End-of-Term Grades and Academic Progression Policy for Grenada and Northumbria Campus

I. Purpose

This policy ensures the timely and transparent communication of final course grades to students, establishes a fair and evidence-based mechanism for grade appeals, and defines the procedures and timelines governing end-of-term academic promotion/progression decisions. It applies to all promotions and appellant bodies responsible for student progression, promotion, dismissal, and remediation pathways within SGU and across its non-clinical teaching programs at satellite institutions.

The timelines specified in this policy are not target recommendations but defined windows within which schools must establish their own deadlines and outline them within their school specific policies. All processes should be optimized to minimize the time between the end of the course and the appeals process for students affected, but guarantee time for students to engage in each stage of the process. Each school will set specific timelines appropriate to its programs, provided they fall within the minimum and maximum bounds indicated herein and that all processes are carried out in a linear, sequential manner with no overlap between phases. Schools are not required to use the full duration of any given window but should define appropriate timelines consistent with their curricular needs, the program schedule and term start and stop dates.

II. Scope

Applies to students of all Schools in SGU.

III. Final Grade Provision

1. Course directors must ensure that final course grades, fully constituted of all required assessments, are posted to the Learning Management System (LMS) within 5 business days from the date of the last regularly scheduled examination of the course (or exam window for programs with multiple exams in the final week) and that an appropriate announcement is made to all students.
2. Posted grades must be available to students on the LMS and an opportunity given to query the grade.
3. Final grades must be complete, accurate, and represent the sum of all components of a course as defined in its course syllabus, and made available to students as a complete and final grade on the Learning Management Site.
4. Promotion decisions cannot be made on Incomplete grades and therefore promotion bodies should be notified of all Incomplete grades.

IV. Grade Query

1. If students believe there is a factual error (e.g. missing score, calculation error, weighting error) in their final grade they may lodge a grade query.
2. Students querying a grade they believe is inaccurate must provide evidence of the factual error, such as:
   1. Discrepancies between ExamSoft mastery reports and gradebook entries,
   2. Incorrect summation of scores in the gradebook,
   3. Other verifiable clerical or recording errors.
3. Queries must be submitted within 48 hours of final grade posting; or earlier when defined by the school and course policy documents. A minimum of 24 hours should be provided.
4. Queries must include documentary evidence of the alleged error or some verifiable basis for the query.
5. Queries that lack evidence, or that are based on personal or extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness, anxiety, family issues, inability to meet course requirements), do not constitute a valid grade query.
6. The course director, in consultation with other course leadership, will review properly filed grade appeals and provide a determination within 2 business days of the appeal deadline.
7. Courses must announce the mechanism to lodge the grade query, the timeline, and have an appropriate communication in place for students to comply; all should be published within the course syllabus.

V. Academic Progression/Promotion bodies (e.g. APRC)

1. The academic progression/promotion body, or its equivalent, is a duly appointed faculty group responsible for reviewing finalized end-of-term academic records and making recommendations regarding student progression, remediation, repeat, or dismissal.
2. The body will only review students with finalized grades; however, Incomplete grades will be reported to the promotions body for monitoring. If a grade is unresolved/invalid or otherwise unexplained, the case will be referred to the respective Dean’s Office for resolution with the course director and will not form part of the regularly scheduled promotions process. The Deans office will define the new promotions schedule for such cases.
3. If there are valid academic reasons for CC/I grades (multiple elements over multiple subsequent terms) and the courses are not required for progression a student can progress to the following term of the program.
4. If the CC/I grades are required for progression, then the grades must be resolved no later than 30 days of the last date of the term the course ended.
5. The progression/promotion body must be convened within 10 business days of the last regularly scheduled examination of the term/course.
6. The progression/promotion body must provide students with written outcomes and conditions within 5 business days of the progression/promotion body’s decision.
7. In the event that a student will not progress to the next academic phase a written communication will take the form of a formal letter outlining:
   1. The decision,
   2. The reasoning for the decision (referencing the student's academic record and the appropriate Student Manual),
   3. Any conditions attached to progression, remediation, or repeat, e.g. ITI, DES referral etc.
   4. The letter should provide a mechanism for the student to attest to the acceptance of the stipulations associated with the promotion decision or indicate their wish to withdraw instead.
   5. For students who are recommended for dismissal the letter will include details on the process, timeline and mechanism to file an appeal to the appellant body or indicate their wish to withdraw instead.
   6. The Deans Office or its appropriate delegated office should retain records of all activity; all letters to students must be copied to the University Registrar.
   7. Unless timing of decision-making dictates, as a guiding principle, letters should not be sent on a Friday as students will not have access to support services over a weekend.

VI. Appellant Bodies (e.g. CAPPS)

1. Students recommended for dismissal by the respective school promotions committee have the right to appeal.
2. Appeals will be reviewed by an appellant body, e.g. Committee on Academic Progress and Professional Standards (CAPPS) or its equivalent, a faculty body empowered to consider extenuating circumstances and the student’s potential for improvement and academic success. Where possible there should be no overlap between promotions bodies and appellant bodies voting members.
3. Students must have 3 business days to form and file an appeal, that window should start at a defined time after notification of the promotions outcome and be detailed in the promotions letter. All students should have the same window of opportunity e.g. completions students should have the same timeline opportunity as main cohort students.
4. Schools should refer students to the Office of Student Affairs for guidance on the appeals process.
5. Appeals meetings will be convened within 10 business days of the promotion decision being communicated to students.
6. Appellant bodies will issue their written decision to the student’s appeal within 3 business days of its meeting. The decision letter will:
   1. State the committee’s ruling,
   2. Outline any conditions of reinstatement (if applicable), e.g. courses to be repeated, timelines to be applied, standards to be met,
   3. Specify any timeline limitations or required benchmarks.
   4. In the case of dismissal upheld, the letter will outline withdrawn procedures and student support structures.
   5. Students must accept stipulations within the timeline specified or may face dismissal.
7. The Deans Office or its appropriate delegated office should retain records of all activity, all decisions must be communicated to the student, and a copy sent to the Office of the University Registrar, student enrolment, office of student affairs and any other administrative offices that need to monitor student status.

VII. Overarching Principles

1. All promotions bodies / appellant bodies will have detailed bylaws / operating procedures that comply with those outlined within this policy and published within the appropriate school's student manual / faculty Handbook.
2. Dates and the schedule for all promotions and appeals meetings should be published and available to students.
3. Each school’s end-of-term processes must operate in a sequential manner to avoid overlap between phases.
4. Grade finalization and grade queries must be completed before promotions committees are convened.
5. The dates of promotion committee meetings and appeal committee meetings must be scheduled and published within the first month of term.
6. Promotions committees (e.g. APRC) must issue determinations and communicate outcomes to students in writing in a timely manner, ensuring adequate opportunity for students to file an appeal.
7. Appeals committees (e.g. CAPPS) must convene within a clearly defined timeframe and must communicate their outcomes to students in writing within an equally defined and timely period.
8. Final authority on appeals: CAPPS decisions represent the final level of academic appeal.

VIII. Definitions

Completion exam: a completion exam is an assessment opportunity for students that have a valid registered excuse for an examination and occurs on a pre-published date that should be indicated in the course syllabus or Academic School Schedule posted by the Registrar on the SGU Portal.

Make-up: some Schools offer a make-up exams for students that have failed a course (SGS). Make-up exams are typically restricted to low credit courses and are typical only in courses that have single assessments for the determination of course outcome.

Remediation Assessment: some schools may offer remediation assessments for a limited number of clinical/practical examinations for which a student has received a failing grade and where that competency is a mandatory requirement for progression. Remediation assessments are only offered if explicitly stated in the syllabus, and must occur during regularly scheduled course dates/times. Remediation examinations cannot be offered after the last regular day of the course/term.

IX. Authority

Office of the Provost: reviewed every 3 years.

X. Version History

(1025007)