Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to share important information clarifying grade designations for undergraduate and graduate courses and impacting how faculty for these courses award grades, effective immediately.
Federal regulations require that GW has a method to confirm that students engage in a course at least once in a semester, that changes to enrollment status (like withdrawals) are reported in a timely manner, and that unwarranted federal aid is returned to the federal government promptly.
It is important that GW’s course grade submission instructions and withdrawal policies include consistent definitions for when to award students non-passing grades or administrative notations (such as “Z” - Unauthorized Withdrawal, “F” - Failing Grade, or “I” - Incomplete). GW must also consistently record the date that a student stops engaging in a course.
In November, the Faculty Senate voted to approve a resolution that helps provide greater clarity on these issues and ensures compliance with federal regulations. The resolution endorses standardized definitions of non-passing grades and administrative notations to be assigned to students based on their academic engagement in a class, ensures that our students understand the potential impact of enrollment status changes on their financial aid, and minimizes the administrative burden on our faculty and students.
At the bottom of this email, you will find, in accordance with this resolution:
- Information about the clarified definitions for the non-passing grades and administrative notations;
- Instructions for submitting new additional information (a “Last Engaged Date”) for two of these notations (“Z” - Unauthorized Withdrawal and “I” - Incomplete) into GWeb; and
- The standards by which student academic engagement is defined in a class when determining the awarding of “Z” and “I”.
Please note that the resolution has no impact on how faculty award or denote the awarding of letter grades in the “D,” “C,” “B” or “A” range. The grade of “F,” however, has been more clearly defined as an earned failing grade.
We have posted FAQs on the Office of the Registrar site to address any questions that may arise. The university will continue to disseminate this information moving forward so that faculty and students are aware of these designations and the potential impact on student financial aid awards.
As always, as we look ahead to the end of the semester and final exams, please remember that faculty are required to submit final grades within five (5) business days after the final exam or after the final class meeting if no exam is given. Final grades should be submitted no later than Friday, December 26. It is critical that faculty submit grades in a timely manner to avoid potentially impacting student financial aid in future semesters.
If you have questions about grades or administrative notations, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar
gwu [dot] edu (registrar[at]gwu[dot]edu). Thank you for your attention to this important information, and many thanks to the faculty and staff who worked together on developing this plan and the associated Faculty Senate resolution.
Sincerely,
John Lach
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Clarified Non-Passing Grade and Administrative Notation Definitions
Visit the University Bulletin website at the link below to review grade and administrative notation definitions for “NE” (Never Engaged), “W” (Withdrawal), “Z” (Unauthorized Withdrawal), “F” Grade, and “I” (Incomplete). These definitions are the same in the Undergraduate and Graduate Grading System sections of the University Bulletin.
Please note, “NE” (Never Engaged), “W” (Authorized Withdrawal), “Z” (Unauthorized Withdrawal), and “I” (Incomplete) administrative notations can have an impact on a student’s current financial aid and satisfactory academic progress for future aid eligibility.
Instructions for Entering Grades and Administrative Notations in GWeb
The Office of the Registrar has added a “Last Engaged Date” column to the Final Grades section on GWeb that will be employed by faculty who award a “Z” (Unauthorized Withdrawal) or “I” (Incomplete) final course grade. Instructions for entering these notations are available at the link below:
Although this Last Engaged Date column exists for every student, it should be completed only for students for whom you are marking as Unauthorized Withdrawing (“Z”) or are giving an “I” (Incomplete). The system will not let you submit these two grades without a date entered. There is no expectation or need to fill in this column for any other student. Even if this date is the day of your first class, putting this down for students who are being given a “Z” or “I” is necessary.
Defining Academic Engagement
For determining the last date of academic engagement in a course, any of the following activities will count as academic engagement in a course. This information is posted on the Office of the Registrar website here.
- Student attendance in an in-person course.
- Documented student participation in an interactive tutorial, webinar, or other interactive or computer-assisted instruction.
- Student submission of an academic assignment or an exam.
- An email from the student or other documentation showing student-initiated contact with a faculty member.
- A posting by the student showing the student's participation in an online study group that is assigned by the institution, or a posting by the student in a discussion forum showing the student's participation in an online discussion about academic matters.
- An email from the student about the academic subject studied in the course.