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Office of the Registrar
Campus Address
Hanover, NH
03755-3529
Phone: (603) 646-xxxx
Fax: (603) 646-xxxx
Email: reg@Dartmouth.EDU

Organization, Regulations, and Courses 2023-24


Contents
Catalog Links

Scholarship Ratings

Regularly Graded Courses: Since the fall term of 1973-1974, the grade assigned at the completion of a course has been one of the following: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, or E. The following guidelines offer general criteria for evaluation and grading, with ‘plus’ or ‘minus’ designations indicating that, in the opinion of the instructor, the student has performed at a level slightly higher or lower than the norm for that category.

A: 1. Excellent mastery of course material

    2. Student performance indicates a very high degree of originality, creativity, or both

    3. Excellent performance in analysis, synthesis, and critical expression, oral or written

    4. Student works independently with unusual effectiveness

B: 1. Good mastery of course material

    2. Student performance demonstrates a high degree of originality, creativity, or both

    3. Good performance in analysis, synthesis, and critical expression, oral or written

    4. Student works well independently

C: 1. Acceptable mastery of course material

    2. Student demonstrates some degree of originality, creativity, or both

    3. Acceptable performance in analysis, synthesis, and critical expression, oral or written

    4. Student works independently at an acceptable level

D: 1. Deficient in mastery of course material

    2. Originality, creativity, or both apparently absent from performance

    3. Deficient performance in analysis, synthesis, and critical expression, oral or written

    4. Ability to work independently deficient

E: 1. Serious deficiency in mastery of course material

    2. Originality, creativity, or both clearly lacking

    3. Seriously deficient performance in analysis, synthesis, and critical expression, oral or written

    4. Cannot work independently

The following grade point values are assigned: A, 4; A-, 3 2/3; B+, 3 1/3; B, 3; B-, 2 2/3; C+, 2 1/3; C, 2; C-, 1 2/3; D, 1; and E, 0.

In view of the many grades assignable and differences in faculty policies, every faculty member will explicitly declare criteria for grading to students in their courses and provide as much information as possible with respect to an individual student’s progress and the evaluation of the final grade assigned.

A course assigned a grade of E does not add to the student’s total (course count) counting toward the minimum of 35 for graduation, nor does it serve in satisfying any other graduation requirement. The E is, however, a permanent part of the student’s record, is included in all calculations of the student's grade point average and is shown on transcripts.

On May 23, 1994 the Faculty voted that transcripts and student grade reports should indicate, along with the grade earned, the median grade given in the class as well as the class enrollment. Departments and Programs may recommend, with approval of the Committee on Instruction, that certain courses (e.g., honors classes, independent study) be exempted from this provision. Courses with enrollments of less than ten are also exempted. At the bottom of the transcript there is a summary statement of the following type: ‘Exceeded the median grade in 13 courses; equaled the median grade in 7 courses; below the median grade in 13 courses; 33 courses taken eligible for this comparison.’ This provision applies to members of the Class of 1998 and later classes.

A student who has failed a course may elect it again. In this situation both of the grades are recorded and included in the cumulative average; only one course credit is earned. The same general principle applies to Credit/No Credit courses.

At the end of each term every undergraduate may view a grade report listing the courses taken, the grade in each, the term and total overall course count, and the grade point average for the term and overall. This information is available on DartHub.

At the end of each term every student’s term and cumulative grade point average (GPA) are calculated. The GPA calculation includes solely courses taken at Dartmouth on a regular A through E grading scale (GPA courses). The calculation uses quality points which are three times the usual grade values to prevent the accumulation of errors: an A counts as 12 points, A- as 11, B+ as 10, B as 9, B- as 8, C+ as 7, C as 6, C- as 5, D as 3, and E as 0. The GPA is the sum of the quality points divided by three times the GPA courses. This quotient is rounded to two decimal places.

The grade reports show alongside a course entry, when appropriate, an asterisk to indicate the intention of the instructor to award a citation. Citations are designed to procure an official record of information about undergraduates who have made particularly favorable impressions on members of the faculty because of their unusual talents, dependability, initiative, resourcefulness, or other meritorious characteristics that are not indicated adequately by academic grades. The actual statement of citation is included with a student’s transcript whenever such is issued unless the instructor has failed to supply it at the time of issuance of the transcript or the student does not wish it to be included.

If a student has elected a course under the Non-Recording Option, the grade assigned by the instructor is shown on the grade report, then the limiting grade selected by the student, and finally the officially recorded standing. If the assigned grade has at least matched the grade limit, the assigned grade becomes the official grade; if not, the standing ‘NR’ (Non-Recorded) is posted unless the assigned grade is E. Please consult the section on the Non-Recording Option.

It should be noted that grades that are high enough to satisfy the various degree requirements may not be indicative of overall satisfactory progress and may lead to action by the Committee on Standards; consult the Student Handbook.

 

Final Grades:

Final grades are the responsibility of the instructor.

 

Student-Initiated Appeal:

  • A student who questions the appropriateness of a grade confers with the instructor.
  • If the instructor agrees, the instructor makes a written request to the Registrar, with the approval and co-signature of the department/program Chair.
    • The instructor must indicate one or more specific ways in which the student was done an injustice. A simple change of mind will not suffice. 
    • It may not be made on the grounds of course work completed after the term in which the course was offered other than in the case of an official incomplete.
  • If the instructor refuses to make a grade change:
    • The student may appeal, in turn, to the Chair, the Associate Dean of the Faculty for the appropriate division, and the Dean of the Faculty; it is unusual for such appeal to go beyond the Chair. 
  • The student must initiate the appeal to the instructor, in writing, by the last day of the term following that in which the course was taken.
  • The instructor must submit the final grade to the Registrar by the last day of the second term following the term in which the course was taken.
  • If the student has been graduated, only the department/program Chair may initiate a grade change. It must be submitted within one year of the student’s graduation in the case of clerical, computational or other similar administrative error.

Instructor-Initiated Grade Change:

  • The Instructor makes a written request to the Registrar, with the approval and co-signature of the department/program Chair.
    • The Instructor must indicate one or more specific ways in which the student was done an injustice. A simple change of mind will not suffice. 
    • It may not be made on the grounds of course work completed after the term in which the course was offered other than in the case of an official incomplete.
  • The Instructor must submit the final grade to the Registrar by the last day of the term following the term in which the course was taken.
  • If the Registrar refuses to make the change, the instructor may appeal to the Dean of Faculty;
  • If the student has been graduated, only the department/program Chair may only initiate a grade change. It must be within one year of the student’s graduation and only in the case of clerical, computational or other similar administrative error.

 

Note: These procedures also apply to undergraduate courses with the subject TUCK, however where required the Tuck School of Business Dean designates the appropriate Chair equivalent within the Tuck structure. If the appeal goes further, it proceeds to the Tuck Dean.