Fall 2021: Final Exams and Grading

Posted in Faculty Communications

Excluding LAW and MedSOM

December 3, 2021

Dear Faculty,

As final exams week approaches, I write today to provide information regarding Georgetown’s final grading policies and deadlines. This email will cover:

  • Detailed Exam Times
  • Grading Deadlines
  • Guidelines for Administering Exams
  • Conflict Exams
  • Grading Policies
  • Privacy in Posting Grades

*Qatar-based faculty should consult the GU-Q website for the exam schedule and grade deadlines relevant to Qatar. 

Detailed Exam Times
Please refer to the updated exam time assignments schedule by section. We ask that you do not alter the examination schedule, or schedule a final examination or final assessment outside of your assigned scheduled time since it may deprive students of study days and may create unintended conflicts for students. 
As you recall from my message at the beginning of the semester, per the Final Examination Policy, the final substantive assessment in a course (exam, take-home exam, project, paper, etc.) must be due during the final examination period (Dec 9 – 17). 

Grading Deadlines
Final grade rosters will be available in MyAccess beginning on Dec 9. Final grades are generally due 72 hours after the time your course was scheduled for a final exam. All grades should be submitted in MyAccess by the following deadlines:

  • Grading deadline for Graduating students: 5 p.m. Dec 20
  • Grading deadline for undergraduates: 5 p.m. Dec 27 
  • Grading deadline for graduate students: 5 p.m. Jan 3

Grades will be available to students in MyAccess. 

Guidelines for Administering Exams
As you prepare to administer your final exams, please adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Final exams must be scheduled AFTER the study days during final exam week, according to the Final Exam Policy. 
  • Papers may be due in the last week of classes, as long as there is also a final exam.
  • Papers may not be due during the last week of classes, if there is no final exam and should be due after the study days if no final exam is scheduled.  This will allow  students the benefit of using  the study days to complete the remaining work of the semester.
  • Assignments that are not cumulative, such as interim exams, or project presentations, can be given during the final week of classes prior to study days, provided a final exam is also given during the final exam period.

Conflict Exams
At times, students will encounter conflicts in the examination schedule. Each student’s dean’s office will handle the rescheduling of an examination in the following cases:

  • Two examinations scheduled at the same time.
  • Three examinations on one day or three examinations in a row (in three successive time slots).

Arrangements to schedule an alternate conflict exam schedule will be made by the student’s dean. If a student has a conflict, the dean will contact you. If a student informs you of a conflict, they should be referred to their dean for resolution.

Grading Policies
Please review the following grading policies for Fall 2021:  

Pay particular attention to the grading system for each group of students and the grade change policies. If you have questions, please email facultygrading@georgetown.edu.
The only provisional grades are “N” (for undergraduates) and “I” for graduate students. “N” grades MUST be approved by the dean. Unauthorized “N” grades will be recorded as “F” (FA). “I” grades for MSFS students must be approved by the director.
Please note the undergraduate and graduate policies that provide students the option to choose pass/fail (S/U) have resumed pre-COVID rules. The deadline for students to make this choice was Nov 18.

Privacy in Posting Grades
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA, a.k.a. Buckley Amendment) provides that a student’s grades (and other academic and identity information, including social security number) may not be disclosed without the student’s written permission. Please do not post grades using any personally identifiable information. Also, please do not keep student information in an unsecured location or make such information available through the web outside of a University supported system.

Thank you very much for your attention to these important policies and reading this lengthy email. Please do not hesitate to contact me or facultygrading@georgetown.edu if you have any questions or concerns.   

Sincerely,
Annamarie Bianco
Associate Vice President and University Registrar