Examination administration and grading are anonymous. After anonymous examination grades are submitted to the Registrar, minor individual adjustments may be made. The examination grade as adjusted becomes the final grade. Records of examination grades and adjusted grades are maintained by the Registrar.
Changing of a final grade after its submission to the Registrar is inconsistent with the grading system mandated by the faculty. When a change is sought, the faculty member may not have the benefit of, or the time to review, the papers of other students in the course and may be subject to pressures extraneous to the grading process. Therefore, a request for a change in a final grade will ordinarily not be approved. The judgment made by the faculty member when a grade is submitted to the Registrar must be viewed as conclusive.
There are, however, rare instances in which fairness might justify a final grade change. This might be the case, for example, when there is demonstrable evidence of a mathematical error in the calculation of a grade, or where there has been an egregious error in grading, such as the failure to read and take into account an entire bluebook or a significant portion of one. A mere change of mind will not justify a change of a final grade.
Requests by a faculty member for a change of a final grade will be decided by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, to whom these requests should be directed, or, in his/her absence, by the Dean. Requests to change grades issued in spring and summer classes must be made by the last day of classes of the following fall semester; requests to change grades issued in fall semester classes must be made by the last day of classes of the following spring semester.
Adopted: February 24, 1988
Amended: April 18, 2018
Updated: December 5, 2018