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Grading System

Courses in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies are graded according to the following scale: Common Grading Scheme for Undergraduate Faculties.

Grade Point Value Definition

A+ 9Exceptional
A8Excellent
B+7Very good
B6Good
C+5Competent
C4Fairly competent
D+3Passing
D2Barely passing
E1Marginally failing
F0Failing

Grades in Courses

The point values in the middle column above are used only in calculating students’ grade point averages they are not used to calculate marks within courses. An online GPA calculator and other tools are available on the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies website.

Announcement in Class: The means of determining the final grade in a course must be announced in writing in each course within the first two weeks of classes. Such information must include the kinds of assignments, essays, examinations, and other components which make up the grade; their relative weights; and any other procedures which enter into the determination of the final grade. In exceptional circumstances, a previously announced marking scheme for a course may be changed, but only with the consent of all students. The new marking scheme must also be distributed in written form.

Feedback: Instructors are obliged to provide a mechanism by which students can be apprised of their progress; in particular, students must be able to make an informed decision on whether to withdraw from a course. Before the deadline for withdrawing from a course without academic penalty, students should receive graded feedback; normally 30% for full-year courses and 15% for one-term courses. (Different arrangements may apply for upper-level undergraduate courses)

Converting Marks to Grades: In courses where percentages are used as a means of reporting grades on individual pieces of work, the following conversion table is to be used in converting percentage grades to letter grades, unless alternative provisions for scaling and/or conversion are announced to students in writing within the first two weeks of classes.

90-100 A+65-69 C+40-49 E
80-89 A60-64 C0-39 F
75-79 B+55-59 D+
70-74 B50-54 D

Release of Final Grades:

  1. Fall/Winter Session: Grades are normally released in January for Fall Term courses and in June for Fall/Winter Term courses and Winter Term courses.
  2. Summer Session: Grades for courses taken in the Summer Session are normally released in September.

Grade Reappraisals

Any student who disputes a grade for any assignment may ask that it be re-evaluated. Normally, the first course of action is for the student to ask that the original instructor reassess the work. If that result is unacceptable, the student may ask the Course Coordinator (in a multi-section course) to re-evaluate the work. If that result is unacceptable, the student may appeal to the UPD. Only written work (“tangible”) may be reappraised.

Faculty members may modify grades as appropriate up to the time of the final submission of grades, but after the final grades have been submitted, a formal written application for the reappraisal of a grade may be undertaken only through the office of the UPD.

Requests for reappraisal must be made within twenty-one (21) calendar days.

After the release of final grades, a student may ask to go over her/his examination paper. She/he may also ask the Department for a reappraisal of the grades on any written assignments. The result of reappraisal may leave the grade unchanged, raised, or lowered. The decision of the Department may be appealed to the Executive Committee of the LA&PS Petitions Committee (only on grounds of procedural irregularities or the presentation of new evidence).

Information regarding deadlines and the policy.