Overall Course Grade Policies FAQ

Over the years, I've had some questions about grading after posting overall course grades.  Here's an FAQ.

1. Can I do additional work (e.g., another assignment, another exam, retake an exam, etc.) to improve my grade?
   
   
   • Sorry, no. If I offered you such an opportunity, then out of fairness I would need to offer such an opportunity to everyone else in the class, which I'm not able to do.
   
   
2. I had personal problems that affected my performance. Can you somehow take those into account and raise my grade?
   
   
   • Sorry, no, there's nothing I can do.

     It's not my position as an instructor to judge whether your personal problems affected your performance and how much. If it were, I would need to talk with each student in the class to see whether they were impacted by medical problems, family problems, money problems, romantic problems, heavy course load, a poorly functioning group, noisy roommates, etc. and take those into account when assigning grades. That's simply not feasible (or appropriate) in my role as an instructor; my role is to judge your performance as demonstrated in course activities.

     However, you can talk with your college dean's office to see whether a retroactive drop would be appropriate in your situation.



3. I needed to pass this course to graduate (or to keep my financial aid, to not be dismissed, to keep my job offer, etc.), but I failed the course. Can you take that into account and change my grade?
   
   
   • Similar to the above, sorry, but I can't take such factors into account in assigning grades. Contact an academic advisor for suggestions.


4. In looking over the gradebook, I see that my score for HW1 is wrong. That will change my grade from a B- to a B. Can you adjust that?
   
   
   • Sorry, but no. The deadline for you to request a regrade or report a misrecorded score on HW1 ended a long time ago (about a week after we posted grades for HW1).
     So, if you care about what your course grade will be (and whether a seemingly minor change now might have an impact later), be sure you take care of business before the deadline.


5. I just discovered a mistake in the grading of my midterm, which will affect my course grade. Can you adjust that?
   
   
   • Answer similar to previous answer.


6. I did much better in the second part of the course. Could you give me some extra points for showing improvement?
   
   
   • No, that's not a factor in my grading scheme. (If it were, I would advertise it at the onset so everyone knew the scheme I was using.)

     However, if you did better in the second part of the course, that by itself will probably help your performance on the final and hence your overall grade in the course.



7. I just missed the cutoff to an A- by a small amount but I have a special case that I believe warrants me getting an A-. Will you take that into account?
   
   
   • No. The Syllabus describes the grading scheme. It purposely does not allow for ``special cases'', for the same reasons given in the answers to many of the previous questions on this web page.


8. I just missed the cutoff to an B- by .05 points. Will you please give me a B- or lower the cutoff so that I get a B-?
   
   
   • No. As I've said elsewhere, I need to draw the cutoffs somewhere and I feel they that already represent quite reasonable cutoffs for the overall given grades. Also, it's likely that if I did as you suggest, the person below you in the gradebook would then ask me the same question you did so that they can get a B-. Where would that end?


9. How come you don't seem to give any C- grades?
   
   
   • A C- is 1.7 grade points, which is below the 2.0 that is important in many ways. Students cannot repeat a course in which they received a C-, so they would be stuck with a bad grade. I give students who fall within the C- range the grade of C.


10. I'm taking this class P/NP and I got a D
    
    
    • Will I get a P?
      
      
      • No. See the relevant UCD Catalog page.
      
      
    • Could you give me a P?
      
      
      • No. In fact, as an instructor, I don't even know whether you chose P/NP grading. I report to the Registrar the usual letter grade and it gets converted by the Registrar's system to P/NP.
      
      
    • Will you change my grade to a C just so I can get a P?
      
      
      • No.
      
      
    • Can I retract my choice of P/NP grading?
      
      
      • Maybe, see campus policies and guidelines, especially #5 item #1 "Grade mode changes needed for graduation ...". To decide whether to try that and to see whether you're providing proper documentation, consult with an advisor.
        
        If you do decide to try this, I will need to sign the grade change petition form mentioned in the above web page. Please leave the form with the CS advisor for me to sign and forward to the committee. Note that the form requests my recommendation. I'll leave that blank. That is, I'll sign the form without recommending either approval or denial, as I defer to the Grade Change Committee to decide such matters consistent with campus policies and their guidelines.

    To avoid situations like the above, you should be careful in choosing P/NP grading.

    
    
11. I submitted no work, but you gave me an `F' course grade. Can you give me an ``E-NWS'' (Enrolled No Work Submitted)?
    
    
    • Repeating what was on the first day handout: Beginning with Fall Quarter 2012, UC Davis has eliminated the grade ``E-NWS'' (Enrolled No Work Submitted), sometimes known as ``NS''. So, if you are enrolled in the class, submit no work, and do not drop, then you will receive an ``F''. If you want to drop the course, be sure to do so by the appropriate deadline and verify with the registration system that you have indeed dropped. After the drop deadline, if you have personal problems that make it impractical for you to pass the course, then consult with your college's undergraduate office to see whether a late drop is appropriate. Or, after the quarter ends, consult with the Registrar's office to see whether a retroactive drop is appropriate. (For more information, consult the catalog.)


12. I got an 'F' as my course grade. Can you instead give me an ``I'' (Incomplete) so I can improve my grade?

    I submitted only HW1 and then essentially ``bailed'' from the course, but you gave me an `F' course grade. Can you give me an ``I'' (Incomplete)?

    I passed HW1-3 and the first exam, but then essentially ``bailed'' from the course. You gave me an `F' course grade. Can you instead give me an ``I'' (Incomplete)?

    
    
    • None of the above requests would be an appropriate use of the Incomplete grade, as described in the UCD Catalog . However, if your specific circumstances warrant, you might be eligible for a retroactive drop; see the undergraduate office of your college.