HCDE Grading Policies
HCDE Academic Advisor, Stephanie White in HCDE (whitesj@uw.edu), will send an email to all instructors once grading has opened for the quarter. There are two options for submitting grades online.
Changing a grade after submission of grade sheets requires the submission of a Change of Grade form. This can be done online (preferred) or using a paper form available from the Director of Academic Services, Gian Bruno (gbruno@uw.edu).
What are typical HCDE grades?
HCDE programs have highly competitive admissions and many faculty find that HCDE students perform extremely well in classes. They realize that many students have proven themselves by getting into HCDE undergraduate or graduate programs and class averages typically fall between a 3.6-4.0 level. Of note, to maintain satisfactory performance in graduate classes, graduate students must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0 and obtain at least a 2.7 in an HCDE course.
What are the UW grading policies?
Passing grades differ for undergraduate and graduate students.
- A passing grade for undergraduate students is 0.7.
- A passing grade for graduate students is a 2.7.
General grading practices can be found on the Faculty Resource on Grading (FROG) site: depts.washington.edu/grading/practices/
UW grading policies can be found at:
Undergraduates (including Incompletes and "X" grades) are online at: www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html.
Graduates: http://www.grad.washington.edu/policies/general/grading.shtml.
What are X and I grades?
Students are eligible to receive an incomplete grade (I) only when they have finished at least 80 percent of the coursework and have a medical or other urgent reason that they cannot finish the course. Incomplete grades must be replaced with a grade before the end of the next quarter. X grades, or "no grades," do not expire like incomplete grades. These should be used only when the instructor is unable to compute the student grade by the deadline. Check with the HCDE Director of Student Services, Gian Bruno, before giving a student an X or I grade.
Many HCDE graduate students have a teaching or research assistantship. They must complete 10 credits per quarter to maintain full-time status and eligibility for assistantships. An X or I grade can cost a student his/her assistantship if it reflects unsatisfactory academic progress. X and I grades can also cost a student his/her financial aid or scholarships, most of which require students to complete a certain number of credits per quarter. For these reasons, X and I grades should rarely be given.
Can attendance factor into a student's grade?
Instructors cannot grade based on class attendance per University rules and regulations. However, instructors may grade on class participation as it relates to student learning. Review the attendance policy on the UW website (several classroom issues are also outlined on this site): http://depts.washington.edu/grading/conduct
How can an instructor transmit grades to students?
Grades CANNOT be transmitted to students via email or left in public areas (e.g., hallways) for students to pick up papers. Grades cannot be shared orally with students in the presence of other students.
Grades can be transmitted to students via Catalyst Gradebook or via paper graded assignments. If an instructor uses the Catalyst dropbox and grade assignments in that format such that students have to log in to retrieve their work, grades can be recorded there as well.