GRADING & UNIVERSITY GRADES
You are required by the university “[t]o inform students early in the term, by means of syllabi or other written statements, of the grading policy to be used, including a description of the relative weight to be assigned to different activities and of attendance requirements, if any” (Faculty Handbook: Policies and Procedures, "Ethics of Instruction," #2). Writing a detailed grading policy in the syllabus, including how much you will mark down late papers or absences, is time-consuming but worthwhile. Students will judge you as a fair grader if your grading practices are clear to them from the start of the semester. You can use a letter system to grade papers: A through F. Or, you can use points, and let the student match the points with the coordinating letter grade. Students like points. If you use points, students receiving a B- or 83 on an essay can see that they are one point away from receiving a C+ or 82. If the essay is weighted 25% in the overall course scoring, points-conscious students will see that they risk receiving a C on their report card if they receive a C or 80 on another essay worth 15%. While many students will be happy to see that they are passing, other students who ride the borderline between grades throughout the semester nearly always presume that they are doing B or A work and that they are sure to receive an A or B on their final report, even when they are in the B- or A- range.
University Grades
The grades that ENG 101 and ENG 102 instructors can assign students on the final grade report are as follows. (Note that effective fall 2001, SIUE stopped using the E grade. Instead, faculty now post Fs for students who fail courses.)
| A | Excellent | 4 points |
| B | Good | 3 points |
| C | Satisfactory | 2 points |
| D | Poor | 1 point |
| F | Failure | 0 points |
| I | Incomplete | 0 points |
| PR | Progress | 0 points |
| Note: | The "PR" is given only in General Education Skills courses. In ENG 101 and 102, it is assigned to students who have completed all assignments, fulfilled the attendance requirements stated on the teacher's syllabus, and made "progress" during the semester, but whose writing has not reached the "C" level by the end of the semester. Students who fall into this category--none of whom is ready to move out of ENG 101 into ENG 102, and none of whom is ready to move out of ENG 102 into the demanding writing environments found in many SIUE classes--should not be given a "D" or "F." They should be given a "PR."
The "PR" grade forces students to repeat the course (and pay the requisite fee) so that they can attempt to reach a more sophisticated writing level. However, the "PR" does not affect students' grade point averages. Thus, it helps some students avoid the Academic Probation status, and it allows some students to retain financial aid upon which they are dependent. The "PR" forces students to repeat ENG 101 or 102 while minimizing collateral damage. Please note that students can receive only one "PR" for ENG 101, and only one "PR" for ENG 102. Students who have not attained the "C" level, but who have already received a "PR," must be assigned a "D" or "F." |
| UW | Unauthorized Withdrawal | 0 points | Calculated as an F in students’ GPA |
| W | Withdrawal | 0 points | |
| WP | Withdrew Passing | 0 points | |
| WF | Withdrew Failing | 0 points | Calculated as an F in students’ GPA |
| WR | Withdrawal by Registrar | 0 points |
Instructors may withdraw students who fail to meet absence requirements as posted in their syllabi. The stated absence policy must be specific, i.e. “a student who misses more than three classes before week 10 will be withdrawn from the course and be assigned a WR for the course.” After week 10, instructors may not withdraw students.
A word about assigning an I (incomplete) for students in ENG 101 or ENG 102: use the I sparingly. Student who have missed a significant number of classes or have not handed in assignments as the result of circumstances beyond their control--accidents, surgeries, military duty, a child’s illness, and so forth--probably should be advised to take the course again. Students burdened with the kinds of problems that prevent them from writing papers or coming to class are not going to finish their work before the end of the following semester. An I should be granted only to students who have completed all of their course work virtually up to the moment that an unexpected event, such as a serious illness, interrupted their progress. If there are only a few days in the semester remaining and perhaps one assignment, an I might be appropriate. If you do post an I, the following guidelines apply:
"Unless the instructor has specified a shorter period of time, an incomplete grade which is not completed within one year will automatically be changed to an "E" ["F" EFFECTIVE FALL 2001] (graduation notwithstanding). If an instructor specifies a shorter period of time, he/she must communicate this stipulation in writing--with copies to the Registrar's Office and the instructor's unit head--to the student at the time the incomplete is granted. Any student who feels that mitigating circumstances should allow an extension of time limit beyond one year for completion of an incomplete grade may petition the faculty member who granted the grade. If the faculty member agrees to grant the extension, he/she shall inform the student and also the faculty member's unit head and shall then notify the Registrar. Students and their advisors will be notified of outstanding incompletes and of the due dates on which the incompletes would revert to an "F." (Faculty Handbook: Policies and Procedures, "Incomplete Grades")
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URL: http://www.siue.edu/ENGLISH/Comp_Manual/grading_overview.html
Published by: Department of English Language and Literature
Last Update: 29 October 2007 by English Web Manager
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