Evaluation of Academic Progress
Evaluation Procedures
It is university policy that the instructor shall inform the students at the beginning of each course of the evaluation procedures planned for use in the course.

Retention of Records
Records of all graded work must be retained by the instructors until midterm of the semester following completion of a course or until all pending appeals and incompletes are resolved, whichever is later. Instructors leaving the university must file test and grade records with their department office before departure.

Examinations
Examinations are one of the most important ways an instructor assesses students' performance in a course. In order that examinations can be a useful part of the educational process, the following policies have been instituted:

1. One purpose of examinations is to help students' learning activity. Therefore, examinations shall be evaluated as soon as possible after they are given and the results shall be made available to the students.

2. All tests and examinations administered between the beginning of the term and final examination week shall be held during a regularly scheduled lecture or laboratory class period for that course. A department may request permission to administer a separately scheduled examination if all of the following criteria are met: (a) the course is multi-sectioned; (b) a common departmentally developed examination will be administered to all students in all sections at the same time; and (c) the test scores will be used as a basis for a uniform grading procedure for all sections of the course. Requests to hold separately scheduled examinations must be made to the registrar and approved by the provost in time to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. Whenever a separately scheduled examination is administered, a regular class meeting during that week shall be omitted. Students who are unable to take a separately scheduled examination at the scheduled time because of a course conflict or other legitimate reason must notify the instructor in advance and must be given the opportunity to be examined at another time mutually convenient for the student and the instructor; the instructor shall determine whether to administer the same examination or an alternate examination, or use an alternate assessment procedure.

3. At the end of the semester, a week is set aside for final examinations or other term evaluations, with a period normally of two hours scheduled for each course. The following policies govern the responsibilities of students and faculty members during this week:

a. Final exams in courses of two or more credits may not be given at a time other than that for which the exam is scheduled by the registrar. An instructor may not give a final exam prior to final exam week nor change the time of offering of the final examination as it appears in the final exam schedule. Permission to change the time for which an exam is scheduled may be given only by the dean of the college. If the instructor elects not to give a final exam, the class is required to meet at the scheduled final exam period for other educational activity such as a review of the course or feedback on previous exams.

b. Final exam periods are determined according to the regularly scheduled meeting time of the class. However, certain courses are assigned special group exam times so that several sections of the same course may be tested together. If this results in conflicting group examination periods, students should inform the instructor in charge of the first of the two conflicting courses as listed on the final exam schedule within the special groups in question; that instructor is responsible for arranging a special examination or making some other adjustment.

c. Evening courses with lectures scheduled at 6:00 p.m. or later should give their examinations during finals week from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on the day the class normally meets. If this exam conflicts with an evening group exam, the instructor responsible for the latter must arrange a special examination for any students who have a conflict.

d. If unusual circumstances involve the need for students to change the time of their final examination, they must obtain the approval of the instructor of the course.

e. If a student has three examinations scheduled on the same calendar day and wishes to change one to another day, the instructor of the course having the smallest number of students is responsible for arranging an alternate examination time for the student unless make-up exam times are available in one of the other courses.

f. All faculty members are considered to be on duty throughout the entire final examination week and are expected to be available to students during that week for discussion of any matters pertaining to the final examination and final grade or to other aspects of the course.

Dead Week
The last week of fall and spring undergraduate classes has been designated Dead Week by the Government of the Student Body and Iowa State University. The intent is to provide students with time for review and preparation for final examinations. Therefore, no student organization registered with the Student Organization Office may hold meetings or sponsor events without the expressed permission of Program Coordinator of the Dean of Students Office. For academic programs, the last week of classes is considered to be a normal week in the semester except that in developing their syllabi faculty shall consider the following guidelines:

a. Mandatory final examinations in any course may not be given during Dead Week except for laboratory courses and for those classes meeting once a week only and for which there is no contact during the normal final exam week. Take-home final exams and small quizzes are generally acceptable. (For example, quizzes worth no more than 10 percent of the final grade and/or that cover no more than one-fourth of assigned reading material in the course could be given.)

b. Major course assignments should be assigned prior to Dead Week (major assignments include major research papers, projects, etc.). Any modifications to assignments should be made in a timely fashion to give students adequate time to complete the assignments.

c. Major course assignments should be due no later than the Friday prior to Dead Week. Exceptions include class presentations by students, semester-long projects such as a design project assignment in lieu of a final, and extensions of the deadline requested by individual students. Instructors are reminded that most students are enrolled in several courses each semester, and widespread violation of these guidelines can cause student workloads to be excessive as students begin their preparation for final examinations. Students are reminded that their academic curriculum is their principal reason for being in college and they have a responsibility to study in a timely fashion throughout the entire semester.

The Grading System
Grades represent the permanent official record of a student's academic performance. The grading system at Iowa State operates according to the following regulations:

1. Student performance or status is recorded by the grades and marks described below. A student's grade point average is calculated on the basis of credits earned at Iowa State with the grades and quality points shown below. Credits earned with P, S, or T are not used in calculating the grade point average but may be applied toward meeting degree requirements. A cumulative grade point average of 2.00 is required for a bachelor's degree.

P-Passing markobtained under the Pass-Not Pass system. See Academic Privileges, Pass-Not Pass Grading.

NP-Non-passing mark obtained under the Pass-Not Pass system. See Index, Pass-Not Pass.

S-Satisfactory completion of a course offered on a Satisfactory-Fail grading basis. May also be reported to indicate satisfactory performance in R (required-credit) courses, and in courses numbered 290, 490, 590, and 690.

T-Satisfactory performance (equivalent to a grade of C or better in courses numbered 100-499, and a grade of B or better in courses numbered 500-699) in a special examination for academic credit.

X-The course was officially dropped by the student after the first week of the term.

N-No report was submitted by the instructor. This is not a recognized grade or mark; it merely indicates the instructor has not submitted a grade and that a grade report has been requested.

I-Incomplete. An incomplete mark may be assigned when the student is passing at the time of the request, but special circumstances beyond the student's control prevent completion of the course. In general, failing the final exam or project or not submitting course work as a result of inadequate preparation or learning are not valid excuses.

The student and instructor must complete and sign an incomplete contract (Incomplete Mark Report form) that states the reason for the I, the requirements for resolving it, and the date by which it must be resolved, not to exceed one calendar year. The instructor then enters an I on the final grade report, attaches the form to the report, and submits both to the registrar.

If the student is not available at the end of the term to sign the Incomplete Mark Report form because of ill health or other reasons, the instructor may assign an incomplete mark and submit the form without the student's signature. The Office of the Registrar will record the incomplete mark and mail a copy of the form to the student. If the student chooses not to accept the incomplete, the student has until midterm of the following semester to contact his or her instructor and request a grade be submitted to the registrar. If the student has not contacted the instructor by midterm, the student must resolve the incomplete according to the conditions set forth in the Incomplete Mark Report form.

When a student completes the requirements specified on the Incomplete Mark Report form, the instructor submits the appropriate grade, which becomes part of the student's cumulative, but not term, grade-point average. The grade does not replace the I on the record. The I remains on the record for the applicable term.

A final course grade, once submitted to the registrar, may not be changed to an Incomplete except to correct an error at the request of the instructor and with the approval of the instructor's department head and the dean of the instructor's college. The instructor should send a card (Grade Report to the Registrar) reporting the change, and an Incomplete Mark Report form to the appropriate dean who will forward them to the registrar if the change is approved.

Incompletes in all courses must be resolved by the middle of the student's term of graduation. Repeating a course will not resolve an I mark. A mark of I will automatically change to a grade of F after one calendar year (whether or not the student was enrolled during the period).

2. To change a grade or mark already reported to the registrar, the instructor submits a change card (Grade Report to the Registrar). This card is used for resolving an I with a grade, for correcting an instructor error, or for the late report of a grade.

3. Midterm Grades. The registrar will collect C-, D, and F midterm grades and nonattendance notifications and report this information to students and their advisers using AccessPlus. In addition to returning the midterm list, the instructor is responsible for informing the class of the basis on which midterm grades have been submitted.

4. Grades in all courses attempted remain on each student's record. If a course is repeated, the record will show the grade obtained on the initial attempt as well as grades received on subsequent attempts.

5. The cumulative grade point average is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by the total number of credits in all courses attempted. Grades of S, P, NP, and T are not counted in calculating the grade point average. If a course is repeated, the cumulative grade point average is calculated according to the process described in item 6a below.

6. Repeating Courses.

a. The most recent grade for a course a student repeats will be used in computing the student's cumulative grade point average rather than the previous grade(s), up to a limit of 15 credits. (This could result in a lowered grade point average if the second grade is lower than the first, or even loss of credit if the grade is lowered to an F.) All grades will remain on the student's record.

b. Students may repeat any course for which an F grade or any passing grade except P or S was received, but they may not elect to repeat the course under the Pass-Not Pass system.

c. Beyond 15 credits of repeats, both grades will be included in computing the cumulative grade point average.

d. Courses should be repeated as soon as possible, preferably within three semesters in residence, because of changes that occur with course updating, change in course number, or revision in number of credits. Approval to repeat a course after more than three semesters have elapsed must be noted on a Designation of Repeated Course form, which can be obtained from departmental offices. This form must be signed by the head of the department offering the course and by the student's adviser, and then taken to the Office of the Registrar. This form must also be used in cases in which the course number or number of credits has changed. Deadlines for filing repeated course forms for full-semester and half-semester courses are published in the university calendar.

e. Transfer students may repeat courses at Iowa State University for which a D or F was received at another institution. They must process a designated -repeat form indicating they are repeating the course to reduce a transfer deficiency. Such repeated credits will count toward the 15-credit request limit and will affect only their transfer deficiency.

f. A student who has earned an F at Iowa State University may repeat the course at another institution and the credits earned may be applied toward graduation at Iowa State, but the grade earned will not be used in computing a cumulative grade point
average.

7. Students who want to protest a grade submitted by an instructor should follow the procedures described in the section on Appeal of Academic Grievances.

Academic Progress
Each college has an academic standards committee that is responsible for monitoring the academic progress of all undergraduate students in that college, based on policies and minimum requirements set by the Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Standards and Admissions and ratified by the Faculty Senate. Individual college faculties may, with the approval of the Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Standards and Admissions, set additional requirements that are not lower than those established for the university. These additional requirements must be reviewed at least every third catalog by the college academic standards committee to determine if they should be continued. Requirements approved by the college academic standards committees will then be forwarded to the Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Standards and Admissions for final approval. The college committees are responsible for actions involving individual students with respect to placing students on temporary enrollment, dismissing students from the university for unsatisfactory academic progress, and reinstating students who have been dismissed. For questions concerning interpretation and application of the rules governing academic progress, students should contact the chair or secretary of their college academic standards committee in the administrative office of their college.

The university's academic standards rules are presented below. In addition to taking action based on these rules, a college academic standards committee may also place a student on temporary enrollment or dismiss a student from enrollment in the university when, in the college committee's judgment, the student's academic performance or progress toward a degree is exceptionally deficient. Likewise, a college committee may, under exceptional circumstances, exempt individual students from the application of these rules.

Students who participate in the Regent Universities Student Exchange Program, or in a similar program where the credit taken at the other school will be considered as resident credit and the grades included in the student's ISU cumulative grade point average, are subject to Iowa State University's academic standards.

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