Grades and Performance Evaluations: A Faculty Handbook

[Home] [Grading—Undergraduate Students] [Grading—Graduate Students] [Grading—All Students] [Submitting Evaluations ] [Deliquent Evaluations] [Telephone Reference] [Appendixes]

Students may select the letter grade option for all courses unless the Committee on Educational Policy (CEP) or the Graduate Council has determined that a particular course will be available only for Pass/No Record (P/NP) or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading (S/U). Courses taught during the summer quarter are graded with the same procedure as in the fall, winter and spring quarters. Each quarter the Schedule of Classes lists the courses that may not be taken for a letter grade. (SCR 9.1.4, and 9.1.5).

• In Progress Grades
• Grade Changes
• Student Challenge of Grade or Narrative
• Academic Dishonesty (see The Rule Book)
• Privacy Rights of Students

In Progress Grades

The IP (In Progress) grade notation is restricted to certain multiple-term courses which extend over two or three quarters of an academic year. The grade option selected by an undergraduate for the first term of a multiple term courses applies to each subsequent term. Upon completion of the two or three-quarter sequence the final grade is applied to all quarters.

When a student completes all terms of a multiple term course, the evaluation written applies to each of the terms. The text for the first (and second) term may state “See evaluation for Lit 280C taken in spring 1998” with the text for the last term conveying the full narrative evaluation of the student’s performance. (SCR A9.1.7 and A16.1.5)

All grades (except I and IP) filed on the end-of-term course report are final. Changes to the final grade may be made only when there is a clerical or procedural error. No change to a final grade may be made on the basis of reexamination or the completion of additional work. (SCR 9.1.2)

All changes of grades for undergraduates must be received by the Registrar within one calendar year after the date the original grade was reported. Grade changes submitted after the calendar year must be accompanied by a short statement describing the justification for the request. The request for the grade change with this statement is then forwarded to the Registrar for transmittal to CEP for review.

Instructor Initiated Change of Grade forms are available at department or faculty service offices. The completed form should be submitted to the department for transmittal to the Registrar. These forms are for instructor use only and are not to be given to students.

If an undergraduate student believes that a grade or narrative evaluation is based upon inappropriate criteria, he or she may challenge the grade or evaluation by following the procedure outlined in Appendix C of the Santa Cruz Academic Senate Manual. (See Appendix C in this booklet.)

Graduate students may challenge their grades and narratives evaluations by following the procedure found in SCR 16.3.2, included in Appendix A of this booklet.

In 1974 the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act was enacted by Congress. Specifically, this law governs access to records or data maintained by an educational institution and the release of such records or data. The entire text of campus policy related to student privacy is contained in the document Administrative Procedures For Implementation of University Of California Policies Applying to Disclosure of Information From Student Records which can be viewed at http://reg.ucsc.edu/guidelines.html.

Information, such as student grades, is considered confidential and cannot be released to a third party without written consent of the student. The Department of Education has issued guidelines and interpretations of the law which are pertinent to the release of information, or the public posting of grades. These are:

Records
Means any information or data recorded in any medium including, but not limited to, handwriting, print, tapes, film, microfilm, microfiche, and any electronic storage or retrieval media.

Student Records

Records directly related to a student and maintained by UCSC.

Personally Identifiable
Data or information that includes the name of a student, a personal identifier such as Social Security Number or student number, a list of personal characteristics, or other information which makes it possible to identify the student with reasonable certainty.

Consent

Educational institutions shall not permit access to or the release of information from student records to any third party without the written consent of the student, except those categories of information defined by UCSC as public information.

Failure to comply with this law could ultimately result in the loss of federal funds. Questions concerning this policy should be referred to Associate Registrar (phcarter@ucsc.edu or 9-2749).

Return of Papers and Examinations

The law requires that papers and examinations be returned to students in a way that protects their privacy. When the instructor is unable to personally return materials to students, they must be distributed so that scores or grades (education records) remain confidential.

Some alternatives might be to place each student’s papers in a sealed envelope, with only the student’s name on the outside, or to have students provide the instructor with a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Posting of Exam Scores and Grades

Public posting of midterm and final scores and grades in a manner which may disclose the identity of the student, without the student's consent, is prohibited by federal law. The law also disallows posting grades by use of a “personal identifier” (a Social Security or student identification number) in lieu of a student’s name. An alternative would be to assign numbers to students in such a manner that it is impossible for anyone else to identify the student. In addition, NES on the Web provides the capability to download a file in which student ID numbers are partially masked. If you do not have access to NES on the Web, send e-mail to nes@ucsc.edu.

Alternatives to the Posting of Grades

Within 1 to 2 days of the due date of course reports, students may call Teleslug at 459-SLUG to hear their grades, or may view their grades on the web at http://teleslug.ucsc.edu. In addition, a Grade Notice is available to undergraduates at their college and to graduates students at their department early in the subsequent quarter.

[Return to top.]