D. Grading Policies

1. Grading In all Colgate courses, the final grades used to indicate the quality of the student’s performance are as follows: A means excellent, B means good, C means satisfactory, D means poor but passing, F means failing. Final course grades reported to the Registrar must be recorded as follows: A+, A, A–, B+, B, B–, C+, C, C–, D+, D, D–, F, S, U, W, or I. Policies governing the grades of S, U, W, and I are explained below.

2. Course Warnings Students experiencing academic difficulties in a course should seek assistance well in advance of the end of the course. Faculty with concerns about a student's course progress are encouraged to submit a course warning which notifies the student, academic adviser, and administrative dean. Instructors will have access to submit course warnings via the Colgate portal. Instructors will select the appropriate class from the Faculty Dashboard. In the "Course Warning" column on the class roster page, instructors can submit a course warning for a student by following the "Submit Warning" link in the appropriate row. The appropriate administrative advisers send a formal course warning to the student and their faculty adviser. The course warning system is relatively easy to administer and provides valuable information to the student that can result in dramatic improvement in academic performance.

3. Completion of Student Work in Courses Work in all courses, including independents, must be completed by the last day of classes, so that faculty can grade papers and students can study during the review period prior to exams.

4. Cumulative and/or Integrative Assignments/Examinations It is essential that some substantial component of the work in every class be cumulative and/or integrative in nature. One way this expectation may be fulfilled is by one or more in-class examinations (midterm or midterms) and a two-hour final examination. Alternatives to this model may take many forms, including (but not limited to) take-home exams, reflective essays,  individual or group projects, research papers, oral presentations, or multiple, small, in-class examinations.

It is expected that every class, with the exception of senior seminars, will have one and only one major assignment due or exam take place at the time set by the Registrar for the final exam.  All other coursework must be submitted by 5 pm on the last day of classes.  The Office of the Associate Dean of the Faculty provides administrative support for self-scheduled exams.

As faculty design their final assignments, they should be mindful of students' final-exam-week workload.

It is a general rule that a student who has three final examinations scheduled in a single day has a right to request that he or she be allowed to take one of them at a different time. This is usually accomplished informally with a request to one of the instructors involved. In some cases the student may ask his or her administrative advisor to intervene with the instructor(s), and faculty members are asked to cooperate with such a request. If the problem cannot be resolved in this manner, it will be referred to the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Curricular and Academic Affairs, who will determine which of the student’s three examinations will be rescheduled.

Except in the unusual case of a student having three examinations scheduled in a single day, however, students are expected to take the final examinations in their courses at the regularly scheduled times. Students should not make end-of-semester travel plans prior to the publication of the final exam schedule (or should schedule travel for after the end of the final exam period). Faculty members are strongly discouraged from giving “make-up” or special final examinations for students except in very unusual cases and for compelling reasons.

It is requested that faculty members inform a student’s administrative adviser if the student fails to appear for a scheduled final examination in a course.

5. Reporting Final Grades  Final grades for all students are to be submitted online through the Faculty Dashboard. Final grades for seniors who expect to graduate at the end of a term are due by 9 a.m. on the Monday following the exam period. Final grades for all other students are due in the Registrar’s Office by the date specified on the academic calendar.

Final grades are officially reported to students by the Registrar only after all grades have been submitted by the faculty. It is therefore extremely important that instructors adhere to the Registrar’s specified deadlines for submission of final course grades.

6. Incompletes The University’s policy on “incompletes” is contained in the section on “Academic Regulations” in the Colgate University Catalogue. The last sentence in the statement below was added to the Catalogue statement by the Dean’s Advisory Council in May 1982.

The temporary status of “incomplete” in a course is given only when the student has not finished the work in the course. It is used rarely and only for sufficient cause, such as illness or absence necessitated by emergency. A student’s request for an incomplete, which should be made in advance, must be directed to their administrative dean, who will consult with the instructor in the course before approving the request. An incomplete must be made up within 20 days of the end of the term in which it was granted, unless an extension has been granted by the student’s administrative dean as a consequence of extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s ability to predict or control. The instructor will submit a grade to the Registrar within 10 days of the date the make-up is completed, or, if the make-up is not completed, submit the appropriate grade to the Registrar within 10 days of the final day granted by the student’s administrative dean; otherwise the incomplete is converted to an F.

7. Policy on Review of Course Grade The instructor of record for a course is the sole judge of students’ academic performance in the course (or instructors of record for team-taught courses). Instructors are responsible for clearly articulating the basis for determining students' grades, and students are entitled to fair, equitable treatment in their academic relationships with members of the faculty. Grades are to be assigned in a manner consistent with institutional policies and procedures. Sharing the basis for grades is essential to ensure fair and equitable treatment of students and their work, and students have the right to be informed in a timely and clear manner of the basis for the evaluation of their academic performance in a course.

In all possible instances, questions regarding grading should be settled through informal communications between students and faculty. Students should explore this option before pursuing a formal review of a course grade.

The Dean of the Faculty and the Dean’s Advisory Council have established the following formal review of course grade procedure:

Disagreement with or disappointment in an instructor’s judgment of the quality of academic work will not be considered grounds for a student’s request for a formal review of a course grade. Students may initiate a formal review of course grade if, after receiving an explanation of the basis of the course grade from the faculty member (or having clearly requested an explanation of the basis in writing and not having received a written response), the student has compelling reasons to support the argument that the grade in the course was improperly arrived at due to any one of the following four factors:

1. computational error,

2. the instructor clearly and substantially deviated from the basis for grading in the course,

3. the course grade resulted from the application of criteria or factors other than academic performance,

4. the instructor assigned the course grade in a manner inconsistent with Colgate’s policies and procedures (including, but not limited to, Colgate’s Non-Discrimination/Sexual Misconduct Response Policy.)

Students who have a complaint about a course grade based on one (or more) of the above improper factors should in all but the most sensitive cases raise their concerns directly with the instructor of the course. The student should write the instructor with an explanation of their basis for believing the assigned course grade is inaccurate based upon one (or more) of the improper factors listed above. The student should write to the faculty member as soon as practicable once course grades have been made available by the Registrar (but within 30 days of grades being posted by the Registrar). The instructor should normally respond to the student in writing
within 30 days of receipt of the written concerns, either explaining how the course grade was assigned in a proper fashion, or acknowledging that a mistake was made and that a change of course grade will be initiated by the faculty member if allowed by Colgate policy. If the written communication between the instructor and student results in the instructor desiring to change the course grade, then the instructor will submit a change of course grade form following established procedures.

If the written exchange between faculty member and student fails to bring about a resolution, the student may then forward their written complaint with any supporting materials to the chair of the department housing the course in question, copying the instructor. The chair should then consult with the instructor and strive to find a resolution consistent with Colgate policy and procedures. If, after this consultation, the instructor and student remain in disagreement, the chair should forward all written materials to the Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs, along with the chair’s written summary of the situation. In the case the course instructor is the department chair, the associated division director will serve in the capacity of chair. In the rare and atypical circumstance that the chair perceives a conflict of interest or other history with the instructor of record or the student, the chairperson may contact the Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs to discuss whether a surrogate for the chair should be appointed by the dean.

The Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs will share the submitted materials with the Director of Arts and Humanities, the Director of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the Director of Social Sciences, the Director of University Studies, and the Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity. This group (inclusive of the Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs) will consider all of the written materials forwarded by the chair, and after a preliminary consideration of that material, may conduct interviews or solicit responses to directed prompts to any of the parties involved (instructor, student, chair, and/or other offices, such as the Office of Equity and Diversity, that may have relevant information). After considering all of the information available, the review group will make a final determination as to whether it is more likely than not that the grade in the course was arrived at in a manner consistent with policy, or instead due to one (or more) of the improper factors listed above.

If the review group determines (via majority vote) that it is more likely than not that the course grade was assigned in a manner consistent with policy, the Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs will communicate this finding to the student, instructor, and chair, and that will end the matter.

If the review group determines (via majority vote) that it is more likely than not that the course grade was assigned based on one (or more) of the improper factors listed above, the Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs will communicate that finding to the student, instructor, and chair, along with the Review Group’s determination of how the matter will be resolved.

If the vote is evenly split, the grade will be presumed to have been assigned consistent with policy, and the matter will be closed.

In all instances, the determination of the Review Group shall be final.

Grades appearing on a student’s academic record may normally not be changed after one semester from the end of the term in which the grade was awarded. Under extraordinary circumstances, grade changes beyond one semester — but before graduation — may be approved by the Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs.

No grades may be changed after a student has graduated.

Footnote: Allegations that a grade resulted from demographically based discrimination are to be adjudicated under the Non-discrimination, Anti-Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Policy, rather than via a grade review.

8. Academic Honors A description of the academic honors awarded at Colgate may be found in the section on “Academic Regulations” in the Colgate University Catalogue.

Reporting honors and high honors to the Registrar is the responsibility of the department chair or concentration program director. Because a number of students complete graduation requirements at times other than May, the Dean’s Advisory Council has issued the following ruling regarding the dates for reporting of honors and high honors to the Registrar:

Departments must report honors and high honors to the Registrar no later than five calendar days after the end of the fall semester examination period if the student completes their graduation requirements in the fall term. If the student completes their graduation requirements in the spring term, the department must inform the Registrar no later than the end of the regular examination period. University honors are based on the final grade point average.

9. Satisfactory–Unsatisfactory (S/U) Option This option is designed to encourage students to explore new areas outside their concentration in the true spirit of a liberal education.

Students with junior and senior standing, who have been accepted in a concentration, may elect to take up to four courses which are evaluated “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” instead of by the usual letter grades. The following conditions apply to this option.

10. Other Academic Rules and Regulations Other academic rules and regulations may be found in the section on “Academic Regulations” in the Colgate University Catalogue or in other sections of the Catalogue.