Grades and Grade Appeals Policy
General Statement
The goal of this policy is to define final course grades and provide a basis by which a final grade can be appealed by students. A grade must be recorded for every credit course in which a student is enrolled. The final course grade is submitted electronically to the College Registrar’s office and is posted online at the end of the term. The course syllabus provides the faculty member’s final course grade policy.
For concerns not related to the final course grade calculation as defined in the faculty member’s syllabus, the student should review and follow the Broward College Student Complaint Process.
The Policy and the Student
Each student shall be provided with a course syllabus which includes the faculty member’s grading policy and academic honesty policy for the course which complies with the College’s mission, goals, and policy. A student may be able to appeal the final course grade issued by their professor through the Grade Appeal Procedure (A6Hx2- 4.19). In cases where a faculty member’s academic honesty policy appears to be violated, students may appeal the faculty member’s decision to invoke consequences of committing academic dishonesty through the grade appeal procedure (A6Hx2-4.19).
The Policy and the Faculty and Staff: Faculty Grading Policy
Each faculty member shall communicate their grading policy in writing in the course syllabus and shall post it in the College’s learning management system within the first week of class meetings. The elements to be considered in calculating the student’s final course grade shall be articulated, and all factors to be considered in arriving at the final grade shall be stated. Any appeal of the grade shall be considered in light of the standard set forth in the faculty member’s grading policy in the syllabus. In rare cases, the syllabus may need modification. Students must be provided with any modifications to the syllabus.
Recordkeeping and Attendance Verification to Accurately Respond to Federal Financial Aid Audits
Each faculty member shall keep a record of grades for each class for four major terms from the initial grading period.
Implementation and Oversight
The President has the authority to establish procedures to implement this policy. The College Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs in conjunction with the appropriate Pathway Dean is responsible for the implementation and oversight of policy compliance. Assigning the final grade for a course is the responsibility of each faculty member.
Final Grades and Records
Final grades for each term are recorded and archived in College Records. Grade point averages (GPA) for graduation and honors are calculated only on college-level academic work which includes all work attempted by the student at all colleges he/she has attended. The final grades are used to calculate the GPA.
| Grade | Description | Grade Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | Excellent | 4 |
| B | Good | 3 |
| C | Average | 2 |
| D1 | Below Average | 1 |
| F | Failure–Unsatisfactory Progress | 0 |
| U | Unsatisfactory | 0 |
| S | Satisfactory | 0 |
| PR | Progressing at a satisfactory pace but has not completed the course | 0 |
| CR | Credit | 0 |
- 1
A “D” grade may not fulfill graduation requirements for certain programs.
The S, PR, and U grades are used only for those courses which have received prior approval through the curriculum review process to award the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades.
The following enrollment statuses, however, do not affect the grade point average:
| Grade | Description | Grade Points |
|---|---|---|
| I | Incomplete | 0 |
| X | Audit | 0 |
| XC | Audit status after drop/add period and prior to audit deadline except on a third attempt | 0 |
| XW | Audit Withdrawal | 0 |
| W | Official Withdrawal | 0 |
| WN | Withdrawal for non-attendance | 0 |
| NC | Non-Credit Course | 0 |
| NG | No Grade Assigned | 0 |
| NR | Grade Not Received | 0 |
Enrollment Statuses
Enrollment statuses which do not immediately affect the grade point average are awarded under the following circumstances:
I Incomplete
An I grade may be given in courses for a student who has a reasonable chance of successfully completing the course. The student who has not completed the required course work by the end of the term may be required to provide documentation for extenuating circumstances. The student should make arrangements to have the I changed to a final grade by the instructor (by the agreed upon date) during the next full term (summer terms are not considered in this time limit). If no change is initiated during the next full term, the I will automatically become an F on the student’s permanent record. If the course work is completed, resulting in a passing grade, the student’s transcript will be amended and their final GPA calculated.
X Audit
A student should indicate the desire to audit a course when registering for the class and cannot change from audit to credit after the drop/add period. Up to the end of the withdrawal period, a student may change to audit with the permission of the faculty member. A student who audits a course must adhere to attendance requirements of the course. In addition, the student must complete all assignments and examinations that their professor stipulates. No grade will be assigned, and no credit will be awarded. However, an audit will count as an attempt if such enrollment status is declared after the end of the drop/add period per Florida Administrative Rule 6A-14.0301. The transcript will indicate a course was audited by listing an X grade. A student may take a course previously audited for credit but may not petition for credit on the basis of the previous audit. The cost for auditing a course is the same as taking it for credit. A department may exclude a course from audit status. A student who is required to be certified as completing competency-based college preparatory instruction may not be enrolled in college preparatory courses as an audit student per Florida Administrative Rules.
XW Audit Withdrawal
In cases where a student is auditing a course and has failed to adhere to the instructor’s audit requirements for the X grade/status, the grade/status of XW (withdrawal from audit status) will be awarded.
XC Audit Status after Drop/Add period and prior to Audit Deadline
In cases where a student receives a faculty member’s permission to change from credit to audit status after the drop/add period and prior to audit deadline, the XC grade/status will be issued. In compliance with the maximum attempt rule, A, B, C, D, or F grades must be assigned on third attempts.
W Official Withdrawal
Please see Withdrawal Policy 6Hx2-5.36
WN Withdrawal for Non-Attendance During Enrollment Verification
The WN grade is assigned to a student who does not attend class during the enrollment verification period at the start of the term.
NC Non-Credit Course
The NC is assigned automatically for any zero-credit hour course. NC is used for continuing education, economic development, lifelong learning, and other classes for which no credit is awarded.
NG No Grade Assigned
The NG is used to indicate that a student has not satisfied the requirements for a non-credit class. It is also used for certain self-paced courses as well as designated Health Sciences and continuing education classes.
NR No Grade Reported
The NR is assigned by the Registrar’s Office in cases where class rolls have not been submitted in time for normal processing of grades.
Total Attempts – All Courses
Florida State Board of Education Administrative Rules, Chapter 6A-14.0301, limits the number of times a student may attempt a course. An attempt is defined as student enrollment after the 100 percent refund deadline. A student may have only three attempts per course, including the original grade, repeat grades, withdrawals, and audits declared after the end of the drop/add period. A fourth attempt may be allowed only through a successful petition to the Academic Standards Committee based on major extenuating circumstances. The total attempts limitation, however, does not apply to repeatable courses that have been successfully completed and are now being repeated for further skill enhancement; or to courses that are required to be repeated by a regulatory agency; or are being repeated as part of a regulatory requirement for continuing education to stay current in a field, such as teacher certification.
Forgiveness
In accordance with Florida State Board of Education Administrative Rules, Chapter 6A- 14.0301, a student who has completed a course and desires to improve their grade for that course may repeat the course only if he/she has earned a D or F grade. The number of repeat attempts is limited to two per course. Repetition of a course removes the previous grade from the student’s record only for the purpose of calculating GPA. The original grade remains on the transcript, but only the grade earned in the last attempt is used for calculating the degree GPA. The State’s Articulation Agreement does not allow courses to be repeated for the purpose of changing a student’s GPA after the associate degree has been awarded.
Violation of Policy
All violations of this policy are to be referred to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to, and including termination.
- For non-represented employees, action will be taken pursuant to the terms and conditions of the relevant employment contract, if applicable.
- For full-time faculty, refer to the Collective Bargaining Agreement between The Board of Trustees of Broward College and United Faculty of Florida, Broward College Chapter.
Definitions
Academic Dishonesty: Includes any type of cheating that occurs in relation to course and/or program activities. Academic Dishonesty may include, among other things, plagiarism, falsification, deception, as well as giving or receiving assistance on a formal academic exercise.
GPA – The average grade earned by a student, calculated by dividing the grade points earned by the number of credits attempted.