Grade Policy
| Approved By and Date: | Board of Trustees | 02-20-2014 |
| Executive Leadership Team | 12-19-2013 | |
| ICORE | 12-18-2013 |
Stanly Community College recognizes the value of student work by establishing a grading system and guidelines based on the quality of the work submitted by the student throughout the course with a cumulative grade earned at the completion of the course. All curriculum final grades, based on a four quality point system, are made available to the students electronically through their student accounts. Occupational Extension courses are based on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading system, with some grades based solely on attendance while others may have additional criteria to determine satisfactory completion. College and Career Readiness courses have grading systems based on the uniqueness of the program. All students have the right to review with the instructor their grades if concerns are expressed. Curriculum students may submit one grade forgiveness request for a maximum of five courses if they have experienced a lapse of enrollment at the College for a period of three consecutive academic years.
Grade Procedures
| Approved By and Date: | Executive Leadership Team | 03-22-2021 |
| ICORE | 03-17-2021 |
In instances in which grade forgiveness is granted for a course completed at Stanly Community College and then transferred to another college or university, the receiving institution is not required to disregard the forgiven grade. Other colleges or universities may elect to include the grades forgiven in computing the student's grade point average, possibly disqualifying the student from consideration for admission.
- Curriculum Grading System: Grades earned on course assignments are based on individual course grading systems. Final course grades earn quality points based on a four-point system used to calculate grade point averages (GPA). Final grades consist of the following options:
|
A |
Excellent |
4 quality points per credit hour |
|
B |
Good |
3 quality points per credit hour |
|
C |
Average |
2 quality points per credit hour |
|
F |
Failure |
0 quality points per credit hour (must repeat course) |
|
I |
Incomplete |
Will carry hours attempted and will be computed in GPA. Incomplete grades will be changed to an "F" grade on the first date of the next term, if course requirements are not met. |
|
P |
Pass |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
R |
Repeat |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
NA |
Never Attended |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
W |
Withdrawal |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
AU |
Audited |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
SA |
Satisfactory |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
UN |
Unsatisfactory |
0 quality points per credit hour |
|
PE |
Credit Received by passing a proficiency exam |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
AP |
Advance Placement |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
CE |
Credit by Examination |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
TC |
Transfer Credit |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
TP1 |
Transfer Transition Course Grade |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
TP2 |
Transfer Transition Course Grade |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
TP3 |
Transfer Transition Course Grade |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
SR |
Senior Audit |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
IE |
Incomplete – Emergency (For COVID-19 in 2020) |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
|
WE |
Incomplete – Emergency (For COVID-19 in 2020) |
Hours are not included in determining GPA |
Due to the States of Emergency enacted by the President of the United States, the Governor of North Carolina, and governors of other states in March 2020, transfer courses completed during the 2020 Spring, 2020 Summer, and 2020 Fall semesters only, a grade of “P” or “S” will be accepted as equivalent to a grade of “C” or better for course transfer evaluation.
2.College and Career Readiness Grading System: College and Career Readiness (CCR) encompasses several different programs with unique grading systems. English as a Second Language (ESL) and Adult Basic Education (ABE) do not provide grades. The High School Equivalence Program (HSE) provides grades based solely on the high school equivalence tests in Mathematical Reasoning, Reasoning through Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. A minimum of 150 on each test is required, and a combined score of 600 is necessary for a student to earn his/her high school equivalency. The Adult High School Program (AHS) provides daily progress reports on the quality and completion of the student’s work. The AHS grading system: Students must have a 77 average for course completion. (The average is calculated with the final counting for 20% and the chapter tests/assignments counting for 80%. Students need to achieve a minimum of 70% on the final exam before a course can be considered to be completed.) Upon completion of the course, the student will receive a grade of “NG.” The grading system for Human Resource Development (HRD) classes follows the Occupational Extension Grading System described in Section 3 below.
3. Occupational Extension Grading System: Occupational Extension (OE) grades are earned based on attendance and/or other course unique criteria with final grades consisting of the following options:
|
I |
Incomplete |
|
|
S |
Satisfactory |
≥ 80% Attendance and meets course-specific criteria, when applicable |
|
U |
Unsatisfactory |
< 80% Attendance or does not meet course-specific criteria, when applicable |
|
W |
Withdrawn |
|
|
P |
Pass |
|
|
AU |
Audit |
No Credit Earned |
|
SR |
Senior Audit |
No Tuition Charged/No Credit Earned |
|
WE |
Withdrawn (Emergency) |
|
|
IE |
Incomplete (Emergency) |
|
4. Incomplete Grades: An incomplete grade is a temporary grade of "I" that is given at the discretion of the instructor for incomplete course work in curriculum or occupational extension due to extenuating circumstances. Program heads/coordinators will finalize the incomplete procedure given by an adjunct faculty. It is the student's responsibility to contact the instructor regarding work to be completed for the removal of the "I" grade. Program heads/coordinators will sign the instructor's Incomplete Grade Request for Approval form which specifies the required work to be completed. A copy of the form must be submitted to the Office of Enrollment Management to be attached to the final grade roster. A student receiving a grade of "Incomplete" in a given course must contact the instructor of that course to create a plan to complete the required work by the first day of the following term or the incomplete grade will be changed to an "F,” “U,” or “UN" grade. An incomplete grade is computed as an "F" grade in the curriculum student's grade point average until completion of course work. An incomplete grade cannot be changed to a "W" under any circumstances except as described below. If the class receiving the ‘I’ grade is a prerequisite course needed to register for a course in the following term, the student must earn a grade of “C” or better in order to register for the following course. The College reserves the right to extend the deadline for completion of an ‘I’ grade beyond the first day of the following term in the event of a declared state of emergency by federal, state, or local government officials or for other extreme circumstances as determined by the College’s Executive Leadership Team.
5. The deadline for completion of an “IE” (Incomplete - Emergency) grade will be for no longer than one year after the end of the term of the course for which the “IE” (Incomplete - Emergency) grade was awarded. The College will assign a grade of “IE” (Incomplete - Emergency) to note that this incomplete is the result of the COVID-19 state of emergency. Under those same circumstances, the College also reserves the right to allow Incomplete grades to be changed to a “W” or “WE” (Withdraw – Emergency) if the required course work cannot be successfully completed as the result of the COVID-19 state of emergency.
6. Course Auditing: Students must request if they desire to audit a course. Students who wish to audit courses shall be admitted on a space-available basis, shall not displace a credit-seeking student, and will be registered within the first 3 meeting dates, but no later than the census date of the course section. No credit is awarded, and no examinations are required. Local fees and Self-Supporting course costs are the responsibility of the student for audited courses. Students who pay regular tuition for an audited course section will receive a grade of “AU”. A student 65 years or older may audit a course section without payment of any required tuition or registration fee, thus earning a grade of "SR". Students earning a grade of "SR" will not be counted in the computation of enrollment.
7. Students auditing classes must adhere to the same attendance policy as other students. Students may not change from audit status or to audit status after the first 3 meeting dates, but no later than the census date of the course section. Students receiving financial aid, veterans’ benefits, and/or other federally funded program benefits may not change to audit status after the third day of class. Courses in Health Sciences programs may not be audited without the permission of the program head and/or the associate dean. Courses containing clinical, field experience, or work based learning components are not eligible to be audited. Students wishing to audit a course must meet all pre-requisites and registration requirements for that course. A “Course Repeat/Audit Form” should be completed, approved and submitted to the Office of Enrollment Management.
8. Grade Reports and Transcript Requests: All final grades will be posted to the student’s account at the end of the grading period. Transcripts of coursework completed are the private property of the student and are protected under FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) regulations. Stanly Community College insures that these records are not released unless official authorization is granted by the student or they are subpoenaed by an agent of the court. Official authorization is defined as a written request signed by the student and mailed or faxed to the Office of Enrollment Management (FAX: 704-991-0225). Transcript requests may also be made through the student’s account. Every effort will be made to honor the request within 72 hours after receipt of the request. An official copy of the student transcript will be mailed to other colleges, employers, or the student provided all financial obligations to the college are satisfied. All requests should include a complete mailing address of the party to whom the transcript is to be mailed. Official transcripts will not be faxed.
9. Curriculum Grade Forgiveness: Students who have experienced a lapse of enrollment at the College for a period of three consecutive academic years may, upon reenrollment, make a request with the Office of Enrollment Management to have prior course work forgiven. The following criteria must be met:
- The student must first complete at least 12 semester hours of credit with a 2.00 grade point average as calculated after the enrollment lapse before requesting grade forgiveness.
- The request must be made during the subsequent semester (excluding the summer session) after the 12 semester hours have been completed.
- Prior course work must be at least three years old.
- Only prior courses with grades below a "C" will be eligible for grade forgiveness.
- The student must complete a Grade Forgiveness Request form, which is available in the Office of Enrollment Management.
- Only one grade forgiveness request for a maximum of five courses will be accepted per student. If the request is approved, the record of the earlier course work affected remains on the student's transcript but is not calculated in the cumulative grade point average. Eligibility for student financial aid and/or veterans' benefits is subject to satisfactory academic progress requirements based upon all academic work attempted, regardless of the College’s grade forgiveness.
10. End-of-Course Grade Appeals: If a student disputes an assigned end-of-course grade, students must follow the Student Grievance Policy for filing a formal appeal.
11. Grade Change: All grades assigned to a student are considered final. To change a grade after the grade report is submitted to the Office of Enrollment Management requires an authorization for the change initiated by the instructor, recommended by the program head, and approved by the Associate VP of the School in which the course falls within. The change form must be submitted to the Office of Enrollment Management.
12. Curriculum Course Substitution: A student may request to substitute a course required in his or her program of study based on particular occupational goals. Action upon such substitutions must be initiated by the student’s academic advisor/program head, who will forward the Request for Course Substitution form to the Associate VP of the School in which the course falls within. A substitution must be in the same area of study or should be appropriate in meeting the requirements of the curriculum standards. Notification of approval of course substitutions must be submitted to the Office of Enrollment Management.
13. Curriculum Course Repeat: Curriculum students may repeat classes in which they have earned a grade below a “C” or a grade of “U”. The higher of the grades will be used as the grade in computing the cumulative GPA, the hours, and the quality points for the course. Both grades will be recorded on the student’s transcript.
14. Students wishing to repeat a course for credit in which a grade of “C” or higher, or a grade of “S”, has been earned may do so with the approval of the advisor, program head, or appropriate associate dean. A “Course Repeat/Audit Form” should be completed, approved and submitted to the Office of Enrollment Management. Students not wishing to receive credit for the repeated course will receive an audit grade.
15. Students who receive financial aid and/or veterans’ benefits may repeat courses in which a grade was earned; however, the repeated course may not be covered a second time by those benefits. Students will be responsible for any tuition not covered by financial aid and/or veterans’ benefits.
References: 1D SBCCC 700.1 Audited Courses
Revisions: 04-16-2018 (procedures), 04/27/2020 (procedures)