Academic Grading
Grading and Transcripts
Excerpted from Administrative Policy: Grading and Transcripts: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester; edited for application to CIS.
A standard grading system establishes a common understanding of the meaning of grades and promotes uniformity in assigning them. Defining grades and their associated meaning (grade points and assessment of achievement) allows for comparison and for computation of the term and cumulative grade point average.
Permanent Grades for Academic Work
The list below identifies possible permanent grades that can be given for any course for which credit is to be awarded. These grades will be entered on a student's official [University] transcript and, for an A, B, C, or D with permitted pluses and minuses, carry the indicated grade points.
These are the general University standards. In connection with all symbols of achievement instructors will define for a class, at one of its earliest meetings and as explicitly as possible, the performance that will be necessary to earn each.
Failures
The grade of F is a permanent grade given for a course for which no credit is to be awarded. It will be entered on a student's official transcript.
Academic Grading during the COVID-19 Pandemic
2020-2021 Grading
All undergraduate students enrolled in Twin Cities courses, including CIS courses, may choose to change their grading basis from A-F to S/N (satisfactory/not satisfactory) after a final grade is posted for all Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 courses. CIS students may change their grading basis to S/N after their final grade is posted by emailing cisenroll@umn.edu by June 15th, 2021. This applies to all CIS courses offered during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Students must include the following information:
First and Last name
Statement that they wish to change their grading basis
CIS course subject and number (example: Math 1371)
High school instructor
All F grades will be automatically converted to an N (Not Satisfactory) grade on the U of M transcript. Neither F or N grades award credit for the course, however, an N does not impact U of M GPA. This change will be applied to all U of M courses offered through CIS during the 2020-2021 academic year due to the unpredictability of the impact of COVID-19. In accordance with CIS standard grading policy, CIS will not offer the option to change grade basis to S/N that may be available to some students on-campus.
Things to note and consider:
Because grades of D are credit-bearing and may count toward future elective courses and liberal education requirements for a U of M degree program, this change will not be automatically applied to D grades. However, CIS students may request to change their D to N by emailing cisenroll@umn.edu at any time in the future.
Students may only repeat a course once and an N grade will count as the student’s first attempt at completing the course, whereas a W (withdrawal) does not.
S/N Grading Basis for U of M CIS sections that were in session during Spring 2020
During the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020, the U of M made a temporary exemption to the policy for the limits on use of S/N grades for undergraduate students. The S/N option, which is not usually permitted for students enrolled in CIS sections, was also made available to students enrolled in CIS sections during Fall 2019 Year Long, Spring 2020 Semester/Trimester 2-3, and Spring 2020 Trimester 3. Information about this policy and a form where students could request to change to the S/N grading basis, was posted to the College in the Schools Students webpage. Instructions were also emailed to all instructors, with instructions to share this information with their students.
What are S/N grades?
S/N grading basis refers to a grade of satisfactory or not satisfactory, also known as pass/fail. Administrative Policy Grading and Transcripts: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester provides a definition of the S/N grading basis.
Other Transcript Symbols
Incompletes
Instructors may assign the registration symbol I for Incomplete if, at the time the incomplete is requested:
the student has successfully completed a substantial portion of the work of the course; and
due to extraordinary circumstances (as determined by the instructor), the student was prevented from completing the work of the course on time.
The assignment of an I requires a written agreement with the student specifying the time and manner in which the student will complete the course requirements.
The written agreement must require the student to complete the course requirements no later than the day grades are due for the subsequent regular (fall or spring) term.
The contract cannot require the student to re-register for the course or to sit in on an entire course in order to resolve an incomplete.
Students may complete the work to resolve an incomplete during a term in which they are not otherwise registered.
Students must submit the work to resolve an incomplete as specified in the written agreement. Incompletes that have not been changed to a letter grade by the day grades are due for the subsequent regular (fall or spring) term will be automatically changed to an F for the course.
The instructor is expected to turn in the new grade within four weeks of the date the work was submitted by the student.
When an I is changed to another symbol or grade, the I is removed from the record.
Withdrawals
A student (or a teacher or school counselor on behalf of a student) should submit a CIS cancellation form immediately when the student stops attending a U of M course through CIS.
If a student cancels a course during the enrollment period, the record of registration for that course will not appear on their transcript (i.e. no "W" recorded).
If a student withdraws from a course after the enrollment period has ended, the course remains on their transcript with a grade of "W," indicating the student registered for the course but withdrew—regardless of the reason for withdrawal.
CIS students are allowed ONE “one time” late withdrawal during their time in the U of M Twin Cities CIS program. A withdrawal is considered a "one time" when used to get out of a class before it ends for no specified reason. Withdrawal for extenuating circumstance still result in a “W” but may be considered differently so the student may be allowed to drop a class again in the future. Students cannot drop late again for the same extenuating circumstance or after a term has ended. CIS students taking multiple U of M courses in the same term may be advised to withdraw from all courses if the extenuating circumstances presented warrant complete withdrawal. “W"s do not affect GPA, and a "W" on transcript should not be viewed as negative in relation to a student’s entire academic career.
No Grade Reported
There will be a symbol NR, administratively assigned to indicate that a grade was not reported for the course. The NR does not carry any GPA points.
Other Provisions
All grades for academic work are based on the quality of the work submitted, not on hours of effort. Instructors have the responsibility and authority to determine how final grades are assigned, including, in classes where they use numeric scores, the method that will be used to translate numeric scores into letter grades. (Examples: the instructor may decide that 90% equals an A, 80% a B, and so on, or the instructor may decide that the top 10% of the scores will receive an A, the next 20% a B, and so on.)
Counting credits toward a University degree.
A course that carries University credit toward a degree in one department or college must carry University credit in all other departments and colleges.
A department or college has discretion to decide whether a course completed in another unit will count towards the specific college or department/program/major requirements.
Releasing transcripts. The University's official transcript, the chronological record of the student's enrollment and academic performance, will be released by the University only at the request of the student or in accord with state or federal statutes.
Repeating courses.
An undergraduate student may repeat a course only once [—either on campus or at the high school through CIS—if space permits].
When a student repeats a course before receiving the degree, (a) both grades for the course will appear on the official transcript, (b) the course credits may not be counted more than once toward degree and program requirements, and (c) only the last enrollment for the course will count in the student's grade point average.
Provisions (a) and (b) of this policy will not apply to courses (1) using the same number but where students study different content each term of enrollment and (2) to courses designated as "repetition allowed."
If an undergraduate student repeats a course after the degree has been awarded, the original course grade will not be excluded from the degree GPA nor will the new grade be included in the degree GPA.
Bracketing is the practice of not including a course in the calculation of a student's GPA and not counting the course as satisfying any degree requirements, including electives, because a student has repeated a course. When a student repeats a course, all prior attempts are bracketed and only the most recent attempt counts.
Grade point average. Every student will have calculated, both at the end of each grading period (quarter or semester) and cumulatively, a grade point average, which will be the ratio of grade points earned divided by the number of credits attempted with grades of A-F (including pluses and minuses). Both the term and cumulative grade point average will appear on each student's record.
Final grade due date. Final grades will be submitted to the Registrar no later than three business days after the last day of the final examination period.
Scholastic Dishonesty
Excerpted from Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code.
Scholastic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course will be grounds for awarding a grade of F for the entire course, at the discretion of the instructor. This provision allows instructors to award an F to a student when scholastic dishonesty is discovered; it does not require an instructor to do so.
If the instructor determines that a grade of F for the course should be awarded to a student because of scholastic dishonesty, the student cannot withdraw to avoid the F. If the student withdrew from the course before the scholastic dishonesty was discovered or before the instructor concluded that there was scholastic dishonesty, and the instructor (or the appropriate hearing body if the student requests a hearing) determines that the student should receive the F, the student will be re-registered for the course and the F grade will be entered on the transcripts.
Grade Accountability
Excerpted from Administrative Policy: Grade Accountability: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester.
The instructor who is in overall charge of a course offering is accountable for all grades given to students.
Students have the right to request and receive an explanation for a grade during and after the course. However, the instructor is not obligated to reconsider the grade.
Students may seek an explanation for a grade until the end of the following semester (not including summer). The instructor is obligated to provide an explanation for a grade within a reasonable time if a request is made by the end of the following semester. The instructor is not obligated to reconsider the grade.
If a student does not receive an explanation for a grade from the instructor within a reasonable time of making a request, the student may consult the faculty coordinator for assistance in obtaining an explanation. Students also may seek assistance from the campus Student Conflict Resolution Center (SCRC).
FAQ: Addressing Student Academic Complaints
Excerpted from Administrative Policy: Addressing Student Academic Complaints; edited for application to CIS.
Q: I don't agree with the grade I received from my instructor. Is there anything I can do?
A: You are entitled to an explanation for the grade assigned. If you are not able to get an explanation for the grade from your instructor, consult the [CIS faculty coordinator for the course as the appropriate departmental representative]. Students also may wish to seek assistance from [Jan M. Erickson, CIS Associate Director]. An instructor’s judgment in assigning a grade is not a subject for a formal hearing, and can only be reviewed through these informal processes.