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The overall policy of the University is that students are responsible for attending all class meetings for courses for which they are registered. Each instructor determines the specific attendance policy for the course and makes it known to students through the course syllabus and in class during the first week of classes. Instructors may assign a lower letter grade for failure to adhere to the attendance policy.
Students sometimes miss classes because of ill health, family emergency, or other reason beyond their control. It is the student’s responsibility to notify instructors of the reasons for missing class and to make arrangements for making up missed work. If absences are extensive, even for legitimate reasons, it may be impossible to meet the objectives of the course. In such instances the instructor may assign a grade of Incomplete.
Students occasionally miss a class because of participation in an authorized, off-campus official function of the university (e.g., varsity athletics, band, drama, etc.). Instructors should allow students the opportunity to make up work missed as a result of authorized absences. Students must notify instructors in advance of such absences, and should provide them authorized-absence slips signed by the appropriate director or academic dean.
The University seldom cancels classes because of weather emergencies. When this does occur, announcements will be made over the greater Bangor-Orono area’s radio and television stations. Students can also get information about the University’s class schedule during inclement weather by calling 1-800-581-SNOW, first updated at 6:00 a.m. and continually throughout the day.
During each semester two to four preliminary examinations are usually administered in every course. These “prelims” count heavily in the final grade. The final week of classes should be free of all types of exams whatsoever. Instructors may schedule exams during this period only with the express permission of the appropriate associate dean or program director. Evening exams for day courses must be noted in the Schedule of Classes.
At the end of each semester some courses hold comprehensive final examinations. These “finals” normally count for no more than one-third of the course grade, but instructors can weight them more heavily with the approval of the chairperson of the department offering the course.
The Office of Student Records schedules final examinations and publishes the exam schedule. Final examinations can be given only on the published date and time. Students scheduled for four or more final examinations on the same day may contact the Office of Student Records to have an examination rescheduled. Students who miss the scheduled final examination must contact the instructor to make arrangements to take the exam. Only truly extraordinary circumstances beyond a student’s control will be sufficient reason for an instructor to allow a student to make up a missed final exam.
The University of Maine will not schedule athletic events during final examination periods in December and May. The President, in consultation with the Executive Vice President and Provost, determines whether or not athletic teams will participate in post-season tournaments during final examination week.
The University of Maine uses a letter-grade system ranging from A to F. Faculty members have the option of adding + (no A+) and - grades to the basic letter grades, but such fine distinctions may be inappropriate for many courses. Whatever the system used, it is important to understand that there is no University-wide equivalence between percentage grades (such as 80%) and letter grades (such as B). Each instructor makes these determinations according to the grading system described in the course syllabus.
The qualitative value of the five basic letter grades is defined as follows:
- A, Superior work
- B, Good work
- C, Satisfactory but undistinguished work
- D, Poor work that does not adequately prepare students for more advanced work in the discipline. While some courses completed with D grades may contribute towards the total credits needed for graduation, others may be unacceptable for certain specific requirements and within the academic major
- F, Failure. No credit is earned for a failed course
The grades A-F have the following numerical values used in calculating a student’s Grade Point Average (GPA):
A = 4.00 A- = 3.67
B+ = 3.33 B = 3.00 B- = 2.67
C+ = 2.33 C = 2.00 C- = 1.67
D+ = 1.33 D = 1.00 D- = 0.67 F = 0.00
The University uses a variety of grades on transcripts to designate special circumstances. These include:
- AU, assigned only for courses taken under the audit option
- DG, deferred grade. This is used only for courses that extend beyond a single semester
- F*, for a course failed on the pass/fail grading option. No credit is earned and the GPA is not affected
- I, for “Incomplete.” This grade means that the instructor has postponed the assignment of a final grade to allow the student to complete specific work not turned in before the end of the semester. Instructors assign the “I” grade only when they are persuaded that events beyond the student’s control prevented the completion of assigned work on time.
The faculty member assigning the “I” grade must file an Incomplete Grade Authorization form with the dean of the college, which must include:
- The specific conditions that must be met in order to complete the course requirements and have the “I” replaced by a regular grade
- A written statement from the student explaining the extenuating circumstances which justify the “I” grade
- The time allowed the student to complete all requirements. The maximum time allowed is to the tenth week of the following full semester, but instructors may specify a shorter time period on the form. [Exceptions to this rule are rare and allowed only with the formal approval of the faculty member, the faculty member’s department chairperson or school director, and the associate dean of the faculty member’s college. All work must be submitted within one year of the end of the semester in which the course was taken]. If the incomplete work is not submitted within the time allotted by the faculty member, the grade will automatically be changed to an “F.” Students receiving an “I” grade are not allowed to re-register for the same course until the incomplete has been made up or converted to an “F”. It is not appropriate for a student receiving an “I” grade to make up missed work by sitting-in on the course the next time it is taught
A student is allowed to graduate with a “I” on the academic transcript only if all of the following conditions are met:
- the course was taken no more than one academic year preceding graduation
- the student has at least 120 credits of graded work
- all college, department, and general education requirements have been satisfied
- the incomplete, when counted as an “F,” does not reduce the accumulative grade point average below 2.0
No grade or incomplete grades remaining on the record at the time of graduation will subsequently be replaced by a regular grade on the official record. If the incomplete work is made up following graduation but within the regularly allowable time period, the grade(s) will be noted at the end of the transcript and will not affect the grade point average which was in effect at the time of graduation.
- L, Failure for lack of attendance. This grade indicates that a student stopped attending class, but did not formally withdraw from the course. This grade counts the same as an F
- LP, Low Pass, for a course passed on the pass/fail grading option with a D+, D, or D-. Credit is earned, but the grade point average (GPA) is not affected.
- MG, no grade submitted by the instructor
- P, for a course passed on the pass/fail grading option with a C- or above. Credit is earned, but the grade point average (GPA) is not affected
- R, final grade deferred. Graduate thesis only.
- T, final grade deferred. This is used only for the undergraduate thesis
- W, indicating that the student formally withdrew from the course during the second third of the semester
Grading Options
Students select one of three grading options for each course at the time of registration.
- A-F option. This is the option normally selected. It results in a grade (A-F) upon completion of the course. Courses in the major and courses meeting general education requirements must be taken for A-F grades
- Pass/Fail option. Students may take a limited number of courses Pass/Fail. Students passing the course receive the P or LP grade and degree credit; students failing the course receive the F* grade and no degree credit. Neither grade affects the student’s grade point average. The purpose of the Pass/Fail option is to encourage students to take elective courses outside their area of expertise by allowing them to do so without risk to their GPA. Students taking Pass/Fail courses may be ineligible for some forms of academic recognition, such as the Dean’s List, the Presidential Pin, or for selection as Valedictorian or Salutatorian. The following restrictions apply to use of the Pass/Fail option:
> Students must have sophomore standing or higher and have a grade point average of at least 2.0 to register for a course Pass/Fail
> No more than one course per semester may be taken Pass/Fail
> The Pass/Fail option is not allowed for courses used to fulfill program requirements for the major, for the college, or for general education
> Students normally select the Pass/Fail option when registering
- During the first ten days of the semester students may change the grading option for courses between the Grade option and the Pass/Fail option. No conversions between the Grade option and the Pass/Fail option normally are allowed after this period
- Audit option. Students registered to audit a course attend class meetings but usually do not take exams or complete formal assignments. No grade is assigned and no degree credit is earned for an audited course, but full tuition is charged. The Audit option is appropriate only under special circumstances, and should only be used upon the advice of an academic advisor
- Courses may be changed from the Grade or Pass/Fail option to the Audit option during the first two thirds of a semester, but changes during the second third can be made only with the approval of an academic advisor and the student’s dean
Students who are registered for Honors Directed Study (HON 498) and Honors Thesis (HON 499) have the option to receive a deferred grade (“T”) while they are working on the Honors thesis. Students will not be allowed to graduate with a grade of “T”. Students who have not completed their thesis work in the time frame allowed to complete graduation requirements, will be contacted by the Honors College and will either apply for graduation at a later date, or will be given a grade for the work that has been done and the student will graduate without Honors.
Students may access their course grades via the Internet using Web DSIS - http://www.maine.edu/dsis/. Course grades are available as they are received from instructors and processed following final exams.
Considerable care is taken to ensure that all grades entered on a student’s permanent record are accurate. Any student who suspects an error in a grade should contact the course instructor without delay. Records are considered to be correct if a student does not report errors to the Office of Student Records within six months of the completion of a course.
The University of Maine has formal procedures by which students may appeal the assignment of grades by an instructor, accusations of cheating or plagiarism, or certain aspects of classroom procedure. The details of these appeal processes can be found in the online Student Handbook. Click on Academics, then click on Academic Guidelines, then click on Appealing Grades and Assignments.
A student may repeat a course regardless of the grade or grades previously earned in that course. However, full tuition is charged each time a course is repeated, but credit for a given course may be earned only once, even if the course is passed more than once. When a repeated course is failed, any previously earned credit for that course is lost. Only the most recent grade earned in a repeated course counts towards the accumulative grade-point average, even if the most recent grade is lower than one previously received for that course. The grades for all attempts of a course taken for credit appear on the student’s transcript.
There may be limitations on the number of times that specific courses may be repeated in specific programs. Students should contact their academic advisor, the associate dean of their college or their program director about such limitations. |
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