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Grades

If you have ever been in school in the past, you are likely familiar with receiving grades for the work you have completed. While not all schools grade in the same way, typically, schools will give out percentages or letter grades to let students know how well they are performing as compared to the standards set out.

Please see Seneca’s Grading Policy website for more information.

Adjusting Your Expectations

The reality is that most people struggle with making the jump to postsecondary learning and it is normal for grades to drop. Enrolling in a postsecondary course or program can bring about new ways of learning and new expectations. Usually, students will see the largest change in their grades in the first term of their first year. Don’t let this discourage you!

If you find your grades dropping or you are receiving multiple poor grades, consider the following:

• Assess your progress as you go through the course and ask for help when you need it (before it is too late)
• Accept that it’s OK to perform poorly or have your grades drop but what’s important is what you do to get yourself back on track
• Make a plan right away
• You may want to get a tutor for a certain course or decide to go to office hours every week
• If a course is really not going well, you may need to consider dropping it to avoid academic penalties (be mindful of important dates to drop courses and make sure to check in with an academic advisor to make sure you’re OK to drop the course)
• If you do poorly on a test or an assignment worth a large percentage, you can talk to your professor/instructor about your options moving forward in the course

Get Back on Track

You can also use a grade calculator to help you to determine the impact a low grade will have on your overall course grade or GPA. Check out Ontario Tech University’s grade calculator which also allows you to set personalized academic goals.

So, You Failed a Course

Uh oh, you failed a course. You’re probably feeling a mixture of frustration, guilt, shame, anger, disappointment, etc. Of course, no one wants to fail a course, but it does happen. The first thing you should do (after you feel your feelings and vent to your friends) is speak to your academic advisor and ask the following questions:

• Is the course a requirement for the program
• Are you short on credits
• How can you get back on track
• Do you need to retake that specific course, or can you make it up with a different course
• Is the course offered next term
• Is there a cost associated with taking the course again

Once you have some of the logistics figured out, it is time to reflect on the experience and your actions. Think about:

• What happened to lead to this result
• Is it something you could control
• What do you need to do to get back on track and make sure this doesn’t happen again
• What tangible steps can you take to avoid getting off track in the future

Seneca offers many different supports that you may want to explore as you continue in your program. Such supports include Peer Tutoring and Academic Workshops.

Please see Seneca’s Learning Centre website for more information on academic supports.