5.1 Credit
To obtain credit in a course, students must satisfy the course requirements as published in the course outline.
5.2 The Course Outline
The instructor is required to provide a formal statement to students called the Course Outline. The course outline must be made available to all Carleton students registered in that course, on or before the required date found in the schedule for The Academic Year, normally one week prior to the start of a term.
The course outline must specify:
- Complete calendar description.
- Proposed list of topics to be covered.
- Mandatory Required Materials to be acquired.
- All the elements that will contribute to the cumulative grade earned and the overall approximate grade breakdown for the course. The elements and grade breakdown may initially be approximate, but are normally confirmed no later than the last day of registration for the term. If faculty deviate from section 5.4 on the grading system, the grading system that will be used must be clearly indicated. If additional requirements beyond the cumulative grade earned must be satisfied in order to pass the course, this should be clearly identified in the course outline.
- Due dates for major course elements should be indicated. The dates may be tentative initially, but are normally confirmed no later than the last day of registration for the term. If changes to due dates are required students should be given at least two weeks notice. Final scheduled exam dates are excluded from the information provided, and will be presented at a later date in the term.
- TA information, as available.
- Any required time commitments occurring outside of the formally scheduled lectures, tutorials, labs and discussion groups. Changes may be required but students should be given at least two weeks notice. These time commitments are specific to course requirements and do not imply study time or group work, for example.
- The outline must also include/reference all University policies governing academic accommodation.
5.3 Early Feedback Guideline
Providing feedback to students on academic work, completed or in progress, is an integral part of teaching and learning in that it allows students to measure their understanding of material, the success of their learning strategies, and their progress on learning objectives. While the nature and frequency of such feedback will vary with the course and level, Carleton University is committed to providing students with appropriate and timely feedback on their work. Accordingly, wherever possible, and especially in first- and second-year courses, instructors are urged to include academic work that is assigned, evaluated and returned prior to the 25th teaching day of each term. More generally, all instructors are urged to include academic work that is assigned, evaluated and returned prior to the 40th teaching day of each term.
The spirit of this guideline should be followed during the summer term. In particular, all instructors are urged to include academic work that is assigned, evaluated, and returned at least two days prior to the last day to withdraw from the course in the Early, Late, or Full Summer term.
Course outlines should provide an indication of approximately when the first graded piece of work will be returned to students. In cases where a course does not lend itself to early feedback, this should be clearly noted on the course outline.
5.4 Grading System
Standing in a course is determined by the course instructor, subject to the approval of the faculty Dean. Standing in courses will be shown by alphabetical grades. The system of grades used, with corresponding grade points and the percentage conversion, is listed below. Grade points indicated are for courses with 1.0 credit value. Where the course credit is greater or less than one credit, the grade points are adjusted proportionately.
| Grade | Point Equivalence | Percentage Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 12 | 90-100 |
| A | 11 | 85-89 |
| A- | 10 | 80-84 |
| B+ | 9 | 77-79 |
| B | 8 | 73-76 |
| B- | 7 | 70-72 |
| C+ | 6 | 67-69 |
| C | 5 | 63-66 |
| C- | 4 | 60-62 |
| D+ | 3 | 57-59 |
| D | 2 | 53-56 |
| D- | 1 | 50-52 |
| F | 0 | less than 50 |
In cases where the final examination is not written and was not explicitly a requirement to successfully complete the course, the cumulative grade earned on term work without the missing examination will be assigned.
If the grade conversion deviates from the percentage conversion presented above, the faculty member must notify the class in the course outline.
Other grades and notations in current use by the University are as follows:
| AEG | Aegrotat. Pass standing is granted under special circumstances by an academic appeal committee, in response to an application from or on behalf of a student, on the basis of course work when no further assessment is considered feasible. AEG has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| AUD | AUD. No Academic Credit, no impact on CGPA. Audit indicates the course was taken for interest and not for academic credit. |
| CEX | Current International Exchange. An interim notation. |
| CH | Credit granted under challenge for credit policy. CH has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| CLP | Current Letter of Permission. An interim notation. |
| CR | Credit granted for a passed course under the First Year Grading Policy (see Section 5.4.3). CR has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| CTN | Continuing. No academic credit and no impact on the CGPA. Assigned by the Registrar’s Office to the first half of a course taught consecutively over two terms. |
| CUO | Current University of Ottawa Exchange. An interim notation. |
| CUR | Current registration. An interim notation assigned by the Registrar’s Office to indicate the student is currently registered in the course. |
| DEF | Deferred Final Examination and/or final course work. An interim notation administratively assigned by the Registrar’s Office upon approval of a request to write a deferred final examination or defer submission of final course work. DEF must be replaced by a final grade within the prescribed time or be replaced with F. |
| F | Failure. The grade of F is assigned when the student has failed to meet the conditions of “satisfactory performance” defined in the Course Outline. F carries 0.0 grade points. |
| GNA | Grade not available. An interim notation administratively assigned by the Faculty when a grade is not available, and must be replaced with a final grade. |
| IP | In Progress – a notation (IP) assigned to a course by a faculty member when: At the undergraduate level, an undergraduate thesis or course has not been completed by the end of the period of registration. At the graduate level, a graduate thesis, research essay, independent research project or comprehensive examination has not been completed by the end of the period of registration. The IP notation may also be used at the graduate level when a research seminar has not been completed by the end of the period of registration provided the research seminar has been approved by Graduate Faculty Board as being eligible for the use of this notation. In the case of re-registration in any of the above courses, the IP notation will remain; a final grade will normally be assigned in the final period of registration. Where there is no re-registration in any of the above courses, the IP notation must be replaced with an appropriate notation or grade within the prescribed time period, or be replaced by a notation of WDN. |
| NR | Denotes a failed course under the First Year Grading Policy (see Section 5.4.3). The notation does not appear on the transcript but is retained for internal purposes as required. NR has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| SAT | Satisfactory performance in an option or course taken at Carleton, or on Letter of Permission or an approved exchange. SAT has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| UCH | Unsuccessful attempt for CH. UCH has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| UNS | Unsatisfactory performance in an option or course taken at Carleton, or on a Letter of Permission or approved exchange. UNS has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| WDN | Withdrawn. Students may withdraw on or before the academic withdrawal deadline (noted in the Academic Year section of the Calendar). No academic credit, no impact on the CGPA. WDN is a permanent notation that appears on the official transcript for students who withdraw after the full fee adjustment date in each term (also noted in the Academic Year section of the Calendar). |
The following notations are no longer in use by the University:
| ABS | Absent from a required final examination. ABS is assigned only when the student is absent from the required final examination and has achieved satisfactory performance during the term as specified in the course outline. ABS is equivalent to an F and it carries 0.0 grade points. |
| DNC | Did not complete the course. No academic credit or impact on the CGPA calculation. In credit courses, the notation DNC is assigned by the appropriate appeal committee in the case of a student, who, having achieved satisfactory performance during the term, and has been granted a deferred final examination in the course then is unable to write the deferred examination due to continued and documented personal or medical reasons. In the case of audited courses, DNC is assigned by the instructor when the student has registered to audit the course and has not satisfied the requirements for successful audit. |
| EXC | Satisfactory performance on International Exchange, EXC has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| FND | Failure with no deferred final examination allowed. The grade FND is assigned only when the student has failed the course on the basis of inadequate term work as specified in the Course Outline. FND carries 0.0 grade points. |
| FNS | Failure without access to a supplemental examination because of incomplete term work or unacceptably low standing. No academic credit. |
| FWS | Failure with access to supplemental examinations. |
| INC | Incomplete may be assigned to a Graduate course in which the student has been approved to submit an assignment after the final deadline date. Incomplete must be replaced with a letter grade within forty days of the end of classes. If the Incomplete is not changed to a letter grade within forty days of the end of classes, the Incomplete will be changed to a grade of F, which will remain as a permanent entry on the student's record. In exceptional cases students may petition the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs to have the Incomplete remain on the student record. For circumstances that go beyond the forty-day period (i.e. medical), students may apply for a deferral (refer to Special/Deferred Final Examinations, Section 9.3). |
| LOP | Satisfactory performance on Letter of Permission, LOP has no impact on the CGPA calculation. |
| P | Pass. |
| PWD | Pass With Distinction. |
5.4.1 A course is considered to be completed when the course registration results in a notation or grade other than WDN, IP, CTN, CUR, AUD, CEX, CLP, DEF, GNA, or CUO.
5.4.2 A course is considered to be successfully completed if the course is completed with a passing grade, SAT, CH, AEG, or CR.
5.4.3 First Year Grading Policy
For students entering their first year of studies at Carleton with no previous post-secondary studies the following grading policy shall apply during the first two terms of registration in a Carleton undergraduate degree program:
- Any F or UNS grades earned in any course taken will be automatically converted to NR (No Record). Note: NR will not be recorded on the transcript but will be retained for internal use and accessible for other purposes as required.
- Any passing grades earned in any course may be converted to a CR (Credit), at the request of the student, to a maximum of 2.0 credits during the first two terms. Students must request conversion prior to the last day of registration for the following term. Note: CR will be recorded on the transcript, and the earned grade will be retained for internal use and accessible for other purposes as required.
- All non-financial WDNs of courses taken under this policy will not be recorded on the transcript but will be retained for internal use and accessible for other purposes as required.
5.5 Change of Grade
Final grades are posted after grades are approved. Once posted, final grades may only be changed through informal or formal appeals of grade processes (see Sections 3.3.4 and 3.3.5 of the Academic Regulations of the University).
Any instructor-initiated changes beyond the formal and informal appeal process must be completed by the instructor and approved by the faculty dean, or designate within 6 months of the last day of the exam period.
Any changes beyond this 6 month period must be initiated after consultation with the faculty dean or designate.
Unless an appeal has been initiated prior to the awarding of a degree, grades that have been used towards the awarding of a degree are not eligible for a change of grade.