Grading, Course Examinations, and Missed Examinations

Course Directors have the option of awarding letter grades or grading the course on a Pass/Fail (P/F) basis, with the exception of the Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences core courses and Biostatistics courses, which are only offered for letter grades. However, MSHCDL grading will occur on a Pass with Distinction/Pass/Fail basis. Clinical rotations for MS programs, laboratory rotations, departmental seminars, and journal clubs are graded as P/F. Optional internship courses for MHA students are also graded P/F. For students in the PhD or MD/PhD programs in Biomedical Science or Neuroscience, elective courses outside of the student’s training area may be taken P/F, even if it is an established graded course.

Under extraordinary circumstances (such as medical emergency), a temporary grade of Incomplete (I) may be recorded for a student who is unable to complete course requirements by the end of the term. To receive an incomplete grade, the student must be passing the course up to the time of the request and make a formal request using the Incomplete Grade Request Form available on the Registrar’s site. The request must include the reason for the incomplete, the work to be completed, and the final due date for that work. Students ordinarily have one semester to satisfy an Incomplete. Failure to complete the required work within this timeframe will result in the Incomplete automatically converting to a failing grade (F). Students failing to meet the course requirements by the end of the term, and not provide with an approved temporary grade of Incomplete, will be given a failing (F) course grade.

A student who is not in good academic standing in a course is not eligible for an Incomplete grade.

Students who fail a course have three options: 1) Retake the course (see Retaking Courses below); 2). Request a remediation plan from the Course Director. Granting a remediation plan is at the sole discretion of the Course Director and there is no path for appealing such a decision. In the case that a student successfully remediates the course, the student’s transcript will reflect the remediation by indicating a grade of F/P (for pass/fail courses) or F/A, F/B, or F/C, depending on the grade earned through remediation. The student’s GPA will be calculated using only the remediation grade. Students who fail the remediation process will have an F recorded on their transcript; 3) Allow the F to remain on the transcript (with the exception of core requirements) – Note that students with a cumulative GPA below 3.0 will automatically be placed on Academic Probation.

Students who fail a core course or have multiple remediation grades will be placed on academic probation by the Program and be required to meet with their respective review committee (e.g., CAR for PhD in Neuroscience or Biomedical Sciences). Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 at all times.

Students should be aware that proper citation practices are required on all course take-home exams and papers as well as in proposals, dissertations and publications. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

If a student will miss an exam or quiz due to illness or other emergency, the student must notify the course director(s) and program director(s) on or before the day of the examination (or as soon thereafter as possible). Once able, the student should see student health or their doctor and obtain documentation of illness. The documentation should be submitted to the Course Director and an exam or quiz will be scheduled at the earliest possible date.

If an exam or quiz is missed without illness or extenuating circumstance, a score of zero will be recorded for that assessment.

A student who has missed an exam should sign a statement certifying that they have not discussed the exam with any other class member who may have taken the exam earlier.

Course Directors are required to submit all grades within one week of the end of the term.