Grades
Students may log in to MyDCE to view and print copies of their Summer School grades. See the Academic Calendars for the General Program, the Secondary School Program, or the Pre-College Program for the date by which grades are posted for each session. Study Abroad course grades are generally available approximately one to two weeks after the program ends. Students who want to transfer their Summer School grades to degree programs at Harvard or other schools should check with their program advisors before registering for courses. Grades are considered final when they are submitted to Academic Services for processing; they are not changed except in cases when the instructor has documented a clerical or computational error.
Grades reflect the quality and quantity of a student’s work submitted throughout the term. A student who does not complete the requirements of a course will be assigned a zero or E for the missing work. The student’s letter grade will include no credit for the missing work in the calculation of the final grade. Each instructor determines the individual grade components for their course and their percentage value in the calculation of their students’ final grades. Students should check the course syllabus for more information on their instructor’s grading policies.
Viewing Your Grades
Official grades are posted in MyDCE. Grades posted in Canvas or other course websites are not considered official final grades.
Letter Grades
Students registered for undergraduate or graduate credit who complete the requirements of a course may earn one of the following grades:
|
A and A– |
Earned by work whose superior quality indicates a full mastery of the subject, and in the case of A, work of extraordinary distinction. There is no grade of A+. |
|
B+, B, and B– |
Earned by work that indicates a strong comprehension of the course material, a good command of the skills needed to work with the course materials, and the student’s full engagement with the course requirements and activities. |
|
C+, C, and C– |
Earned by work that indicates an adequate and satisfactory comprehension of the course material and the skills needed to work with the course materials, and that indicates that the student has met the basic requirements for completing assigned work and participating in class activities. |
|
D+, D, and D– |
Earned by work that is unsatisfactory but that indicates some minimal command of the course materials and some minimal participation in class activities that is worthy of course credit. |
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E |
Earned by work that is unsatisfactory and unworthy of course credit. This grade may also be assigned to students who do not submit required work in courses from which they have not officially withdrawn by the withdrawal deadline. |
Noncompletion Grades
Students enrolled in courses for credit are expected to complete all coursework on time. Students who do not complete courses by the end of the term may receive one of the following noncompletion grades:
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*** |
is an interim grade notation assigned by the Registrar’s Office to students with cases pending before the Administrative Board. |
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DE |
(distance exam) is an interim grade assigned by the Registrar’s Office to distance students whose final grades are not available when grades are posted online. The grade is changed when the instructor submits a final grade. |
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EXD |
(excluded from the course) is a permanent final grade assigned to credit and noncredit students who are no longer permitted to continue in the course. An EXD grade is equivalent to a failing grade and does not result in any tuition refund. |
|
EXT |
(extension of time) is an interim grade that may be requested by credit students who, due to extenuating circumstances that occur toward the end of the course, need additional time to submit a final assignment or a small amount of written work—one or two assignments (not a classroom final exam) after a course has ended. Instructors may approve or deny a request for an extension of time in accordance with their grading policies. Students who owe more than one or two small assignments or a final paper or project should not request an extension of time; rather, they should withdraw from the course by the deadline. Requests for EXT grades must be approved by instructors and documented on Extension of Time forms available on the Summer School website. Students must submit a completed copy of the Extension of Time form to 51 Brattle Street by the start of the final exam period. Students who are approved for an extension of time in a distance course continue to have access to the video lectures until the extension deadline or their grade is changed, whichever occurs first. The latest due date to submit work is July 24 for three-week session I, August 14 for three-week session II, and September 4 for the seven-week session. Study Abroad program students should contact program directors for deadlines. |
|
MU |
(make-up final exam) is an interim grade assigned by the Registrar’s Office to students whose appeals for a make-up final exam are approved. This notation is changed to a letter grade when the student takes the make-up final exam. Students who do not take the make-up final exam as scheduled are assigned an E for that exam. Access to video lectures for distance courses is extended to the make-up final exam date for students whose appeals for make-up final exams are approved. |
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RQ |
(required to withdraw) is a permanent final grade assigned to credit and noncredit students who are required by the Administrative Board to withdraw from one or more courses. An RQ grade is equivalent to a failing grade and does not result in any tuition refund. Courses in which students have been assigned RQ grades are not included in the calculation of enrollment status. |
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WA |
(administrative withdrawal) is assigned to students who are administratively withdrawn in accordance with Summer School policies. WA may be a permanent notation. |
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WD |
(withdrawal) is a permanent final grade assigned to credit students who officially withdraw from courses by the withdrawal deadline. (See the calendar for withdrawal deadlines.) Courses in which students have been assigned WD grades are not included in the calculation of enrollment status. WD grades may not be changed to letter grades and do not result in any tuition refund. An E grade may be assigned to students who do not complete course requirements and do not officially withdraw by the withdrawal deadline. |
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WN |
(noncredit withdrawal) is a permanent notation assigned to noncredit students who withdraw from a course by the withdrawal deadline for their program (see the Academic Calendar for withdrawal deadlines). WN notations do not result in any tuition refund. |
Note: DE, EXT, MU, and WD are not applicable to students in the Pre-College Program.
Students enrolled in the undergraduate credit version of HBX CORe receive grades of high honors, honors, or pass and fail.
Grades for Pre-College Program students
Pre-College students may earn one of the following grades:
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AR |
(met all requirements) for students with active classroom participation, completion of all assignments, and good attendance for the session. |
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NM |
(did not meet requirements) for students who fail to meet the course requirements. |
Students must attend and participate in every class in its entirety, submit all assignments on time and perform at a satisfactory level to receive a passing grade of “met all requirements” (AR). In addition to assigning grades, Pre-College instructors will provide a written evaluation for each student within six weeks of completion of the course. It will include a short description of the course and the materials covered as well as a summary of the student’s performance in the course. Evaluations will be available for download in MyDCE.
Grade Changes
All grades, with the exception of DE, EXT, MU, asterisk (***), and in some cases WA, are considered final when they are submitted to Academic Services. Students should ask their instructors for explanations of their grades if they believe errors were made. Contact Academic Services if your attempts to speak with your instructor are unsuccessful. Note that a student may not submit extra work, resubmit work, or have their work evaluated by a third party to improve a final grade.
Requests for grade changes are initiated by the instructor. Letter grades can be changed only if there is clear evidence of a computational or clerical error that is documented in writing by the instructor. Grades cannot be changed after Friday, October 23.
Though students are entitled to an explanation of their grades, they should be careful not to harass instructors. Repeatedly calling an instructor about a grade or additional points on an exam or telling an instructor that a certain grade is needed is inappropriate and could be considered harassment.
Potential and Admitted Harvard Extension School Degree Candidates and Pre-Medical Program Students
The following scale is used to calculate the grade point average (GPA) for Harvard Extension School degree program applicants and candidates as well as premedical program students using a 4-point scale. This numerical conversion does not represent grading assessments for individual courses. Final authority for grading rests with the instructor in charge of the course.
The following numerical values are assigned to letter and nonletter grades:
|
A |
A– |
B+ |
B |
B– |
C+ |
C |
C– |
D+ |
D |
D– |
E |
WD |
RQ |
EXD |
|
4.0 |
3.67 |
3.33 |
3.0 |
2.67 |
2.33 |
2 |
1.67 |
1.33 |
1 |
0.67 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Potential and admitted Extension School degree candidates and premedical program students should check their individual program requirements to learn more about how letter and nonletter and noncompletion grades will affect their academic standing, including the limited number of WD grades that can be earned before counting as zeros in the cumulative GPA.
Admitted Extension School degree candidates and premedical program students can learn their GPAs by reviewing academic progress reports available in the degree candidate portal, which is accessible via MyDCE. These reports are updated at the end of each semester.
Potential Extension School candidates should be aware that minimum GPAs are required for admission to all programs and if their GPA is below the minimum, it may not be in their best interest to continue to register for courses in an attempt to raise their GPAs. Students can learn predegree GPAs by logging into MyDCE and choosing Degree Program Admissions, Verify GPA eligibility. The service is unavailable for a short time each term while the Admissions Office awaits students' final grades, and then processes applications and admits students to degree programs.