Grades and Grading

 

Grades and Grade Point Values

Claremont Graduate University (CGU) uses the following grades for the evaluation of student performance. Grade points are calculated by multiplying the values below by the course units (for example, a B+ earned in a 4 unit course would have a grade point value of 13.2 for GPA calculations).

A+	4.0	C+	2.3	I	N/A
A	4.0	C	2.0	W	N/A
A-	3.7	C-	1.7	Y	N/A
B+	3.3
B	3.0	P	N/A	AU	N/A
B-	2.7	F	0.0	GP	N/A

 

Enrollment Notations

• W (Withdrawn) is assigned when students drop a course after the Add/Drop deadline for the semester. W may not be assigned by instructors.
• Y (Unreported Evaluation) is an administrative notation and cannot be assigned by instructors.
• Enrollment notations do not affect a student’s GPA.

Graded or Pass/Fail

Unless a course is specifically set up as graded only or P/F grade only, instructors may make their own determinations for assigning grades. Agreements may be made directly with the student and no specific authorization by the Registrar’s Office is required. Instructors are encouraged to respect student requests for P/F grading unless a course is required to provide a letter grade.

• Prior to the Fall 2021 term CGU used Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grades in place of the Pass/Fail (P/F) grade options.
• All students in a “Graded” grading basis class can be assigned a Pass (P) grade. The majority of students at CGU are in a “Graded” class, but you can check the grading basis for each student on your class roster – instructions for this are on the Navigating your CGU Faculty Center Guide.
• You are able to assign a Pass (P) grade to one or several students without in any way impacting others in the same class from receiving a letter grade, or vice versa.
• There are no university-wide policies regarding the number of Pass (P) classes that a student can take overall or in a specific term (departments/schools may have their own limitations).
• CGU defines a Passing grade as being equivalent to a B or above.

Instructors are expected to submit grades for students enrolled in their courses by the semester deadline published in the Academic Calendar.

May Graduates. The 5Cs, and KGI have early deadlines for students who are graduating during the Spring term. The CGU registrar will contact any instructor with anticipated Non-CGU Claremont College May graduates to give advanced notice of the grading deadline.

• All grades should be submitted through your PeopleSoft Faculty Portal
• For assistance posting grades refer to the Post Grades – Complete and Partial Rosters document on the Faculty and Staff page. This guide walks you through each step of entering grades, with screenshots for easy orientation. Contact the IT Help Desk for assistance with logging on to the faculty portal: helpdesk@cgu.edu or 909-621-8174 (on campus: x18174).
• Grades not received via the faculty portal will not be recorded. Hard copy/PDF grade roster are only available to instructors at the other Claremont Colleges, or one of our joint program institutions (CSULB, SDSU, etc.), and may be requested directly from the Registrar’s Office.
• You must provide a grade for every name on your roster, including 5C and other non-CGU students.The Registrar’s Office automatically transfers grades back to the student’s home school.
• Submit I (Incomplete) grades through your roster. Use the Incomplete Grade Submission Form (Found on the Faculty and Staff forms page) if you wish to specify an expiration date that is less than one year and/or to identify an alternate grade.
• The grades D+, D, and D-  are not valid CGU grades; record them instead as F (Failing).
• Check your class rosters for accuracy. CGU adheres to a term-based transaction policy, meaning that any changes to students’ enrollment must be made within the semester. Unless otherwise disputed before the end of the semester, all records are considered complete, accurate, and permanent. Notify the Registrar’s Office if a student’s name does not appear on your roster (Provide us with the student name and college, for students from the Claremont Colleges) or if a student appears as an auditor and should be graded, or vice versa.
• Students are responsible for the accuracy of their own class schedules and adding/dropping classes during registration periods. Instructors should assign a F (Failing) grade for any student who did not attend or participate in the course.
• To ensure student privacy and comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), do not post grades outside a door or share with other students for comparison purposes.

Courses for which a student was enrolled on an audit basis must be graded with one of the following:

• AU – Satisfactory/successful completion of the audit. CGU minimum expectations for an audit are 80% attendance and participation, or the equivalent, as deemed by the instructor
• F – Failing/unsatisfactory completion of the audit, or abandoned the audit without formally the course

Instructors should not leave the grade field for audited courses blank on grade rosters. If no grade is supplied, audits will be administratively assigned a GP (Grade Pending), and will eventually default to Y (Unreported Evaluation).

⚠ Beginning in the Fall 2022 term faculty wishing to assign an Incomplete grade must complete an Incomplete Grade Entry form (on the Faculty and Staff forms page) for each student, specifying the grade to be assigned if final work is not completed, confirming the student’s passing status at the end of the term, and assigning the expiration deadline for the incomplete. This requirement is part of the 7C harmonization process was approved by FEC vote.

If unusual or extenuating circumstances prevent a student from completing work in a course, the instructor may assign an Incomplete (I) grade provided the student’s performance in the course is passing at the end of the semester. Instructors are not required to assign an Incomplete (I) grade to students who ask for them.

Expiration Date. A new grade must be submitted by no later than the grading deadline for the same semester next year.  Instructors may assign shorter periods of time for the student to submit new work but the date may not be later than the grading deadline of the same academic semester next year (see the Academic Calendar). Faculty are not required to specify the deadline that the student must provide any outstanding work by, but it is recommended so there is shared understanding between the student and instructor. The expiration date and optional student submission date is done through the Incomplete Grade Entry form (on the Faculty and Staff forms page). Students will received a copy of the approved expiration date and student work deadline (if assigned).

Grade Lapse. Instructors must identify the grade that will be assigned at the time of Incomplete expiration if outstanding work is not completed. Instructors identify the grade through the Incomplete Grade Entry form (on the Faculty and Staff forms page).

Extension of Incomplete. After an Incomplete grade is recorded, if a student requires more time to complete work, an Incomplete Grade Extension form (found on the Faculty and Staff forms page) may be completed and sent to the Registrar’s Office. Extensions may be requested only once and are limited to a period of one semester, expiring on the grading deadline of the next semester (inclusive of the summer semester).  Requests for Extensions are accepted only if the grade on the course is still I (Incomplete).

Completion of Work. After the student completes and submits the outstanding work to you, evaluate the work and submit a new grade using the Grade Change/Submission Form (found on the Faculty and Staff forms page).

• Explanations for the grade change and dean’s approval are not required when the grade being changed is either I (Incomplete) or GP (Grade Pending).
• Grades that have lapsed to a permanent grade (a grade other than GP or I) cannot be changed to Incomplete. Changes of permanent grades require an explanation and dean’s approval.
• A grade change can only be requested by the instructor of record for the student’s class, regardless whether or not the instructor still maintains a relationship with CGU.

Instructors who are unable to submit grades by the semester deadline may submit a Grade Pending (GP) notation on their rosters to ensure more time for evaluating student performance. When ready to submit a grade, the instructor uses the Grade Change/Submission Form (found on the Faculty and Staff forms page). No explanation for a grade change is required when being changed from either GP (Grade Pending) or I (Incomplete).

If a grade is not provided before the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) review for following semester, the GP grade lapses to Y (Unreported Evaluation). The Y notation does not impact the student’s GPA; courses for which the student is assigned a Y grade cannot be used to fulfill degree or other requirements.

Grade changes are expected if the student was assigned an I (Incomplete) or GP (Grade Pending) grade. These permanent grades may be submitted using the Grade Change/Submission Form (found on the Faculty and Staff forms page). No explanation for a grade change is required when being changed from either GP (Grade Pending) or I (Incomplete).

Once a permanent grade has been submitted grade changes should be made only in the most exceptional circumstances, such as to correct a reporting error. Instructors who submit a change of permanent grade for a student must complete the Grade Change/Submission Form (found on the Faculty and Staff forms page) and provide a full explanation or reason for the change. Approval of the dean is required.

In addition, the following guidelines apply to grade changes.

• Once a permanent grade has been recorded for a student’s performance in a course, instructors are not required to accept additional work from a student for evaluation.
• If you agree to re-evaluate a student’s performance for a potential grade change, you may not consider academic work or performance in any subsequent course.
• Requests to change a permanent grade back to a temporary grade (I or GP) are not accepted.
• A GP notation may be replaced by I (Incomplete), provided the grade has not lapsed to Y (Unreported Evaluation).
• A grade change can only be requested by the instructor of record for the student’s class.

Transcript Notations. Except for changes made to I and GP, all grade changes are noted on the student’s transcript with the date of the grade change.

Instructors who have questions about grading and/or grading policies should contact their program coordinators or the Registrar’s Office, student.records@cgu.edu. If you contact the Registrar, please provide the following information to ensure that your request receives an accurate response.

• Identify yourself as an instructor.
• Provide the course catalog number of your course and the applicable semester.
• Give full names of individuals when referencing students.

 

Rev 9/21