Whereas the assignment of grades is at the core of the instruction process and must be conducted with utmost integrity and professionalism;

Be it resolved that the Faculty Handbook section on grading be modified as specified in the table below.

There are situations, though relatively infrequent, when the grade given in a completed course needs to be changed to a “W” or expunged from the record altogether. For example, a student’s poor performance may be attributable to a debilitating condition that was only medically diagnosed after the course was graded. Another situation might be a Title IX panel ruling that a low grade was given in retaliation for a rebuffed sexual advance and that the grade be expunged from the student’s transcript. There are also situations driven by bureaucracy and student inattention, e.g., ambiguous communication between the instructor and the relevant college registrar, a no-show student who fails to officially drop and is given an F, etc.

Passage of the resolution will clarify the language in the Faculty Handbook that is concerned with grading and grade changes. It will also help maintain the integrity of the grade-changing process by stipulating that the instructor-of-record be informed of all changes to grades that she/he initially assigned.