Academic Year 2023-2024

15 Appendix: Excerpts from Rules and Regulations of the Faculty Regarding Grades

2.60 Grades

Rules and Regulations of the Faculty
Revised 3/17

2.61

Grades shall be submitted at or before the end of each term in all subjects given in the term, including thesis. (For partial-term subjects that end within the term, grades shall be submitted within one week after the date of the last scheduled class in the subject.) Each report of grades shall be endorsed by the Faculty member in charge of the subject. Once submitted, grades shall not be changed except to correct errors or to fulfill specific provisions under O, OX, and I grades. Instructors may also submit written comments on forms provided. These comments are addressed to the student and to the Faculty Advisor or Registration Officer. Comments are retained in the student's internal file.

2.62

The grade for each student shall be determined independently of other students in the class,and shall be related to the student’s mastery of the material based on the grade descriptions below. Grades may not be awarded according to a predetermined distribution of letter grades. For example, grades in a subject may not be allocated according to set proportions of A, B, C, D, etc.

2.62.1
The grades to be awarded to students who satisfactorily complete the work of a subject by the end of a term and the definitions of these grades are:

A

Exceptionally good performance, demonstrating a superior understanding of the subject matter, a foundation of extensive knowledge, and a skillful use of concepts and/or materials.

B

Good performance, demonstrating capacity to use the appropriate concepts, a good understanding of the subject matter, and an ability to handle the problems and materials encountered in the subject.

C

Adequate performance, demonstrating an adequate understanding of the subject matter, an ability to handle relatively simple problems, and adequate preparation for moving on to more advanced work in the field.

D

Minimally acceptable performance, demonstrating at least partial familiarity with the subject matter and some capacity to deal with relatively simple problems, but also demonstrating deficiencies serious enough to make it inadvisable to proceed further in the field without additional work.

P

When the use of the grade P is authorized, it reflects performance at any of the levels A, B, or C.

Modifiers of + and - shall be allowed on the grades of A, B, and C. These modifiers are only for internal grade reports. Term and cumulative averages (internal and external) shall be calculated without modifiers.

The grade of P is authorized for use under the following circumstances:

  1. in any subject taken by a first-year undergraduate student in the first semester or during the January Independent Activities Period.

  2. in any of the subjects designated by the Committee on Curricula, the Committee on the Undergraduate Program, the Committee on Graduate School Programs, or by vote of the Faculty as subjects to be graded on a P/D/F basis for all students registered in them.

  3. in special programs designated by the Committee on the Undergraduate Program or by vote of the Faculty.

  4. (for undergraduate students entering as first-year students prior to Fall 2020 or as transfer students in Fall 2020 or earlier) in a total of no more than two subjects elected during the third and subsequent years in anundergraduate program. These subjects cannot be used to fulfill General Institute or DepartmentalRequirements, and must be elected and the Registrar notified before the end of the fifth week of the term for full-term subjects or the second week of instruction of half-term subjects.

  5. (for incoming undergraduate students beginning with first-year students in Fall 2020) in a total of no more than 48 units in an undergraduate program taken any time beginning with a student’s second regular semester. These units may be used on a subject, including those to fulfill General Institute or Departmental Requirements. These subjects can add up to no more than 48 units, and all of the units that comprise a subject must be taken under the P/NR grading option. Subjects must be designated and the Registrar notified after final grades are submitted and before the end of the fifth week of the student’s next enrolled regular term. 

The factors which determine the award of grades in any particular subject will necessarily be affected by the scope and level of that subject. In relatively elementary subjects the mastery of particular skills will often be of primary importance, whereas in more advanced subjects more complex considerations may enter into the evaluation.

The Faculty wishes to make it clear that in determining a student's grade consideration will be given for elegance of presentation, creativity, imagination, and originality, where these may appropriately be called for.

The transcript of the student's record shall contain the names of the subjects taken, the grades received, and a description of the grades in use at the time the student was enrolled. Transcripts shall not include any reference to the +/- modifiers.