Grading Policy

Issuance of grades and formulation of individual attendance policies are the prerogative of the instructor. Faculty must provide feedback to students about their progress prior to the last published day to withdraw. Grades are expected to conform to those listed in the . Any deviations must be approved by the Faculty Senate and the Office of the Registrar. Faculty aren't required to submit mid-term grades but it is highly recommended for student success for mid-term grades to be posted by the mid-term grade deadline.

Faculty Grade Entry Faculty Class List

 

Grade Changes

Errors in grades must be reported to the Office of the Registrar immediately. In general, no grade changes will be made after the end of the next semester after the grade was assigned, except with the approval of the Academic Standing Committee. In general, the Academic Standing Committee will not consider requests for grade changes beyond one year from the end of the semester in which the grade was assigned. A petition for a grade change will not be accepted after the date of graduation.

  • The grade change form is located in the Faculty Services Tab in .

Grade Changes Portal

  • When the faculty submits a request, it will route to the Department Chair and Registrar for approval.
  • If the request is sent back, it will populate in your Pending Requests tab. If Approved/Denied, the request will populate in the Approved Requests or Denied Requests tabs.
  • If you submit an Incomplete Extension request, the request will route to the Department Chair and Registrar.
    • If the Registrar Approves the request, the request will route back to the faculty and populate in the Incomplete Extensions tab on your dashboard.
    • Once the student completes the course and you submit the grade change for approval, the request will route to the Department Chair and Registrar for final approval.

Final Grades and Attendance Verification

Federal regulations governing the disbursement of financial aid require institutions to verify student attendance in class. To comply with these regulations, the following Attendance Verification procedures will be implemented at the time of final grade submission each semester.

Verification of Attendance

Faculty should submit a grade of 鈥淣A鈥� for students who never attended a class where attendance/roll is recorded or who never participated in an academically-related activity. For example, if a student attended a class before the add/drop deadline, but never attended thereafter, or did not complete any academic-related activity, a grade of 鈥淣A鈥� should be assigned. 

鈥淎cademic attendance鈥� and 鈥渁ttendance in an academically-related activity鈥� include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Submitting an academic assignment;
  • Physically attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students by taking an exam, an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction;
  • Attending a study group that is assigned by the institution;
  • Participating in an online discussion about academic matters; and
  • Initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course.

鈥淎cademic attendance鈥� and 鈥渁ttendance in an academically related activity鈥� do not include activities where a student may be present, but not academically engaged, such as:

  • Living in institutional housing;
  • Participating in the institution鈥檚 meal plan;
  • Logging into an online class without active participation;
  • Attending an on-campus class without any level of academic/active participation or participating in academic counseling or advisement.

For example, if a student attended a class before the add/drop deadline, but never attended thereafter, or did not complete any academic-related activity, a grade of 鈥淣A鈥� should be assigned. 

Unofficial Withdrawals - Last Date of Attendance

KSU verifies student attendance to ensure that we comply with various federal regulations governing Title IV programs. The following Attendance Verification procedures will be implemented at the time of final grade submission each semester.

Faculty should submit a W or an earned grade for students who stop attending class and do not officially withdraw as follows:

  • For students who stop attending class on or before the published 鈥淟ast Day to Withdraw" date, a grade of W, F or U should be assigned based on the student鈥檚 status in the course.
  • For students who stop attending class after the published 鈥淟ast Day to Withdraw 鈥� date, and prior to the last day of class, an earned grade should be assigned.

Grades Requiring Last Date of Attendance

KSU verifies student attendance to ensure that we comply with various federal regulations governing Title IV programs. The following Attendance Verification procedures will be implemented at the time of final grade submission each semester.

Faculty will be required to enter the last known date of the academically related activity (i.e., exam, test, assignments, etc.) into the 鈥淟ast Attend Date鈥� field for the following grades.

  • F
  • U
  • W

The F grade is assigned when a student stop attending class (unofficial withdrawal) after the published 鈥淟ast Day to Withdraw鈥� date, and prior to the last day of class or earns the F grade.

If you have any questions concerning this attendance verification procedure, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@kennesaw.edu.

Final Grades and Grade Submission

The instructor submits the grades, via Owl Express, to the Office of the Registrar. Only the primary instructor (as designated in Banner) may submit final grades.

Each instructor is responsible for entering the grades no later than the final grade submission deadline.  Full compliance with the final grade submission deadline is expected of every full-time and part-time instructor. 

The NR 鈥� Not Reported grade is reserved for academic integrity cases and is reported by the instructor to the Office of the Registrar to post.  NR grades must be reported to the Office of the Registrar no later than the final grade submission deadline.

Refer to the Academic Calendar for Dates and Deadlines

Academic Calendar

Submitting Midterm Grades Steps

Faculty with a on file in the Registrar鈥檚 Office will have access to the midterm grade roster through the Faculty Services tab in . If the Faculty tab is not available, the faculty member must submit a completed Buckley form to the Office of the Registrar, buckley@kennesaw.edu. Faculty aren't required to submit mid-term grades but it is highly recommended for student success for mid-term grades to be posted by the mid-term grade deadline.

  • Go to the Kennesaw.edu webpage.
  • Click on the "" link at the bottom of the page.
  • Enter your KSU email address and Password to access OWL Express. 
  • Select the Faculty Services tab and then select Grade Entry link.
  • Select the Mid-term Grades tab
  • All sections that have been assigned to a faculty member will be in the drop-down menu. Only the primary faculty member will have access to enter the grades. Select the CRN to enter the midterm grades and select Submit CRN.
  • When entering grades for each student on the midterm grade submission roll, faculty may use the drop-down menu or use the export/import grade function. By using the mouse or pressing Tab, the faculty may move to the next student.
  • Faculty must click on Submit/Save at the end of each page to officially submit grades. Grades will not be saved unless this action is taken. 
  • A confirmation email is NOT generated upon the instructor clicking on the Submit button.  This means that there will be no confirmation email sent to the instructor after submitting midterm grades.
  • When finished, log off the system by selecting (clicking) on the EXIT button.
  • When submitting midterm grades, please ensure that you have selected the appropriate active semester, as the upcoming semester often populates to the top.  If you receive a message that you don鈥檛 have midterm grades to submit, you are in the wrong semester.  Please return to the 鈥淔aculty Services鈥� tab, select 鈥淪elect Term,鈥� and choose the appropriate semester.
  • If a student has already received a W, just skip the midterm grade field. 
  • There is no need to add the "attended hours" item.  Just leave this field blank.
  • If a student has never attended, do not enter a midterm grade. Leave the grade blank.
  • The last attend date is not required.

Please send questions to registrar@kennesaw.edu.

Submitting Final Grades Steps

Faculty with a on file in the Registrar鈥檚 Office will have access to the final grade roster through the Faculty tab in . If the Faculty tab is not available, the faculty member must submit a completed Buckley form to the Office of the Registrar, buckley@kennesaw.edu.

  • Go to the Kennesaw.edu webpage.
  • Click on the "" link at the bottom of the page.
  • Enter your KSU email address and Password to access OWL Express. 
  • Select the Faculty Services tab and then select *Grade Entry*
  • All sections that have been assigned to a faculty member will be in the drop-down menu. Only the primary faculty member will have access to enter the grades. Select the CRN to enter the final grades and select Submit CRN.
  • When entering grades for each student on the final grade submission roll, faculty may use the pull-down menu or enter a grade. By using the mouse or pressing Tab, the faculty may move to the next student.
  • Faculty must click on **Save** at the end of each page to officially submit grades. Grades will not be saved unless this action is taken. An email is generated upon the instructor clicking on the Submit button. 
  • When finished, log off the system by selecting (clicking) on the EXIT button.
Important Notes
  • There is a 60-minute time limit on this screen for security purposes.
  • Only 50 students at a time are displayed on the screen. To access the additional students in the course, choose the appropriate record grouping at the top or bottom of the screen.
  • During the time period when the system is available, you may change/enter grades as frequently as you like.
  • Once a grade has been submitted, it is immediately available for viewing online.
  • For more information see the section .
Final Grade Options

NA 鈥� Students who never attended class (where attendance/role was recorded) or who never participated in an academically-related activity, e.g., never submitted an assignment, participated in an online discussion, contacted the faculty member about the course, etc.

W 鈥� Students who attended/participated at some point and then stopped attending/participating BEFORE or ON the 鈥淟ast Day to Withdraw鈥� date, a grade of W should be assigned based on the student鈥檚 status in the course. Faculty will be required to enter the last known date of the academically related activity (i.e., exam, test, assignments, etc.) into the 鈥淟ast Attend Date鈥� field for this grade.

I 鈥� An incomplete grade can be awarded only when students have done satisfactory work up to the final two weeks of the semester, but for nonacademic reasons beyond their control is unable to meet the full requirements of the course.

A/B/C/D/F 鈥� Students who attended well past the 鈥淟ast Day to Withdraw鈥� date and earned the corresponding grade. Faculty will be required to enter the last known date of the academically related activity (i.e., exam, test, assignments, etc.) into the 鈥淟ast Attend Date鈥� field for this grade.