Final grade entry

It is important to enter grades accurately and on time (as described in University policy). Grades affect the academic success of students. There can be serious impacts to students if you submit grades late or assign a grade that is not appropriate for the situation.

Students may experience consequences:

  • Academically: probation or suspension by their college, delay of graduation, postponement of admission to graduation program, loss of honors status.
  • Financially: probation or suspension of financial aid, loss of scholarships, termination of Veteran’s Administration benefits, delay of tuition reimbursement, lose good-student insurance discount.
  • Professionally: lose job opportunities, be prevented from making professional transitions if they are teachers.
  • Other: lose athletic eligibility.

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Grade rosters

To enter grades, you have to have access to the grade roster for a class. Grade rosters automatically become available in Faculty Center in MyU near the end of the term or session. If you do not see your grade roster by the end of the term, contact your department scheduler.

Grading due dates

You must submit final grades no later than 11:59 p.m., 3 business days after the last day of the final exam period. Look up due dates for grades for each term and session.

If you have not submitted grades for all enrolled students, you’ll receive a reminder email. Several system processes run after the grading due date.

After the grading due date:

  • Any student without a grade will see an “NR” (not reported) on their transcript.
  • You will no longer be able to upload grades from a spreadsheet or directly from Canvas.
  • You will need to enter grades on a student-by-student basis using the How to change a grade guide.

About I, K, and X grades

I, K, and X grading symbols are special placeholders for when you cannot enter a final grade at the time grades are due. These grading symbols can have negative consequences for students, so please be careful to use them appropriately.

I grade

An I grade is appropriate when:

  • The student has successfully completed a substantial portion of the work of the course; and
  • Due to extraordinary circumstances (as determined by the instructor), the student was prevented from completing the work of the course on time.

For I grades, the University requires you to have a written agreement between you (the instructor) and the student to specify how and when the student will complete the course requirements. An online incomplete contract is available for students to use (the contract must be initiated by the student and will be routed to the instructor). You may view screenshots of the contract on the Incomplete grade contract workflow guide.

If you do not replace the I grade with a permanent grade within one term, the I will automatically update to an F or N.

K grade

A K grade is appropriate when:

  • The course activity (e.g., rotations) has been approved in the system (noted in ECAS, the Electronic Course Authorization System) to extend beyond the grading deadline. This grade symbol indicates that the course itself is still in progress.

Once the course activity is complete, you must change each K into a final grade following the How to change a grade guide.

X grade

An X grade is appropriate when:

  • The course has been defined and approved in the system (noted in ECAS, the Electronic Course Authorization System) as a sequenced or continuation course; and
  • The sequence is in progress.

Once the sequence is complete, you must change each X into a final grade using the How to change a grade guide.

About F and N grades

The grades F and N may be appropriate to enter when grades are due. You can change the grade later if needed.

Find detailed information about the appropriate use of F and N grades in the grading and transcripts policy.

Last date of participation

When a student earns a grade of F or N, their financial aid may be affected depending on the last day of participation in that class.

To the best of your ability, determine the last date of participation: the last day the student attended or participated in class. You may use the last date the student submitted required coursework, including online coursework.

When a student has participated through final exams and earned an F or N grade, enter the exam date as the date of last participation.

If the student never attended or participated in any way, use the start date of the session in which the class was scheduled or the date of the first class meeting.

The following academic activities count toward the last date of participation:

  • Physically attending a class that enables direct interaction between the instructor and students.
  • Submitting an academic assignment.
  • Taking/submitting an exam.
  • Taking an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction.
  • Participating in an online discussion about academic matters.
  • Initiating contact with a faculty member to ask questions about the course subject matter.
  • Attending an assigned study group.

The following activities DO NOT count toward the last date of participation:

  • Logging into an online component of the course without active participation.
  • Participating in academic counseling or advising.

How-to guides and grading tools

How-to guides

Grading tools

Support

If you have any questions, please contact OTR Training & Support at srhelp@umn.edu.