EDUCATION POLICY EVALUATING STUDENTS POLICY

Transcription

1 EDUCATION POLICY EVALUATING STUDENTS EFFECTIVE: November 2010 REVISED: June 2011 RELATED POLICIES: Academic Monitoring, Human Rights, Student Appeals POLICY Northern Lights College embraces the fair, respectful, and equitable treatment of all members of the College community and specifically affirms that students will be evaluated in a fair and equitable manner that is clearly articulated, is as transparent as possible, and complies to the current course outline. The concepts of fairness and equitability are defined as behavior that would be deemed fair and/or equitable by a reasonable person. All students must be evaluated equally and consistently regardless of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, gender, sexual orientation, or age. Evaluation criteria, assignment due dates, grading scales, policies regarding penalties and allowances (i.e. assignment due date extensions), and other relevant information will be clearly articulated to students at the beginning of a course in a course outline. Students will be made aware of the following: All methods of evaluation used, Weighting of each method used, Learning outcomes of the course, and Material to be covered in the course. Marking is to a department standard and not on a curve. Final grades will be calculated by instructors and submitted to the Registrar s office within five (5) working days of course completion as defined in the current course syllabus. PROCEDURE All College courses and programs use learning outcomes and/or objectives to clearly describe the material covered in the course or program. Any evaluation of students must be related to this material. Students cannot be held liable for evaluation based on material beyond the scope of the course. The College recognizes that students may be faced with personal issues that could take precedence over their studies, and the College makes reasonable attempts to be flexible in these situations while still maintaining the integrity of its courses and programs.

2 EVALUATING STUDENTS Page 2 of 5 Students also have responsibilities pertaining to conduct, including: Punctuality with assignments, Attendance at classes, Participation in class discussions/activities, or Disclosure of issues that may affect their performance. EXAMINATIONS: Normally, a final examination for each academic course will be held during the last weeks of the semester. If a student misses an examination, which has been announced in advance, s/he is not entitled to a make-up examination unless s/he proves that the absence was unavoidable. The instructor s decision may be appealed to the Dean. FEEDBACK: Feedback shall be provided in a timely manner. Students will be provided with sufficient feedback to allow them to minimize the financial and/or scholastic penalties associated with withdrawal from a program. The College recognizes that variation in evaluation methods will provide a more complete analysis of a student s abilities and that evaluation should not be based on a single instance. In general the College encourages instructors to use at least four separate evaluative items as the basis for final grades, and to make the final exam worth no more than 50% of a final course grade. In certain instances, outside agencies may impose certain restrictions that may limit the methods used in, and the frequency of, evaluation. The number and complexity of assignments and examinations are at the discretion of the instructor, in accordance with the course outline, and with generally expected market and departmental standards. GRADES: Letter grades are used in a number of regular programs except where percentages grades are required by Provincial and external agency sources. Academic course grades, translated to grade points, are used to determine the grade point average (see Grade and Evaluation chart Appendix A). PERCENTAGE EQUIVALENTS FOR LETTER GRADES: The following list of percentage equivalents for letter grades is used for calculating letter grades through the semester and for final grade purposes. A+ 95 % C+ 65 % A 90 % C 60 % A- 85 % C- 55 % B+ 80 % D 50 % B 75 % F Below 50 % B- 70 % GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA) CALCULATION:

3 EVALUATING STUDENTS Page 3 of 5 A student s GPA is calculated by dividing the total grade points earned by the total number of credit hours attempted. Total grade points earned are equal to the number of course credits multiplied by the grade point value assigned to that grade. The calculation only applies to those courses where credit hours are used as part of the course description, e.g. the course SOCI is Sociology at the 100 level (first year) and has three credits (credit hours). ADDITIONAL LETTER GRADES FOR TRANSCRIPTS For transcript purposes, the following grade definitions will be used: AG Annotated Grade * AUD Audit * DNC Did Not Complete (Vocational) INC Incomplete * (Academic and Career Technical) NC No Credit * NSH No Show P Pass ** RW Required to Withdraw T Transfer Credit * W Withdrawal * NGR No Grade Submitted * Not included in grade point average ** Not included in grade point average, however, credits are earned GRADES DEFINED: AG Annotated Grade A student on a modified regular program due to a disability may be awarded an Annotated Grade (AG) to indicate successful completion. AUD Audit An Audit student attends class but is not evaluated. No credit is granted. DNC Did Not Complete (Vocational) If a student does not officially withdraw or complete the course, s/he may be given a Did Not Complete (DNC) grade. The student must have achieved a passing grade at the time of leaving. ENR Enrolled The ENR has no value for calculation of Grade Point Average (GPA). Rather, it indicates a student is enrolled in the course and no grade has been received by the Registrar s Office. INC Incomplete (Academic and Career Technical) An Incomplete (INC) grade may be assigned where, due to unforeseen but fully justified reasons, a student was unable to complete the course requirements and needs additional time. A Student Contract (form available at Student Services) outlining the conditions for removal of the INC is written by the instructor and signed by the student. A final grade is assigned when the work agreed upon has been completed and evaluated. The Student Contract must be completed within one semester, following the end of the semester in which it is assigned. Failure to meet the requirements of the Student Contract will result in the INC grade reverting to an F grade.

4 EVALUATING STUDENTS Page 4 of 5 NC No Credit Credit not granted. If a student does not officially withdraw and does not complete the course, the student may be given a No Credit (NC) grade. The NC grade is granted only in exceptional cases where evidence is provided of unforeseen, but fully justified reasons, for non-completion of the course. Thus, the NC grade may be used where an INC grade requirement may not be met. NGR No Grade Submitted No grade submitted at time transcript was issued. NSH No Show If a student has registered for a course but has neither attended the course nor officially withdrawn, s/he will receive a No Show (NSH) grade. P Pass The Pass (P) grade is used when a percentage grade is not appropriate. The P grade indicates that a student has attended the course and has met the minimum standard or better. RW Required to Withdraw A Required to Withdraw (RW) grade is issued when a student must withdraw from a course/program for non-academic and/or academic progression issues. T Transfer Credit The College has granted credit for academic course work completed at another institution. W Withdrawal For the grade to be recognized as an official Withdrawal, a student must withdraw within the time frame specified in the Course Change/Withdrawal section. CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE GRADES: ATT Attended EC External credit assigned P Pass F Fail NSH No Show W Withdrawal

5 EVALUATING STUDENTS Page 5 of 5 APPENDIX A Grades and Evaluation Chart Letter Grade Grade Point A+ Distinguished Achievement 4.33 A Distinguished Achievement 4.00 A- Distinguished Achievement 3.67 B+ Above Average Achievement 3.33 B Above Average Achievement 3.00 B- Above Average Achievement 2.67 C+ Satisfactory Achievement 2.33 C Satisfactory Achievement 2.00 C- Satisfactory Achievement 1.67 D Marginal Achievement 1.00 F Unsatisfactory Achievement 0.00