Grades

3.1 Due Dates for Final Grades

Semester final grades are due within three (3) calendar days of the final examination date in the fall semester and within two (2) calendar days of the final examination in the spring semester. It is critically important that this deadline be observed in the spring semester to enable the clearance of seniors for graduation. Even one or two late ungraded classes can be extremely disruptive to the colleges/schools and to many students.

In the extraordinary event that this is impossible, the instructor must notify both the Office of Academic Records and the dean's office.

Faculty should submit grades for students in their courses via the Faculty Dashboard in the Faculty Tab of the portal. my.fordham.edu.  Note that you can return to this page to change a grade that was entered incorrectly up until midnight of the same day.  After that, to change a grade, you need to use the Faculty Change of Grade system.  See section 3.3 for details.

3.2 Grading System

The University grading system includes both grades that can be given only by the instructor of the course and grades that can be given only by other offices, most notably the dean's office and the Office of Academic Records.

3.2.1 Grades Given by Course Instructors

The most common grades given by instructors are letter grades representing levels of academic achievement. These letter grades, their description, and their quality points are indicated below.

While circumstances may vary, a consistent pattern of giving predominantly very high grades will be viewed with concern. Grade inflation hurts students by undermining the University's reputation with graduate and professional schools. For further information on grades, visit fordham.edu/grades_transcript_information and select Explanation of Grades/Transcript. It is the discretion of the instructor to assign a percentage range to a letter grade (e.g., 93 percent to 100 percent for an A). Such assignments should be clearly noted on the syllabus.

3.2.2 Other Grades Given by Course Instructors

A. NGR: No Grade Reported for Pending Academic Integrity Violation Cases
When a student chooses to challenge an Academic Integrity Violation,  the instructor should enter NGR until notified of the outcome of the appeal by the chair of the relevant Academic Integrity Committee.

B. P or F^: Pass or fail, for courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis (The caret distinguishes an F for a Pass/Fail course from one for a letter-graded course.)  Enter P if the student would have earned a D or better, otherwise enter F^.

Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are allowed to register for one elective course per year on a Pass/Fail basis. Credit will be granted for a passing grade, and no credit awarded for a failing grade. Since there is no numerical equivalent, as noted above for grades representing academic performance, the grade is not computed in the student's GPA index.

No courses used to fulfill a core, major, or minor program requirement may be taken on a P/F basis. Once chosen, the P/F option cannot be rejected in anticipation of a high letter grade; conversely, the likelihood of a low letter grade is not grounds for a belated request for a P/F. In order to take a course on a P/F basis, the approval of the appropriate class dean or associate dean is required. (In GSB, students are only permitted to exercise their P/F option for liberal arts electives. Pass/fail courses may not be used for the fulfillment of courses going toward majors, minors, or concentrations.)

C. ABS: Absence from Final Examination
If a student does not appear for the final exam without prior arrangement with the instructor, the instructor should report a grade of ABS (rather than an INC). An ABS can also be awarded for a student who has made arrangements with the instructor to miss the final exam due to illness or a death in the family. Such absence may be excused only for illness, personal emergency, or some special contingency. Written documentation of the reason for the absence must be provided to the class dean or associate dean within five University working days of the examination date. In the case of illness, an official doctor's note should be provided; in other situations, a written explanation by the student will be sufficient. This documentation will be used to determine whether approval of the request for a deferred examination will be granted. If the request is approved, the deferred examination must be completed by the date specified on the academic calendar, otherwise the ABS will be changed automatically to an F*. (The asterisk distinguishes this from an F entered by the instructor.  Otherwise they are equivalent). If the request is rejected, then a grade of F should be recorded as the grade for the final examination. The instructor will then be asked to submit a final course grade, utilizing the Change of Grade workflow accessed through the Faculty Dashboard Banner Self-Service in the Faculty tab of the portal.

D. INC: Incomplete Course Assignments, Excluding Final Examination
When course requirements other than just the final exam have not been met, the instructor may report a temporary grade of INC.  The instructor and student must arrange a plan for the missing work to be completed. The instructor should send the plan in writing to the student and to the student's advisor or advising dean, listing the coursework that needs to be completed and the due date by which the student must submit it. GSB students and students enrolled in PCS should contact their class dean to initiate this procedure. Advising deans in PCS will ensure that the necessary forms will be completed to document the INC grade and the associated requirements for completing the course.

Once the student completes the missing requirements, the instructor will assign a grade using the Change of Grade system in the Faculty dashboard.  If the grade is not entered by the date specified on the academic calendar, the INC will be changed automatically to an F*. (The asterisk distinguishes this from an F entered by the instructor.  Otherwise they are equivalent). If the student needs additional time to make up the work, the instructor can request an extension through the student’s advisor or advising team typically in consultation with an associate dean.

No grade of INC may be awarded to seniors in their final semester without the express permission of the assistant dean for seniors/student’s advisor, and then only under rare and compelling circumstances.

F. AF: Failure for excessive absences in a course (used in PCS only)
This mark is equivalent to an academic performance of F with the additional information that this F is associated with excessive absence in the course.

G. S or U: Satisfactory or unsatisfactory, for courses taken on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis
These grades are used only for zero-credit courses.

H. WF: Withdrawal Failure
If a student never officially withdrew from your course and simply stopped attending, you should award a WF and enter the last day of attendance for that student.

3.2.3 Grades Given by Deans and Academic Records

A. W and WF: Withdrawal or Withdrawal Failure
Instructors do not award grades of W. Only deans may award a grade of W (withdrawal without academic penalty) when the student withdraws from a course with the dean's permission before the deadline stipulated in the academic calendar. The entry of WF (withdrawal with academic penalty as F is calculated into the student's GPA index) may be given when the student ceases to attend a course without formal approval from the dean's office. 

B. NGR: No Grade Reported
When a grade is left blank by the instructor after the final deadline for entering grades, the Office of Academic Records will record a grade of NGR*. (The asterisk distinguishes this from an NGR entered by the instructor.  Otherwise they are equivalent).

C. IP: In Progress
When a course is part of a yearlong sequence or else clearly continues beyond a single semester, the Office of Academic Records enters IP on the first semester and continuing semesters until the work is completed.

3.3 Change of Grade

When changing the temporary grades of ABS, INC, and NGR, the instructor should submit a change of grade prior to the deadline identified in the academic calendar. Grade changes are submitted utilizing the Change of Grade workflow accessed through the Faculty Dashboard in the Faculty tab of the portal. These are then routed to each college's designated approver. Any grade of ABS, INC, or NGR that is not changed by the professor by the deadline will be automatically changed to an F* by the Office of Academic Records. Please note that grade increases requested by students after the class has ended without merit or extra work that was given equitably cannot be accepted.

For changes in letter grades indicating academic performance (A through F), prior to midnight of the day that grades are entered, the instructor can return to the faculty grade entry page and correct any errors. Afterwards, the instructor should submit the change of grade request using the change of grade workflow. Once a letter grade indicating the level of academic performance has been submitted to the Office of Academic Records, however, there will have to be an extraordinary reason to change it. This generally consists of a clerical error (reporting or calculating) on the part of the instructor. Students desiring a change of grade should follow the procedure for appealing a course grade, detailed in section 5.