Final Grades
The assignment of a grade is the responsibility of the “professor of record” for the course section, as shown in the student information system. The professor of record is … the professor assigned to teach the course…
-Fanshawe College Policy A112: Course Grade System, Section 3.4.1
Final Grades
At the end of the term, you are expected to complete the grading and submit the final marks for the class. If your course has an exam, you must give the materials to the invigilator and collect and grade them afterwards.
Any remaining student work should be boxed, clearly labelled, and placed in the storage room. The label should include your last name and when the contents can be shredded. Documents are kept for one calendar year. Any papers that do not need to be saved but include identifying or private information should be placed in the confidential shredding bins around the office.
Final Grading
Final Grades are completed through the grade transfer function on FOL.
This function converts the numeric grade found in FOL to the appropriate letter grade.
What is the date for the Final Grades?
The final grading deadline occurs at the end of the exam period. To find the date, you can check the Academic Calendar.
As an additional reminder, you will be emailed approximately 2 weeks in advance by the SIS Designate, with follow-up reminders at 1 week and 1 day. These emails will be sent to your fanshawec account.
Completing your Final Grades
Your gradebook must be accurate before you calculate your grades.
You can tell if there is a problem by a red “Note” at the top of the page, which indicates where the error is located (see right). Please get in touch with your Educational Support Technologist for assistance in setting up your gradebook.
FOL will complete a calculated grade based on the grades input; however, the grade transfer program uses the Final Adjusted Grade Column to make its conversion. The final adjusted grade allows you to review the number and adjust if desired. For example, 59.4 is a D+ and 59.5 is a C. Sometimes, a professor may feel justified in nudging a student over that grade boundary.
This decision is at your discretion. Our department has professors who don’t make any adjustments, professors who assess students at grade boundaries, and professors who round the whole class up to the nearest whole number.
Help Documents for Final Grading
There are two documents to help you complete this task:
- Final Grade Transfer (PDF)
- I Grade Procedure (PDF) In extenuating circumstances, you may wish to provide a student with an “Incomplete” or “I” grade. Granting an “I” grade allows the student to complete the course assignments after the final grading deadline. Check with your coordinator if you have questions about a situation and wonder if an “I” grade would be appropriate.
Grade Changes
If you need to change a grade after grades have been verified, including updating an “I” grade to a final letter grade, you will need to consult with the SIS Designate – who can provide guidance on the steps involved in making the change(s).
I Have Some Questions
If you have a question about:
- Grading deadlines and information: Contact your SIS Designate
- Gradebook set up or submitting grades: Contact your Educational Support Technologist
- Grading, assignments, or student concerns: Contact your Coordinator
Ideas from Instructors
- Be aware of the final grade deadline and note the nature of the grading for exams (sometimes, there’s a tight turnaround between a final exam and the grade deadline, so I find it helpful to plan ahead).
- Double-check the gradebook for accuracy (e.g., dropped grades, bonus, etc) before transferring the final grades.
- Be aware of the final grade deadline and note the nature of the grading for exams (sometimes, there’s a tight turnaround between a final exam and the grade deadline, so I find it helpful to plan ahead).
- Calculate final grades a few days before the due date and make the calculation visible to students. Email students explaining how grades are calculated and ask them to check for accuracy. If there are any mistakes, they can be corrected before final grades are submitted.
- Have a clear policy regarding “bumping” grades (e.g., 57% to 60%), as students may ask for extra assignments or grades at the end of the term. By having a policy in place, I find that it reduces the number of requests and is fair to all students. Personally, I don’t typically “bump” a grade, but I will often offer an opportunity to all students (e.g., drop the lowest assignment grade or offer a bonus activity).
