Grading System

Washington College uses the following letter grades which, except for the F, may be modified by a minus or a plus:

A - Excellent
B - Good
C - Fair
D - Passed
F - Failure

The following system is used to determine a student's grade point average:

A/A+ = 4.00 C = 2.00
A- = 3.67 C- = 1.67
B+ = 3.33 D+ = 1.33
B = 3.00 D = 1.00
B- = 2.67 D- = 0.67
C+ = 2.33 F = 0.00

Other notations used on student records include:

W - Withdrawal from course
P - Pass, in courses where the student uses the pass/fail option
I - Incomplete
Au - Audit
Cr - Credit
NC - No credit
R - Replaced

Interim Grades

Instructors will report letter grades for all first-year students, students on probation, and transfer students near mid-term. Interim grades are issued several weeks into the semester only to enable students to assess their progress; they are not made a part of the permanent record. Although letter grades at interim are not required for other students, it is College policy that students are entitled to information about their progress as fully and as frequently as a particular course structure permits.

Parents of dependent students may submit written requests for grade information to the Registrar. The communication of all grades to parents is governed by procedure in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (Buckley Amendment).

Failed Courses

  1. In case of failure in any graded course (except CNW), the department, in consultation with the Dean's Office, will decide how the student should correct the deficiency using one of the following methods:
    • Reexamination: Additional preparation may be undertaken through auditing, tutoring, or through a summer session course at another campus.
    • Offering for graduation a suitable course taken on another campus (see the Registrar for appropriate form). Before enrolling for a course at another college, the student must obtain approval from the chair of the Washington College department. The student will receive credit earned in the course taken at another institution. However, only the original grade will remain on the transcript and will be part of the GPA calculation.
    • Repeating a failed course: See the following section on Repeating Courses below.
  2. Students who fail a Community/Nation course must retake a Community/Nation course in the following year and receive a passing grade. Students who fail a World course must retake a World course in the following year and receive a passing grade. Courses can only be repeated once. See the following section on the repetition of courses. Those who receive an F in a CNW course because of failure to complete the Consultation Component must follow these same guidelines. Please refer to the section on CNW requirements.

Repeating Courses

Courses taken at Washington College in which a student receives a grade of C- or better may not be repeated for academic credit. Courses taken at Washington College in which a student receives a grade of D+ or lower may be repeated for academic credit if the student repeats the course at Washington College or in a Washington College-administered program and in compliance with the following guidelines.

  1. The student will repeat the same course.
    1. Substitution of another course will not be permissible.
    2. Special Topics courses may not be offered as substitutes.
    3. Independent Studies may not be substituted for courses.
  2. Courses may be repeated only once.
  3. Courses being repeated must have the approval of the student's adviser and the chair of the department in which the course is offered.
  4. Courses being repeated may not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.
  5. Under special circumstances, a student may petition the Committee on Academic Standing and Advising to repeat a course in which a grade of C- was received.
  6. Not all courses may be repeated (e.g., special topic courses and courses not taught on an annual basis). The student will receive the credit and the grade earned in the second course. The original grade will remain on the transcript but will no longer be a part of the cumulative GPA calculation, and no credit for the first course will be given.

Auditing Courses

Students may audit one or more courses without fee, with the permission of the instructors involved. If students wish the courses to appear on their transcripts, they must formally register for them. The adviser will list such courses on the program card, followed by the notation: AUDIT.

If the student wishes to change a course to audit, then the student must file an audit slip in the Registrar's Office before the end of the Drop/Add period. Instructors will enter audit notations on the student's record only if attendance is frequent enough to warrant it.

The Incomplete

If a student is prevented from completing required coursework by illness (as shown by a physician's certificate) or some other valid circumstance, his or her work in the course is temporarily marked "I" (Incomplete). Notice of necessary absence from an examination must be given by the student, or one of the Deans, to the Registrar and to the instructor of the course before the scheduled time of the examination if at all possible.

Under no circumstances should a student be given an Incomplete as a substitute for failure. When a student, through negligence or procrastination, fails to complete this semester's work in any course on time, and where there are no extenuating circumstances, the student will receive an "F."

If the mark of "I" is not removed by completion of the work before a certain fixed time after the end of the semester, it automatically becomes an "F." This date is three weeks after the opening of classes in the semester following the one in which the mark of Incomplete was recorded. Extenuating circumstances (long illness, for example) may make it necessary to grant an extension. The student should consult with the instructor, who will notify the Registrar if an extension should be granted.

Pass/Fail Option

Of the 128 course units required for graduation, upperclass students (juniors or seniors) may designate up to four courses for Pass/Fail grading. Not more than one course may be so designated in any one semester. The following rules govern the operation of this system:

  1. Pass/fail courses may not be used for distribution requirements, the major field of study, major-related requirements, or the minor field of study.
  2. No student is obliged to take any course pass/fail.
  3. Any junior or senior who is not currently on probation may preregister for a pass/fail course.
  4. Students must indicate to the Registrar, on forms provided, which course is to be taken as pass/fail. At the end of the third week of classes, this status becomes permanent. Students may not shift from a pass/fail basis to a letter grade basis either during or upon completion of the course except as outlined below. New pass/fail forms must be filed each semester even if the student is continuing a two-semester course sequence. Students are urged to keep their copy of pass/fail slips until grades are released.
  5. Professors will grade according to the normal procedures for their own records. The final grade will then be translated by the Registrar to a Pass ("D-" or above) or Fail ("F") and recorded as such on the student's permanent record. A failed course is computed into the grade average as would be any other grade of "F." A passed course has no effect on the grade point average.
  6. To change a major or minor to a field in which the student has previously taken a course for pass/fail credit, these options exist:
    1. The letter grade the student would otherwise have received in the course may be recorded; in the case of a minor, this conversion takes place only after all minor requirements are met.
    2. The student may select another course in the major department.
  7. Courses that were failed previously may not be retaken pass/fail.

Changing Grades

An instructor wishing to change a student's grade for valid reason, following the recording of the grade in the Registrar's Office, may do so by requesting the change in writing through the Associate Provost for Academic Services, who must approve all such changes.

The College recognizes the right of the student to appeal a grade. Appeals should first be made to the instructor involved, then the Department Chair, and finally, to the Dean of the College. The decision of the Dean, in consultation with the Chair and instructor involved, shall be final.

Students have the prerogative of knowing and having explained to them the reasons for the grade on all examinations and term papers. Even though the instructor may wish to retain the examination or paper, the educational value of the exercise cannot be achieved unless the student has the opportunity to discuss in specific detail the reasons for his or her grade.

Final examinations should be retained by the faculty at least until the middle of the semester following their administration in order to permit students to review them if they are interested in doing so.