credits for the current semester will be processed after the Add/Drop deadline.

If a student reaches out with a request to add/drop a course please refer them to the Academic Advising Department in LA and New York (advisor.la@nyfa.edu (LA) advisor.ny@nyfa.edu (NY)) and the Registrar Department in Miami (sbregistrar@nyfa.edu).

SECTION CHANGE:

Generally, students may only switch sections or courses within the same 2-week Add/Drop period. Section changes must be approved by the Department Chair. If approved, the Department Chair will need to reach out to the Registrar to finalize the Section Change.

COURSE WITHDRAWAL: 

Typically, students may only withdraw from courses in degree programs. 

Withdrawing from a course constitutes an attempt at completing the course. The course will be listed on the transcript and the student will receive a “W” instead of a grade. All Credits in “W” status will be considered attempted, but not completed in the student’s calculation of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Non-attendance does not automatically withdraw a student from a course. 

In a full- semester course, students may not withdraw past 12 weeks into the course without incurring an academic penalty. Upon course withdrawal after the 12th week, students will receive the grades earned. 

In an 8-week course, students may not withdraw past 2 weeks into the course without incurring an academic penalty. Upon course withdrawal of 8-week courses after the 2 weeks, students will receive the grades earned. 

If the student withdraws before the course withdrawal deadline, the Registrar will post a W for the student’s remaining grades (midterm and/or final).   Once that deadline has passed faculty  will need to enter a final grade for the student even once they have withdrawn. That final grade should include missing assignments and any other requirements per the syllabi.

If faculty see a W posted for a student, please do not override. If you have concerns or questions  about the W please contact the Registrar Office.