EFFECTIVE: March 22, 2007
CANCELS: November 20, 2003
1. Examinations and Grades
Final examinations are held during the last three weeks of the Fall term, the last three weeks of the Winter term, the last week of Spring term, and the last two days of the Summer Session.
As set by the University of Waterloo Senate, Fall and Spring terms shall end two days before examinations begin on a given Saturday and in the Winter term lectures normally end three days before examinations begin on a given Saturday. These periods between end of lectures and beginning of exams shall be ones in which no instructor shall be permitted to administer and no student shall be required to sit for examinations, tests, or lectures. Also, it is St. Jerome’s policy that no test or examination may be held outside of a class period during the five school days prior to the last day of lectures.
Examinations may be scheduled to a conflict-free slot through the University of Waterloo (these exams will be listed on a published examination timetable), or an instructor may schedule his/her own examination at a time which is unanimously agreeable to the students in the class, and which is scheduled within the Examination period.
Please note that it is contrary to Senate regulations for anyone without a university degree to proctor an examination. Each department chair, prior to the examination period, should arrange to have a faculty member serve as a backup person for each of its instructor administered final examinations. If because of illness or other extraordinary circumstances an instructor anticipates not being able to administer a scheduled examination, that instructor must inform the backup person promptly.
The above procedure requires that copies of the examination questions be deposited in a safe place, one that is accessible to faculty members. For this purpose a cabinet has been placed in the copier area. The lock on the cabinet can be opened by a faculty member’s key. Professors who have scheduled a final examination must put copies of their examination questions into the cabinet one day prior to the examination.
1.1 Undergraduate Grade Review Procedures
Final grades for each class will undergo a review process by the Department Chair, or the Associate Dean if the instructor is the Department Chair. If there are any concerns about the grades, consultation should take place between the instructor and the Department Chair or the Associate Dean. If no agreement is reached at the department level, consultation should take place with the Vice-President and Academic Dean or if the Vice-President and Academic Dean is the instructor, the Associate Dean.
If agreement cannot be reached, the matter should then go to the St. Jerome’s Undergraduate Grades Review Committee. The committee will examine all the evidence, and provide the instructor with the opportunity to meet with it. Every effort will be made to reach a negotiated agreement.
If no agreement is reached between the Committee, the Vice-President and Academic Dean, and the instructor, the Committee shall render the final decision, with a written justification provided to both the Vice-President and Academic Dean and the instructor.
In the event that changes are made to the final class grades without the instructor’s agreement, the students shall be informed in writing by the Committee that the marks were assigned by the University.
Membership of the Undergraduate Grade Review Committee: The St. Jerome’s representative of the Examinations and Standings Committee who shall be Chair, one representative drawn from the pool from the Humanities/Language Departments, one representative drawn from the pool from the Social Science Departments, one representative drawn from the pool from the Department of Mathematics, one non-voting member of the discipline from UW offering the course in question.
1.1.1 Grade Review Pool
All tenured and tenure-stream professors are part of the pool from which members of the Committee will be drawn as the need arises.
If the need to establish the Committee arises i.e. if informal negotiations between the instructor and his/her chair and the Vice-President and Academic Dean do not resolve the matter, three names will be drawn at random by the Chair of Steering Committee, except insofar as there will be one representative from the Humanities/Languages, one from the Social Sciences, and one from Mathematics. If a name is drawn from the discipline in question, it will be disqualified.
Final grades are submitted for each examination period (each term). Under the current regulations the results of examinations must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office at St. Jerome’s seven to ten days (including statutory holidays and weekends) after a particular examination is written. It is particularly important for instructors of those courses which are not listed under the published examination timetable to be aware of when their grades are due.
Approximately one month after the examination period, students will have access in QUEST to their official grades and to their academic standing. Prior to this time students will have access to their unofficial grades as they are posted in QUEST.
After a grade has been submitted to the Registrar’s Office, a new grade may be assigned by the instructor of the course; this may only be done by completing a Grade Revision form. Grade Revision forms may be submitted at any time that a higher grade is to be assigned; no grade may be lowered. No grade may be changed (raised or lowered) after a student graduates or has been failed required to withdraw, unless the student petitions the Examinations and Standings Committee.
2. A Policy for Grade Appeal Procedures at St. Jerome’s University
2.1 Mechanism to be Followed by the Appeals Officer
a) In case of an appeal against a course grade, the student should, within six months of receiving the grade, start the process by trying to work out the matter informally with the instructor concerned. If the student and the instructor cannot reach an agreement, the student must submit a written statement to the Appeals Officer within the allotted six-month period outlining the areas of disagreement.
b) The Appeals Officer will immediately inform both the instructor and the student of the reception of the student’s statement and may request from the instructor a written statement within fourteen days concerning the appeal.
c) If, within one week of receiving the instructor’s written statement, the Appeals Officer is still unable to mediate an agreement, both the student and the instructor will be advised by the Appeals Officer that a formal appeal has begun and both the student and the instructor will be required to sign, in advance, an agreement to the procedures to be followed.
d) If the procedures agreed stipulate, the Appeals Officer will appoint a second reader or adjudicator, satisfactory to both the instructor and the student. The original instructor and the student will be asked to provide the second reader with copies of all written work submitted to the instructor by the student. The student may present relevant additional work. The second reader may also examine a selection of written work by other students in the course if this seems necessary.
e) The second reader shall report to the Appeals Officer, who shall decide whether to raise, lower or maintain the grade based on all the evidence submitted. The Appeals Officer will immediately inform both the student and the instructor of that decision in writing. The decision of the Appeals Officer is final, subject to item f) below.
f) If the student or instructor still disagrees with the decision, the Appeals Officer shall bring the matter before the Academic Committee, which shall ensure that all prescribed procedures in the appeal have been properly followed.
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