Grading Policies

Grading System The St. Norbert College grading system is as follows:

All grades are entered on the student’s permanent record. No grade may be changed after one year from the date the grade was originally given. Suspensions or dismissals as a result of academic dishonesty, judicial sanctions, or academic performance will be noted on official transcripts

The grading system at St. Norbert College is based on the assumption that a student either receives credit or does not receive credit for work undertaken. Credit can be earned for the same or equivalent course of study only once. The quality of a student’s work is expressed in grades and grade points. A 4.00 grade point system is used under which a student earns grade points for each course successfully completed. If credit is denied, the marks of “F,” “W,” “WF,” “U,” “NT,” “NR” or “I” are shown next to the work undertaken. If credit is earned, a range in evaluation from A to D or S is given to denote the quality of the work done. Grades in all courses attempted at St. Norbert College shall be computed in the GPA except those courses evaluated “W,” “I,” “NR,” “IP,” “AU,” “S,” “U,” or “CT.” “NT,” “S” and “U” credits attempted are calculated into total credits attempted for satisfactory academic progress determination. A grade of “S” “Satisfactory” indicates satisfactory performance and is not calculated into the GPA. Master’s thesis and advocacy projects are to be graded on a Satisfactory (“S”) or Unsatisfactory (“U”) basis in which “S” equates to work meeting program requirements in all areas of evaluation as determined by the readers and a “U” equates to work that does not meet minimum requirements in one or more areas of evaluation.

Students activated for military duty are given grades of GI for all coursework. No quality points or credits are issued.

Mid-Term Performance Evaluation
To assist students in the evaluation of their performance during each academic semester, the college has implemented a mid-term performance evaluation program in which students are informed of marginal but passing (D) or unsatisfactory/failing (F) work in any given course at mid-semester. A copy of the report is sent to the student’s academic advisor. Faculty are encouraged to assign midterm grades for all students so that students have an accurate grasp of their progress in any given course at mid-semester.

Incomplete Grades
St. Norbert College expects students to complete all course assignments on schedule. It is assumed that faculty are prudent in establishing and communicating course requirements early in the semester. It is also assumed that students, in consultation with their advisors, will undertake responsibilities commensurate with their abilities and their curricular and co-curricular commitments.

The grade designation of “Incomplete” (I) is used when some coursework or the final examination has not been completed due to a serious reason beyond the student’s control. Awarding an Incomplete is an option only if the student has extenuating circumstances that occur following the deadline to withdraw from a course without penalty, the date of which is indicated on the academic calendar for each term.

An individual who believes there is justification for the awarding of an incomplete should fill out a Request for an Incomplete form, found on the registrar’s web page, after the deadline to withdraw without penalty and before the end of the last week of classes for the term. The course instructor will review the request and decide whether or not to award an incomplete. If the request is approved, the course instructor will determine the details of a Completion Contract for the student, and submit the contract to the registrar's office. 

The course instructor will stipulate a deadline for completion of any outstanding work in the Completion Contract. Except for extraordinary circumstances, this date should be no later than eight weeks following the last day of exam week for the term in which the incomplete was awarded. If the student completes the work by the specified date, the grade will be calculated according to the method outlined by the instructor in the Completion Contract.If the work is not completed within the specified time period, or no final grade is submitted, the incomplete will convert to the failing grade of “F.” Once an incomplete has been converted to a letter grade, no further grade changes will be allowed.

A student may neither be enrolled for credit in any course that has an incomplete course as a prerequisite nor graduate while an incomplete designation for a course remains on the student record.

Change of Grades
Grades become final upon receipt in the registrar’s office and may not be changed thereafter unless a clerical error was made in recording the grade originally, or upon successful appeal of a grade. No grade may be changed after one year from the date the grade is originally given.

Procedures for Appealing Grades

1. A student who feels that an inaccurate or unfair grade has been awarded must first consult the instructor. This consultation must take place and the appeal process begun no later than six weeks after the beginning of the semester following the assignment of the disputed grade.

2. The instructor should explain to the student the process of arriving at the grade.

3. If the issue remains unresolved, both the student and the instructor are required to put their explanations in writing.

4. The written statements and any supporting documents are forwarded to the appropriate associate dean or the dean of the business school who will convene the appropriate advisory council* to consider the appeal. The council will investigate the dispute and make a decision. The advisory council is free to consult faculty and students from the discipline concerned, and the individual disputants, in arriving at its decision. If the faculty member whose grade is being challenged is not a member of a division, the appeal is sent to the vice president for academic affairs. The dean will convene the divisional associate deans and the dean of the business school who will act in lieu of an advisory council. If the appeal involves an instructor in physical education, the athletic director will also be a member of the appeal board.

5. A copy of the advisory council’s decision will be sent to the faculty member, the student and the registrar.

6. If either party wishes to challenge the decision of the advisory council, an appeal must be made directly to the vice president for academic affairs as soon as possible after receipt of the decision. Action by the dean on an appeal is final.

While a procedure for grade appeals is necessary, it is anticipated that most disagreements will be resolved at the first stage of the process — a conference between the faculty member and the student. The burden of proof rests on the terms “prejudiced and capricious.” While the policy is intended to uphold the faculty member’s use of professional judgment, it also acknowledges the right of all students to know the basis upon which their work was evaluated and to challenge a perceived injustice through an orderly set of procedures. It is, therefore, the faculty member’s responsibility to preserve records of grades, as well as students’ papers and examinations that were not handed back, at least until the end of the sixth week of the following semester.

*Due to the professional nature of these deliberations, any student representatives to divisional advisory councils do not attend grade appeals.