[CSCIUndergrad] Fw: College Policies on Course Withdrawals and Absent and Incomplete Grades

[CSCI Undergrad List]

----- Forwarded by Xiuyi Huang/CSCI/Faculty/Queens College on 02/16/2007 
02:27 PM -----

Please be reminded of college policies regarding:
1) Withdrawal from a course
2) Resolution of Absent and Incomplete Grades

If there are questions on these policies, please call 718-997-4486 
regarding undergraduate policy, or Dean Steven Schwarz at 718-997-5190 
regarding graduate policy.

College Policy on Withdrawal from a Course:

Undergraduate
During the unevaluated course withdrawal period, students may withdraw 
from courses through the Web, without faculty evaluation, so that the only 
record appearing on their transcript is W.  The unevaluated course 
withdrawal period begins with the fourth week of the regular semester and 
extends through the end of the eighth week of the semester in the Fall or 
Spring, through the end of the first five days of classes for 
Intersession, and through the end of the third week of classes for Summer 
Session.  While it is not required, instructors can help their students 
make informed decisions on course withdrawal by returning graded work 
before the end of the eighth week. This provides students information on 
their progress and enables them to drop, without evaluation, courses for 
which they are ill-suited or unprepared.

Beginning with the ninth week of the regular semester, permission to 
withdraw may be granted only by the Undergraduate Scholastic Standards 
Committee, located in Virginia Frese Hall, Room 201. Instructors cannot 
grant students such permission. The Committee may grant withdrawals from 
courses after the eighth week ?only for the most pressing and urgent 
reasons? (see the Queens College Undergraduate Bulletin and the Academic 
Senate Policies book).  The Academic Senate requires, further, that the 
student?s reasons for withdrawing be documented to the Committee. Note 
that the expectation of a low or failing grade is not an acceptable reason 
for the Committee to consider a withdrawal from a course. The instructor 
will be asked to indicate on a Course Withdrawal Evaluation Form what the 
student?s level of performance in the course has been up to the last date 
of attendance. Signing this form does not give the student permission to 
withdraw; it merely helps the Committee, if it decides to grant a 
withdrawal, to assign a grade of W or WF (Withdraw Failing).

Graduate
During the first eight weeks of the semester, no special approval is 
required for course withdrawal; students may withdraw from courses using 
the Web. Beginning with the first day of the ninth week of the semester, 
students must complete a Request for Permission to Withdraw from a Course 
Form, which may be obtained at the Office of the Registrar (Jefferson Hall 
100) or the Office of Graduate Studies (Kiely Hall 139A). The form must be 
signed by the instructor of the course and by the Graduate Advisor of the 
student?s program.  Beginning with the fourteenth week of the semester, 
the approval of the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies is also 
required.  In both cases, the instructor must indicate whether the student 
is passing or failing as of the date of the withdrawal.  An indication of 
failure results in the grade of WF, which has the same effect on the 
student?s grade point average as an F grade.  Course withdrawals are 
permitted up to the last day of class.

Resolution of Absent and Incomplete Grades

Undergraduate
The grade of Absent (ABS) is a temporary grade indicating that the student 
missed the final examination, but completed all other work in the course. 
This grade may be assigned, at the discretion of the instructor, if there 
is a reasonable expectation that the student will be able to achieve a 
passing grade by taking a make-up examination, and the student is absent 
only from the scheduled final examination.  The grade of Incomplete (INC), 
also a temporary grade, must be requested by the student and may be given 
by the instructor to indicate that a student has a satisfactory record in 
course work but for a valid reason is unable to complete the course. 
Absent and Incomplete grades must be resolved through a make-up 
examination or through completion of the outstanding work during the next 
semester (Fall or Spring), even if the student is not in residence or has 
been academically dismissed. If not resolved on time, grades of Absent or 
Incomplete are converted to FAB or FIN, respectively, by the Registrar. 
The FAB or FIN is calculated in the GPA as a failing grade.  This 
conversion may be appealed to the Undergraduate Scholastic Standards 
Committee.

The college grading policy interprets the submission of a grade of Absent 
or Incomplete as an implied obligation or agreement to assist the student 
in resolving the grade. Accordingly, instructors who will not be available 
to receive outstanding course work or administer a make-up exam should not 
submit grades of Absent or Incomplete.  Instead, they should submit a 
letter grade calculated without the missing work. However, even if they 
will not be available to administer a make-up exam, instructors may submit 
a grade of Absent if they believe such a grade is appropriate and if the 
department is willing to administer a make-up exam.

To resolve ABS grades, students should obtain from the Registrars Office 
one Make-up Examination Form for each ABS received.  A fee of $25 is 
charged for the first final make-up exam and each additional exam incurs 
an additional $5 fee. Absent and Incomplete grades cannot be resolved 
through a second registration or repetition of the course.

Instructors who are asked by former students to resolve an Absent or 
Incomplete grade which has been converted to FIN or FAB should direct the 
student to the Undergraduate Scholastic Standards Committee to file an 
appeal before making arrangements for a make-up exam or receipt of 
outstanding course work.  If the appeal is granted, the USSC will ask the 
instructor, who has the final authority in these matters, to determine if 
the student may be permitted to resolve the course. If the appeal is 
denied, the grade will remain FIN or FAB.

Graduate
The grade of Absent (ABS) is a temporary grade indicating that the student 
missed the final examination, but completed all other work in the course. 
The instructor may give this grade if there is a reasonable expectation 
that the student will be able to achieve a passing grade in the course by 
taking a make-up examination.  A graduate student receiving this grade is 
required, with the permission of the department chairperson, to take a 
make-up final examination by the end of the next two regular semesters in 
attendance.  A make-up examination fee of $15 is charged.  Absent grades 
must be resolved; students may not graduate with this grade on their 
record.

The grade of Incomplete (INC), also a temporary grade, must be requested 
by the student and may be given by the instructor to indicate that a 
student has a satisfactory record in course work but for a valid reason is 
unable to complete the course during the regular time period.  A graduate 
student receiving this grade must complete the work of the course by the 
end of the next two regular semesters.  Requests for extensions of time 
must be addressed to the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies.  If the 
course work is not completed, the Incomplete grade remains on the record 
without penalty.

Full details on all grading policies and procedures are given in the 
College Bulletin. The Undergraduate Scholastic Standards Committee Web 
site at http://www.qc.cuny.edu/USSC also provides helpful information, as 
does the graduate Web site at http://www.qc.cuny.edu/graduate_admissions.

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