ProposalforRequiredSubmissionofGrades
AndAddendumtoPolicyD05.0Grades
CreatedbyNickGiordano
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July21,2015
Introduction:
Theimportanceofgradingonastudent’sfutureextendsfarbeyondtheclassroom.Manyextracurricular
activities,sports,andjobopportunitiescomeonthebasisthatastudentkeepsuptheirgrades-afterall,
thegradeistheessentialbenchmarkonyourpreparednessforgraduation.
Thisimportanceplacedongradinghasmadethesubjectofgradesoneofthelargestsourcesoftension
betweenfacultyandstudents.TheRITOmbud’sOfficereflectsthisSummaryofConcernsAddressFall,
TigerTermandSpringSemestersAY2014-2015,withthefirsttwo“examplesofStudent[Academic]
ConcernsAddressed”beingDisputedGradesandaLackofregularposting/informingofcoursework
grades.Puttingtheissueofdisputedgradesaside,thefactthatalackofregularpostingandinformingof
gradesisamajorissuepointstoanorganizationallevelofmiscommunicationthatisimpactingnotonly
astudent’sclasswork,butalsobecomingafrustrationforfacultyandthecampusasawhole.
2013(1-1)
FacultyContent
CourseContent
2014(1-1)
2014(5-1)
66%
70%
68%
81%
81%
83%
82%
56%
54%
57%
55%
67%
66%
68%
68%
69%
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CourseGradebook
2013(5-1)
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FacultyGradebook
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Luckily,thisissuedoesnotseemtobebournfromalackofresourcesforpostinggradeseffectively.
MyCoursesgradebookallowsforsimpleentryofgradesandcommunicationtostudents,butthe
utilizationofthistoolislimitedamongfacultyatRIT.Thefollowinggraphshowsdataonfacultyusageof
MyCoursesgradebookprovidedbyIanWebberandtheInteractiveLearningInstitute.
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*AlldataiscompiledfromfeedstomyCourses,maynotreflectdatacontainedwithinSIS.
*Gradebookuseisbasedononegradebookitemactiveincourse
*ContentuseisbasedononeContentitemactiveincourse
*Reportdoesnotinclude6or8weekcourses
*Numbersdoesincludewellness,firstyear,andspecialtopicscourses
Accordingtothedata,RITfacultyusageofthegradebookremainsconsistentlylow.Withalmosthalfof
thecoursesofferedatRITnotbeingregularlyupdated,therealityoftheconcernsbroughtupthrough
theOmbud’sOfficeseemtotakehold.
ThisdocumentproposesanadditiontothecurrentUniversityPolicyD05.0Gradeswhichaddstwonew
sections,VIIISubmissionofGrades,andIXProceduresforHandlingDisputesonSubmissionofGrades.
Thissectionwillserveasaguidelineforsubmittinggradesforstudentreview,basedonprinciplesfound
throughouttheUniversityPolicieswhichensurethepolicywillbefairtowardsfaculty,butallow
studentstobeguaranteedthattheywillbeabletoaccesstheirgradesinatimelyfashioninorderto
gaugethequalityoftheirworkandmakecorrectionsbeforefinalgradesaredue.Thisprincipleof
feedbackcanalsowefoundinPolicyE04.0FacultyEmploymentPolicies,withoneofthekeytenetsof
thefacultyresponsibilityofTeachingbeing“providingfairandusefulevaluationsofthequalityofthe
learner’swork.”
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ThispolicymustalsofollowthepolicyforthePrincipleofAcademicFreedomthatfacultyareguaranteed
whileworkingatRIT.Thefreedomthatafacultymemberhastoruntheirowncourseandgradebytheir
ownmetricsandstandardswithinthegeneralRITgradingprinciplesmeansthattheproposedVIII
SubmissionofGradespolicyaddendumtotheD05.0Gradespolicymustrespecttheautonomyand
gradingstyleofeachfacultymember.Manylandmarkrulings,suchastheSupremeCourtcaseBoardof
CuratorsoftheUniv.ofMo.v.Horowitzhaveretainedthat“theprofessorshouldretainwidediscretion
inhisevaluationoftheacademicperformanceofhisstudents.”(Univ.ofMo.v.Horowitz,1978)Each
coursewillgradedifferently,somemorefrequentlythanothers,somemaynothaveatraditionalgrade
atall.TheimportanceofthisnewadditiontotheD05.0Gradespolicyistheinsurancethatstudentscan
expectthatassignmentsthathavegradesandhavebeengradedcompletelycanbepostedonlinefor
theirownreviewinatimelymanner.Thiscommunicationwillnotonlyallowstudentstobettergauge
theirprogressinacourse,butdecreasethenumberofcomplaintsandissuesthatarebroughtupdueto
astudent’slackofknowledgeofhowwelltheyaredoinginaclass.
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Thepolicybelowisafirstdraft,andstillhassomeassumptionsthatneedtobedebatedandanswered.
Onelargeunknownvariableisaquestionofenforcement.Howwillthisnewaddendumtothegrading
policybeenforced?Noteveryclasswillhavegradestopost,andstudentsmaybecontentwiththatin
somecases.Assumedly,thispolicywouldbeenforcedthesamewaythattheothersectionsare
enforced,whichisthroughthecurrentorganizationalstructureoftheOfficeoftheProvostandthe
currentgradedisputepolicy.Whenstudentsraiseconcernsongradesthatarenotbeingputintothe
onlinegradebook,theycanmovethroughthedepartmentandcollegestructuretosolvetheissue.
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Itisrecommendedthatotherstepsaretakenalongwiththeadditionofthispolicy,suchasthe
publishingormarketingofguidesthathaveeasy-to-followstepsonhowtopostgradestoMyCourses
gradebook,acommonfeatureformanyuniversities.TheInteractiveLearningInstituteprovidea
MyCoursesQuickReferenceguide(seeWorksCited)currently,whichmaymeanthatitisjustamatter
ofadvertisingthisguidetoteacherswhomaynotunderstandhowtousetheMyCoursesgradebook.
Thispolicyisadesiredandimportantsteptowardsbridgingthecommunicationgapbetweenstudents
andfacultyongradingpractices,andwillbekeyintacklingorlesseningtheimpactofothergraderelatedissues,suchasgradedisputesandexpectationsforclasses.
D05.0 GRADES
I. STATEMENT OF STANDARD
At the commencement of the course, and as appropriate throughout the course, it is the instructor's
responsibility to:
Define criteria for evaluation.
•
State the process for converting the professor's evaluation criteria to the RIT grading system.
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Define timelines and expectations for the submission of coursework grades.
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VIII. SUBMISSION OF GRADES
It is the instructor’s responsibility to inform students of their grades on completed coursework in a timely
manner. The submission of completed grades for coursework is expected to be posted and accessible for
students regularly throughout the course.
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All coursework is expected to have grades submitted no more than two weeks of academic classes after the
submission deadline, even if hard copies are being returned during class time. This two-week period excludes
extensions and other cases of work that has been submitted late.
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VIII. PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING DISPUTES ON
SUBMISSION OF GRADES
A. If a student believes that they are not receiving coursework grades in a timely fashion, it is their
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responsibility to bring it up with their instructor.
B. If after that point there remains no change in the submission of grades, the student shall request a meeting
with the instructor and the instructor’s academic unit head.
C. If a meeting between the student, instructor, and instructor's academic unit head does not result in a change
of the submission of grades, the student will arrange a meeting with those parties and the Dean's Designee to
resolve the dispute.
D. If the matter continues to be unresolved after meeting with the Dean’s Designee, instructor and student, the
failure to post grades in a timely manner may be used as evidence by the student for a Final Course Grade
Dispute (See D17.0 Final Course Grade Disputes).
Works Cited
PARATE v. ISIBOR, 868 F.2d 821, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit., March 16, 1989.
BOARD OF CURATORS, UNIV. OF MO. v. HOROWITZ, 435 U.S. 78, Supreme Court of United States.,
Decided March 1, 1978.
RIT MyCourses Quick Reference Guide. Web. https://www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/tls/course-
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delivery/academic-technology/mycourses