The Faculty of Arts and Science Grading Policy approved by Faculty Board on October 14, 2011 imposes two requirements:
1. The grading process must be clear and transparent to students, so that students know exactly how their averages are being calculated, and
2. Even though each department establishes its own policy—all letter grade assignment marks, all numerical assignment marks, or some combination of the two—instructors must calculate final course averages from those assignment marks using a single approved common method.
The Grades Memo is used to communicate important information about the submission of final grades, including dates and deadlines. It is circulated each term following the academic drop date (typically in March, June, and November) using the Staff and Faculty eNews.
Deadlines for submitting grades are based on 10 calendar days from the date of the final exam, the due date of the final assignment, or the end of classes.
Letter-Based Grading System
Departments in the Faculty of Arts and Science are using the letter-based grading system.
Please consult the Faculty of Arts and Science Grading Policy and your Undergraduate Chair for any department-specific protocols that have been developed to support the letter-based grading scheme.
Note that if you submit percentage grades to PeopleSoft, they will be converted to letter grades automatically based on the Senate-approved conversion scale.
Submitting Grades through PeopleSoft
Instructors will submit final grades through the Faculty Centre in PeopleSoft. Instructors have two options when submitting grades: (1) they may enter them individually, student by student, or (2) they may upload a spreadsheet containing all the grades directly to PeopleSoft.
Approving Grades through PeopleSoft
Department Heads will also use PeopleSoft to review the grades submitted by instructors in their Department and to approve them electronically.
Once the Head has approved a grade roster, an automatic batch process will run overnight to post the grades to the student record and they will be immediately displayed to students in SOLUS. Therefore, we request that you approve grades in a timely manner so that students’ grades are available as early as possible.
For grade entry and approval instructions, see PeopleSoft Grade Entry.
For additional assistance, see Contacts.
Once final grades have been approved, any changes must be submitted either:
Completed forms should be sent to asc.academic@queensu.ca
Please note the following:
For additional assistance, see Contacts.
For instructions about how to upload grades from OnQ to PeopleSoft, see PeopleSoft Grade Entry.
Instructors who require specific assistance shoud contact the IT Support Centre.
A final grade must be submitted for every student who appears on the grade roster; there can be no “blank” grades.
Do not submit a grade of DR (dropped) because you think a student has dropped the course. If the student is on the grade roster, the course has not been dropped and a grade must be submitted.
If a final grade cannot be determined by the grade submission deadline, instructors may use one of the following:
Incomplete (IN)
Grade Deferred (GD)
Aegrotat estimated standing (AG) & Credit standing (CR)
Other Non-Evaluative Grades
For more information, see Academic Regulation 10.3 Non-Evaluative Grades.
For additional assistance, see Contacts.
Effective for classes offered as of Fall Term 2016
In order to encourage students to explore subject matter outside their program of study and to promote interdisciplinary study, all upper-year Arts and Science students will be permitted to designate up to 6.0 units of degree-credit courses for pass/fail grading, thereby minimizing any risk to the students’ GPA. Such courses designated for pass/fail grading will be referred to as Personal Interest Credits (PIC’s).
Instructors will not be informed by the University or PeopleSoft of a student’s designation of a course for pass/fail grading. The responsibilities of both the student and the instructor in the course will remain the same as when letter grades are assigned.
Upon completion, the instructor will enter the letter grade that the student earned in the class. If the student has selected the class as a PIC, a letter grade of D- or greater will be converted to a final grade of P (pass); otherwise a grade of F (fail) will be assigned.
The student’s transcript will show only the P or F grade and not the letter grade.
For more information about the Personal Interest Credit, see Personal Interest Credit and/or Academic Regulation 10.2.2 – Pass/Fail Grades in Courses Designated by the Student (Personal Interest Credit).
Transcript notes are not to be entered by instructors, Heads, or Administrative Assistants during the grade submission process. Any notes that are entered display on the student’s official transcript, and would require Senate approval. Therefore, please do not use this field.
Alexandra Lewyckyj Jarymowycz
Student Resource Assistant
Student Services, Faculty of Arts and Science
E-mail: aslj@queensu.ca
Phone: 613-533-6000 ext. 79584
*Primary contact regarding: Faculty grading policies and forms; Grades Memo (dates & deadlines); late/delayed grade rosters; non-evaluative grades; Incomplete (IN) grades; official grade changes
Cindy Butts
Manager, Student Records
Records and Services, Office of the University Registrar
E-mail: buttsc@queensu.ca
Phone: 613-533-6000 ext. 78577
*Primary contact regarding: PeopleSoft grade entry; security of student grades