AAP Grading Procedures and Policies

Deadlines to Enter Grades

  • The last day before winter break is the deadline to enter fall semester grades via Faculty Center.
  • The Thursday before commencement is the deadline to enter spring grades via Faculty Center.

Important Security Reminders

  • Student grades should be entered by the instructor directly into Faculty Center, passwords should not be shared with teaching assistants.
  • If grades must be sent electronically, use the secure Cornell DropBox, please do not send grades by email.
  • The posting of grades by name or a personally identifiable number is prohibited.

Grading Process

Please review your official class rosters in Faculty Center in advance of the grading period. Also, review the university grading information. Contact AAP Student Services immediately if you have questions or concerns about your class rosters.

Entering Grades

Grades can be entered in Faculty Center in two ways:

  • Manually enter grades into the grade roster on a student-by-student basis
  • Use the grade upload feature to upload grades from an Excel spreadsheet

Please note: It is not necessary to enter grades for ALL students at the same time, however it is critical that you save your grade entries regularly. If you do not save, your grades will be lost! The save button is located at the bottom of the page, so you need to scroll down to save.

Changing a Grade

Official grades can be changed by using the Online Grade Adjustment Application (OLGAA).

  • Once in OLGAA, click on "Change Form." You can search by term and student ID or select "More Options" to search by class. Locate the student's name, make the change, and hit "Submit."
  • You will be able to review the change when it has been updated in PeopleSoft by looking at the "Pending" and "Completed" tabs.

The grade roster status should never be changed. If the grade roster status is changed to "Ready for Review" you will not be able to enter any more grades.

Failing and Incomplete Grades

If a student earns a failing grade or a grade of incomplete, explanation forms are available through OLGAA. Choose the "Failing and Incomp" tab at the top of the page to search for an individual student or use the "More Options" filter for your class roster and complete the appropriate form.

Grading Policies

Policies are based on the Faculty Handbook:

Grades

The instructor of the course should assign a grade for each student on the official grade roster in Faculty Center. If a student is on the grade roster, but never attended the class, a failing grade should be assigned and an "Explanation of Failing Grade" form should be filed indicating that the student enrolled in the course but did not attend.

Grade of Incomplete (INC)

Following university policy, two conditions must be met for a grade of INC to be given:

  1. The student has substantial equity at a passing level in the course with respect to work completed.
  2. The student has been prevented by circumstances beyond the student 's control, such as serious illness and/or other serious personal or family issues, from completing all of the course requirements on time.

INC may not be given because a student fails to complete all course requirements on time. Such a practice would be open to abuse; by deferring completion of some major course requirement, a student could gain an advantage over his or her classmates by obtaining additional time to do a superior job. INC is not an option that may be elected at the student's discretion.

While it is the student's responsibility to initiate a request for an INC, reasons for requesting one must be acceptable to the instructor, who establishes specific make-up requirements and deadlines. For AAP students the consequences of failure to complete all coursework within the time permitted are indicated by the instructor on the "Explanation of Incomplete" form.

Once a final grade has been assigned, the option to make up the work is lost. It is the responsibility of the student to see that all INCs are made up within the deadline and that the grade change has been properly recorded with the student's college registrar. As a matter of equity, grades must not be changed after the end of a semester because a student may have subsequently done additional work.

Under no circumstances should an Incomplete be given due to pressure to meet the grading deadline. The INC symbol becomes a permanent part of the student's transcript, even when a grade is later submitted.

Late Grades

Avoid late grades as they often result in unwarranted academic actions including students not being able to graduate on time.

No Grade Reported (NGR)

NGR is not a substitute for assigning an incomplete or a failing grade. The official transcript defines NGR as "No Grade Reported — Instructor has not turned in a grade for this course." The system will automatically apply the grade of NGR when a faculty member fails to submit a grade by the close of the grading period. NGR is not a valid grade option to be entered by the faculty during the grading period.

R Grade

The "R" grade is used to indicate a course is a two-semester course, which is not graded at the end of the first semester and serves as a placeholder until the end of the second semester when the final grade is assigned based on the work completed over the course of the year. Use the R grade for year-long classes only and not a substitute for assigning an INC or a failing grade.

Changes in Grades

Each semester's work is an entity and grades are assigned for work completed during the normal period of the semester. Subsequent changes in grade may only be made if the instructor made an error in the assignment of the original grade. As a matter of equity, grades must not be changed after the end of a semester because a student may have subsequently done additional work.

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