Grading System and Grading Policies

Grade Glossary

The following glossary of uniform grading symbols shall be employed according to the interpretation provided below. Grades are assigned based on the definitions contained herein. Individual units of the University need not employ all symbols but must adhere to the following interpretation for those employed and may not use any symbol that is not included in the glossary. Quality points are to be used to calculate the grade point average (GPA) or index. A dash “--” indicates that the grade does not carry a numerical value and is not to be included in the GPA. Plus (“+”) and minus (“-”) grades shall be interpreted as equivalent to “+0.3” and “-0.3”, except as noted.

Grade Explanation

Discontinued Grades & Grade Symbols

Following symbols have been implemented as prefixes to grades in the student system to identify repeated courses including the application of the F grade repeat policy and Board approved variance, as well as to indicate a grade’s impact on GPA and credit accumulation. CUNYfirst College have retired the use of these prefixes as they went live in CUNYfirst. Converted records will continue to display with the legacy prefix designation in CUNYfirst.

 Following grades are no longer in use and have been removed from the legend of grade symbols. Colleges may not use any symbol which is no longer in use and therefore not included in the glossary. Values have been defined in this document for historical purposes of computation on existing transcripts.

Grades Explanations

• Any student transcript record sent from a unit of the University must include a grade for every course for which a student has been officially registered and not dropped during the program adjustment or refund period. The program adjustment period, formerly referred to as the add-and-drop period, coincides with the official refund and Census, Form-A due date.

• Clerical, computer, or professional errors are not to be considered a part of the historical record and should be deleted.

• Students who officially withdraw after the Financial Aid certification date during the program adjustment or refund period will have the administrative grade “WD” or “WN” recorded in the enrollment record of the dropped course.

• All courses or credits for which the student is officially registered after the financial aid certification date or program adjustment period, whichever is earlier, shall be considered “attempted credits” for the purposes of financial aid.

• A withdrawal after the financial aid certification date or program adjustment period will be assigned “WD” (Dropped) or “W” (Withdrew Officially) or “WU” (Withdrew Unofficial, participated at least once) or “WN” (Never Participated).

• A grade of “WD” is assigned to students who officially drop a class after the financial aid certification date and prior to the census date.

• A grade of “W” is assigned to students who officially drop a class after the refund period and prior to or on the last day to officially withdraw for the term/session. Students who have participated in an academically related activity and officially withdraw after the official refund period, but prior to the end of the designated withdrawal period will have a grade of “W” (Withdrew Officially) recorded. After that period, however, with special permission to withdraw by faculty and/or appropriate college committee, a grade of “W” may be recorded.

• A grade of “WN” is to be assigned to students who never participated in an academically related activity and did not officially withdraw

• A grade of “WU” is to be assigned (by instructor) to students who participated in an academically related activity at least once, completely stopped participating in any academically related activities, any time before the culminating academic experience of the course, i.e., final exam, final paper, etc.

• The grade of “INC” lapses to an “FIN” grade no later than the last day of the following semester, or its equivalent in calendar time, exclusive of Summer Term/Session (see updated Grade Change Policy Effective Fall 2021). The grade of “INC” (Incomplete) should be given by the instructor in consultation with the student with the following guidelines:

• only when there is a reasonable expectation that a student can successfully complete the requirements of the course no later than the last day of the following semester, or its equivalent in calendar time, exclusive of Summer Term/Session. It is a temporary grade awarded when the disposition of the final grade requires further evaluation for reasons other than the Procedures for Imposition of Sanctions related to the Board's Academic Integrity Policy

• Transcript comments for INC grades should be added to the student record indicating the nature of the incomplete.

The “PEN” grade is a temporary grade awarded when the disposition of the final grade requires further evaluation and when the incomplete grades is inappropriate. 'PEN' is also used to facilitate the implementation of the Procedures for Imposition of Sanctions whereby colleges must hold a student’s grade in abeyance pending the outcome of the academic review process. Final determination of a grade will depend on final evaluation by the instructor or the outcome of the college’s academic review process.

The grade of “P” or “NC” may be given as part of a ‘Pass/No Pass/No Credit’ agreement between a student and instructor.

To receive this grade, a student needs to continue participating in academically related activities, complete all assignments, and take the final exam. If a passing grade is earned (A+ through D-), the student will receive a grade of ‘P’ and credit for the course with no impact on GPA.

If a failing grade is earned (F), the student will receive a grade of NC/NP which does not affect the GPA.

This option must be requested prior to the last day a student can withdraw and receive a grade of “W” via an agreement with the Office of the Registrar.

o    Students must remain in compliance with Federal and State Satisfactory Academic Progress guidelines.

o    Colleges may place additional restrictions on the use of this option which must be clearly stated in their bulletin and on their website

•     A college may choose to offer a First Year Freshman Forgiveness policy.

o    If the student passes the course, they will receive the grade earned which will carry the designated GPA.

o    If the student fails the course, the grade will be administratively converted to NC and have no impact on the GPA.

o    This policy is limited to first year freshman as defined by the college.

•     The grades of “NC” and “R” may represent non-punitive failures indicating unsatisfactory completion of the course.

o    The “R” grade is restricted to noncredit remedial courses

o    The “NC” grade is restricted to regular, developmental, and compensatory courses. This grade can also be used by colleges for other administrative actions such as disciplinary dismissals. Neither of these grades is to be counted in the quality point index nor may be used in lieu of incomplete or withdrew grades.

• The grade of “CR” can be used for the awarding of transfer credit.

• The grade “Y” denotes that the semester’s work has been completed; however, the course is still in progress and a final course evaluation cannot be determined until the entire activity has been concluded.

• To satisfying the program pursuit requirements for State financial assistance awards (Section 145-2.2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner), the grades of “W”, “WA”, “WD”, “WN”, and “WU” shall signify that the course has not been completed. All other grades, except for the “AUD” grade, shall signify that the course has been completed.

• The grade point average is an index of a student’s scholastic performance at a particular college. All grades that carry a numerical quality point value shall be included in the calculation of the grade point average.

• Any notation regarding a student’s probationary status appears only on the unofficial transcript.

Guidance on WU/F/INC Grades

Audit reviews by internal as well as both the State and the Federal government have required the need to emphasize the definition of following grades:

•    WU: A grade of “WU” is to be assigned to students who participated in an academically related activity at least once, completely stopped attending at any time before the culminating academic experience of the course, i.e., final exam, final paper, etc., and did not officially withdraw.

o    A WU grade should never be given in place of an ‘F’ grade.

o    The ‘F’ grade is an earned grade based on poor performance and the student not meeting the learning objectives/outcomes of the course throughout the entire academic term/session. If the student has participated in an academically related activity at least once or if there is documented evidence of the student’s participation in a course, and they have ceased participating in the course, at the end of the term, the unofficial withdrawal grade reported must be a “WU”. When a student does not officially withdraw from a course and fails to complete the course requirements, the instructor assigns the "WU" grade on the final grade roster.

•    F: A grade of "F" is a failure grade given to a student who completed the culminating academic experience of the course and failed. A student who completed a course unsuccessfully should be granted the grade of “F” with the culminating academic experience of the course, i.e., final exam, final paper, etc. This grade can also be assigned if the student has completed most of the course and documentation of failing course work is available.

o    A WU grade should never be given in place of an ‘F’ grade.

o    The ‘F’ grade is an earned grade based on poor performance and the student not meeting the learning objectives/outcomes of the course throughout the entire academic term/session.

o    This grade can also be assigned if the student has completed most of the course and documentation of failing course work is available. Moreover, such action should encompass the elimination of any possible “INC” grade being awarded, meaning that the “F” grade is awarded with full knowledge and effect that submission of any/all incomplete work by the student would not result in the student’s passing of the course.

• INC: The grade of “INC” (Incomplete) should only be given by the instructor in consultation with the student with the following guidelines:

o    When there is a reasonable expectation that a student can successfully complete the requirements of the course no later than the last day of the following semester, or its equivalent in calendar time, exclusive of Summer Session/Term. Upon timely completion of said incomplete work, the student would earn passing grade.

§   Temporary grade awarded when the disposition of the final grade requires further evaluation for reasons other than the Procedures for Imposition of Sanctions related to the Board's Academic Integrity Policy Transcript comments for INC grades should be added to the student record indicating the nature of the incomplete

o    The grade of “INC” lapses to an “FIN” grade no later than the last day of the following semester, or its equivalent in calendar time, exclusive of Summer Session/Term.

o    Students who have officially withdrawn from a college and have these grades may be exempted from the limitations.

•    Academically related activities include, but are not limited to:

o    physically attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students.

o    submitting an academic assignment.

o    taking an exam, an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction.

o    attending a study group that is assigned by the school.

o    participating in an online discussion about academic matters and

o    initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course.

o    engaging in an online academically related activity or initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a course-related question. Logging into an online class is not sufficient, by itself, to demonstrate academic participated by the student.

Change of Grade Policy & Process Effective Fall 2021

The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for change of grade and associated deadline and thereby facilitating timely progress to degree completion and compliance with financial aid requirements that all courses taken contribute to degree completion. This policy is intended to reflect the University's commitment to the student success goals and the requirements of New York State’s Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

Application for a change of grade, assigned by a member of the faculty, may be made at any time within one year from the end of the semester in which the course was taken. Either the student or the instructor may make this request. The procedures outlined below applies to the change of passing letter grades, PEN, F, FIN, WU. Grades cannot be changed once a student has graduated and their academic record is closed.

Change of Final Grade

• Faculty members who initiate such a change must file a Change of Grade Form (paper or secure online form), including the reason for the change, follow campus changes of grade approval process, and forward the completed form to the Office of the Registrar, who will process the change and notify the student and faculty.

• Undergraduate grade change request over one academic year requires the approval of the Grade Appeals Committee (or campus equivalent.)

• Graduate change of grades over one academic year requires the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies (or campus equivalent.)

Change of INC to Administrative FIN

• Campus Registrar assigns the grade of FIN when an INC (Incomplete) remains unresolved at the end of the semester following the semester in which the course was taken (exclusive of Summer Term.)

• The student or the instructor may appeal this administrative action. Graduate Students who receive an Incomplete (INC grade) must fulfill their academic obligation within one calendar year (or earlier campus deadline) of the end of the semester in which the grade of Incomplete is given.

• Incompletes unresolved in the above-mentioned time-period will become FIN in students’ records and may not be changed thereafter.

Change of PEN to Final Letter Grade

• The “PEN” grade is a temporary grade awarded when the disposition of the final grade requires further evaluation and when the absent or incomplete grades are inappropriate. 'PEN' is also used to facilitate the implementation of the Procedures for Imposition of Sanctions whereby colleges must hold a student’s grade in abeyance pending the outcome of the academic review process. Final determination of a grade will depend on final evaluation by the instructor or the outcome of the college’s academic review process. PEN grade must be resolved to letter grade by the end of the semester following the semester in which the course was taken.

Student Appeal

• Students are strongly encouraged to first communicate with the professor of the course. If that conversation does not remedy the situation, or if students choose to not follow that route, then students who think that a final grade was issued erroneously may file a grade appeal. Appeals must be filed within 30 calendar days of grade assignment in CUNYfirst.

Faculty Appeal

• An appeal instituted by a member of the faculty to change an administrative FIN must indicate that the work required to resolve the INC grade was in the instructor’s possession prior to the INC deadline date. Appeals must be filed within 30 calendar days of FIN grade assignment in CUNYfirst.

Grade Appeals Process

• Student or Faculty request shall be reviewed by the department grade appeals committee (or campus equivalent.) The departmental shall review the matter and make a recommendation to the faculty member within 30 calendar days.

• If the departmental grade appeals fail to make a recommendation to the faculty member within 30 calendar days, the grade appeal will be escalated to the college-wide grade appeals committee (or campus equivalent.)

• The college-wide grade appeals committee (or campus equivalent) shall have 30 calendar days to make a recommendation to the department and faculty member.

• The faculty member, upon receipt of the department or college-wide committee’s recommendation, must render a judgment within 15 calendar days and communicate in writing/via online form to the Campus Registrar his or her decision to either sustain the grade or submit a grade change.

This Policy shall supersede and override all undergraduate and graduate program-level grading change policies currently in effect at CUNY colleges and schools Effective Fall 2021.

Academic Penalty Removal for WU grade Effective Fall 2021

• A withdrawal after the financial aid certification date or program adjustment period is assigned the grade of “WD” (Dropped) or “WN” (Never Participated), or “W” (Withdrew) or “WU” (Withdrew Unofficially). Currently WD, W, WN are not academically punitive grade i.e., these grades do not impact student GPA. For Title IV purpose University uses our Grading policy (this document) for compliance with R2T4 regulations. Effective Fall 2021, WU grade will not have punitive impact on student’s GPA. WU grade will continue to be used to denote Unofficial Withdrawal. This Policy shall supersede and override all undergraduate and graduate program-level grading change policies currently in effect at CUNY colleges and schools.

College Now Program Grading Policy Effective Fall 2021

• College Now is a University wide initiative to offer college level courses to NYC’s public high school students. Students take credit-bearing courses that are part of the regular curriculum at any one of the participating CUNY colleges. Since these are actual college courses a transcript can be generated for all participating students who enroll in these courses.

• Currently the same letter grade system that is used on CUNY campuses is used in these courses. Upon matriculation in any of CUNY colleges other than the one sponsoring the course, the course is treated like transfer credit. The earned letter grade is not entered on the transcript at the receiving school.

• If the student matriculates at the same college that sponsored their College Now course, the course appears on the transcript as a regular course with a letter grade and GPA. Because the same rules that apply to students transferring within CUNY are used for College Now students, if a student gets a passing grade in the course, the course will transfer. If, however, the student attends the college that sponsored the course, the letter grade and its corresponding GPA are calculated into the student’s record. This is fine for students earning a “C” or better, but students earning a letter grade lower than a “C” start their academic career when entering college, on probation. In some cases, their financial aid may be impacted.

• Effective Fall 2021, in all College Now programs the only passing grades permitted will be iterations of A through C. Lower passing grades such as C-, D+, D and D- will automatically convert to the grade of CR (credit) and the F, WD, WU, W, WN grade will convert to NC (No Credit). CR will carry academic credit and NC will not. Neither grade will impact the student’s GPA. Upon matriculation, NC grades earned during College Now program, will not impact students financial aid status. This Policy shall supersede and override all College Now program-level grading policies currently in effect at CUNY colleges and schools.

Final Grade Submission Deadlines Effective Fall 2017

• Beginning Fall 2017, City University of New York (CUNY) will implement a university-wide Final Grade Submission Deadline policy. Given the variety of student-centered application, enrollment and graduation transactions that needs to be completed in a timely fashion, all CUNY institutions will require undergraduate final grades to be submitted no later than three business days (72 hours) after the last day of the final exam period for the term (or equivalent for sessions). Individual colleges may impose more stringent deadlines if they so choose. This date will be published in the Academic Calendar.

• Submitting grades on time prevents delays students may experience related to Enrollment processes, Transcript requests, Scholarships/Honors awards, Degree verifications by employers, Conferral of degrees, Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Calculation, Academic Standing Calculation, and mailing of diplomas.

• Given that the wide range of Graduate/Professional programs offered at the University have significantly less standardization in their instructional delivery models and practices, this policy allows campuses offering Graduate/Professional programs to use the 72 hours deadline or establish alternative grade submission deadlines for courses offered in these programs. This Policy shall supersede and override all grading deadline policies currently in effect at CUNY colleges and schools.

F-Repeat Policy

04/23/1990, 12/14/1990, 9/19/1994, 2/23/2004

F-Repeat policy implementation for courses taken on ePermit

When CUNY Permit students withdraw completely from classes at both the host and home colleges if the PERM message course on the term record remains with no grade assigned the r2t4 process does not consistently recognize these students as completely withdrawn. CUNY Board of Trustees resolved that the grades earned for ePermit coursework shall appear on the student's academic transcript at the home college and be included in the calculation of the student's semester and overall grade point averages. This policy applies to all earned grades as well as to administrative designations. (BTM,2004,02-23,004,_A) Therefore all grades A – Z must be recorded on the home college transcript. Furthermore, when a student has withdrawn from a host college course, either officially, unofficially, or administratively, the home college must record the W series grades assigned by the host college on the PERM message course in addition to the specific course equivalent recorded in other credits. W series grades include WD, WN, W, WU, WA.