Grades

• Access to Grades
• Grading System
• Term Grade percentage Prior to Withdrawal deadline
• Calculation of Course Grade: Final Examination Not Written
• Calculation of Grade Point Average: Repeated Course
• Final Grade Appeals
• Grade Submission
• Grade Revisions
• Dean's Honour Roll
• Attendance

Students may review their grades and progression decisions at any time via Laurier's Online Registration and Information System (LORIS) on the university website. Refer to the steps listed earlier in this chapter in the Program Selection section.

A student's progress within a program will be evaluated on the basis of the cumulative grade point average (GPA) for all graded courses on the Laurier undergraduate academic record. For purposes of calculation, the grade point (GP) earned in a 0.5 credit will be given half the weight of that earned in a 1.0 credit. Likewise the GP earned in a 0.25 credit will be given a quarter of the weight of that earned in a 1.0 credit.

For example, a student with an A (11.0) in a 1.0 credit, a C- (2.0) in a 0.5 credit and a B+ (2.25) in a 0.25 credit will receive a GPA of 8.71. (15.25 grade points divided by 1.75 credits)

Where letter grades are derived from percentages, the following conversion will be adopted unless the instructor announces otherwise, in writing, at the outset of a course.

Letter grades and their grade point equivalents are as follows:

Letter Grades	Grade Points	Percentage Conversion
A+	12	90-100
A	11	85-89
A-	10	80-84
B+	9	77-79
B	8	73-76
B-	7	70-72
C+	6	67-69
C	5	63-66
C-	4	60-62
D+	3	57-59
D	2	53-56
D-	1	50-52
F	0	0-49
XF*	0	0-49
DR**	0	0-49
GNR	-	Grade not Reported
UR***	-	Under Review

* Final exam or final assessment not written - failed course.
Where an X appears beside a final passing grade, the final examination was not written or final assessment not completed, and the grade is based upon term work with a 0 on the final exam or final assessment.

** Dropped after academic deadline - failed course. A grade of DR (dropped-failure) will be assigned if the course is dropped after the deadline to drop a course without academic penalty of failure but before the start of the exam period. (By student request via email Enrolment Services through the Service Laurier website) 

*** Grade decision pending the resolution of an academic misconduct investigation

Transcript Symbol	Grade Points	Definition
AUD	n/a	Audit
CR	n/a	Credit
P	n/a	Passed
S	n/a	Satisfactory
U	n/a	Unsatisfactory
UR	n/a	Under Review: carries no weight toward credit counts nor GPA calculations.
WD	n/a	Voluntary withdrawal without failure after two thirds of course completed (granted by Petitions only) [Refer to note below.]
Not Accountable	n/a	Granted only through a faculty petitions committee decision due to extenuating circumstances. Appears on an official transcript adjacent to grades that are not used in the GPA calculation. [Refer to note below.]
By Challenge	0-12	Grade obtained via the Challenge for Credit procedure.

If a Petitions Committee approves the 'Not Accountable' designation, a refund of fees will not be considered since the courses and grades remain on a student's transcript.
If a WD is approved for a course, it appears on a transcript, and is not eligible for refund consideration.

That, normally, first and second year undergraduate courses be structured so that at least 15 percent of the final grade is assigned and communicated before the final course withdrawal date.

The final course grade for a student who does not write a final examination (or a deferred examination) for a course in which an examination is required shall be calculated by assigning "0'' to the final examination. It should be noted that an instructor may require a student to take the final examination in order to qualify for obtaining a passing grade in the course.

When a course is repeated the grade received in the second attempt will be used to calculate the GPA. Special averages (i.e., those calculated for distinctions) do not conform to this practice. Students in degree programs may repeat courses up to a maximum of 2.0 credits. When a course is repeated, the first attempt will remain on a student's transcript, and will not be used for credit toward the program.

The course instructor bears primary responsibility for assigning the final grade.

The final grade appeal process addresses concerns regarding the application of grading criteria to the work submitted, and/or the calculation of grades only. Requests for relief from a course policy, course structure, or personal circumstances affecting academic performance are not grounds for a final grade appeal and will be denied. If a student believes their submitted work was graded incorrectly during the term, they should follow the instructions on the syllabus for addressing such concerns. If the syllabus does not specify a process, they should promptly raise the issue of a potential incorrect grade with the instructor upon identifying it. There are 4 sequential steps a student may take for a grade appeal. A student may choose not to proceed to a subsequent step at any point in the process. A student may submit only one (1) grade appeal per course section.

Step 1: Instructor
Students who believe that the final grade received in a course does not reflect their academic performance should consult with the course instructor. The instructor may review components of the course, including the final examination with the student. A request for a final grade reassessment to the instructor may be submitted as soon as the final grade is posted to LORIS (unofficial record of coursework) but must be submitted no later than 10 business days after the start of the immediately following term or no later than 10 business days after the grade is posted (unofficial record of coursework), whichever is later. If necessary, the instructor can initiate a grade change through the grade change form. 

Step 2: Chair
Note: In the event the course is part of an interdepartmental program, or as determined by faculty structure, the delegated authority and responsibilities of the chair may be represented by a Program Coordinator, Associate Dean, etc.  

If the course instructor is unavailable (allow 5 business days for a response), or if the student remains dissatisfied after the instructor consultation, the student may request a final grade appeal to the chair (or delegate) of the department offering the course. The chair shall serve as arbiter. In the case where the chair or delegate is the instructor, the associate dean of the faculty shall assume the functions of the chair.

The request shall be filed in writing and shall contain a statement of the specific grounds for the belief that the grade does not reflect the student's academic performance in the course and must be accompanied by the relevant course work, which has been returned to the student, and a summary with evidence of the outcome of the instructor consultation. It should not contain grounds or information that have not been presented to the instructor. Appeals that do not meet these requirements will be dismissed. The student may review the final examination in the department office to prepare the official request. The request to the chair for a final grade appeal shall be filed no later than 10 business days of the conclusion of Step 1.

Only course work that can be objectively re-evaluated is eligible for reassessment. This excludes (but is not limited to) presentations, performances, participation marks, and peer evaluations, as these cannot be reassessed in the same manner. If the grade appeal is specific to a group project, the entire group must agree to the grade appeal being submitted. The chair has the discretion to determine whether an assessment not included on the list above qualifies for objective re-evaluation.

The chair will determine, based on the request, whether all or individual components of coursework will be re-evaluated. This decision is at the chair's discretion. The chair shall provide the student with a written decision, to the student’s WLU email account, regarding the request for the final grade appeal within 20 business days of receipt of the request, with Enrolment Services copied. The chair’s decision, whether it results in a higher grade, lower grade, or no change, will stand as the final grade. The chair’s decision cannot be reconsidered at Step 2.  

Steps for the Chair

1. When a student requests a grade appeal, all individually completed work that can be objectively reevaluated can be re-assessed. This excludes (but is not limited to) presentations, performances, participation marks, group work and peer evaluations, as these cannot be reassessed in the same manner.
   a. If a student requests an individual grade appeal, group projects are not re-evaluated.
   b. If all members of a group request a grade appeal, the group project should be reevaluated, and any determined grade revision applies to all members of the group. 
2. If the chair determines that the request lacks grounds for a final grade appeal due to the nature of the appeal being based on course policy, course structure, work that cannot objectively be reassessed, or personal circumstances affecting academic performance, or if it is missing information required for a grade appeal, the appeal will not be considered. 
3. If the chair determines that there are grounds for a final grade appeal, the chair will inform the course instructor that a formal grade appeal is in progress, and will request:
   a. Confirmation that the Step 1 took place and its outcome.
   b. All components or individual components of graded course materials, including feedback. 
4. The chair will identify a faculty member in the same department/program with disciplinary expertise and will request that they review the student’s work. 
5. The chair should not review the student’s work, as they are the arbiter of the process. If the chair is best suited to review the work due to disciplinary expertise, the associate dean will assume the role of arbiter. 
6. The faculty member will review the student’s work and assign grades and provide the grades to the chair. 
7. The chair will review the faculty member’s grades. 
8. The grade assigned by the faculty member, whether higher, lower, or the same, will stand. 
9. The chair will notify the course instructor of the outcome and will provide the reassessed grades to the associate dean to be submitted for a final grade revision. The grade appeal decision, whether higher, lower, or unchanged, will stand as the final grade. 
10. The chair will notify the student of the outcome of the final grade appeal to the student’s Laurier email account, with Enrolment Services copied. 

Undergraduate course final grades must be submitted no later than the end of the first business day which falls at least 7 calendar days after the writing of the final examination. Where no final examination is scheduled, undergraduate course final grades must be submitted no later than the end of the first business day which falls 7 calendar days after the last day of the exam period

Should a grade change be required, the revision must be submitted by the instructor or the chair to the Office of Enrolment Services, with the rationale for the change.

Undergraduate students registered in a degree seeking program will be eligible for Dean's Honour Roll if they have achieved a minimum overall GPA of 10 (A-) in all courses taken from September 1 to August 31. Assessment for the Dean's Honour Roll will be completed in the following Fall term by the Faculty in which the student was most recently registered.

Instructors may set clear attendance requirements and the impacts of failing to meet the attendance requirements in their syllabus for any or all of their course components (i.e. lectures, labs, tutorials, performance). Students may be prohibited by their course instructor from writing a final examination or final assessment should they not meet minimum attendance requirements specified in the syllabus.