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

[CSCI Undergrad List]

Please be reminded of college policies regarding:
1) Withdrawal from a course
2) Resolution of absent and incomplete grades

If there are any questions on these policies, please call the 
Undergraduate Scholastic Standards Committee (USSC) at 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. This 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. While it is not 
required, instructors can help their students make informed decisions on 
course withdrawals by returning graded work before the end of the eighth 
week. This provides students with information on their progress and 
enables them to withdraw, without evaluation, from courses for which they 
are ill-suited or unprepared. (Please consult the Schedule of Classes for 
Winter Session and Summer Session for the exact withdrawal dates for each 
session.)

Beginning with the ninth week of the regular semester,  permission to 
withdraw may be granted only by the Undergraduate Scholastic Standards 
Committee, located in 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 an Evaluated Withdrawal Form (Graduate Students), 
which is available on the Registrar?s Web site (www.qc.cuny.edu/registrar) 
by clicking on Downloadable Forms; it may also 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, by and 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 Registrar?s Office 
one Make-up Examination Form for each ABS received. A fee of $25 is 
charged for the first final make-up exam; 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 www.qc.cuny.edu/USSC also provides helpful information, as does 
the graduate Web site at www.qc.cuny.edu/graduate_admissions.
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