Every effort should be made to record grades accurately and to assign grades using clear, objective, and equitable measures.

When setting your grading policy, please consider the needs of our students and what might best serve to motivate them. The advanced reading, writing, and critical thinking skills that are the learning objectives of many of our courses are not of a sort to be learned quickly, and they can present specific challenges to many of our students.

Consider setting grading policies that balance rewarding mastery of skills with those that reward consistent effort and engagement. For example, mix in lower-stakes assignments for which students can achieve full points for completion, and allow students to revise high-stakes assignments to improve their grades.  We also very strongly encourage opportunities for revision, which allows students to improve their grades.

C-MINUS GRADES:

The grading scale at City Tech is as follows:

You will notice that there is no “C-” in the City Tech grading scale. Maintaining a 2.0 cumulative GPA, which is a C average, is an important benchmark that matriculating students must reach to remain in good academic standing. There are also specific guidelines regarding the conditions under which students are allowed to retake courses in which they received a grade of “C” or higher. Eliminating the C- grade creates a clear distinction between students who meet the attendant standards and requirements and those who do not.  Any score that falls within the “typical” C- range (70-72.9%) should be graded as a “C.” Please speak to the Department chair if you have any questions about these policies or the grading system. 

WN/W/WU/F Grades

In addition to the grades listed above, a variety of different grades indicating withdrawal from a course may also be assigned. Several of these grades will be assigned administratively, without the professor’s involvement. (Click here for a full list.) Here are the most relevant to course instructors:

WN (Withdrawal-Never Attended)—A non-punitive grade assigned by the Registrar after an instructor has marked a student as non-participatory on the VOE Roster. The course and grade will not appear on transcripts.

W (Official Withdrawal)—A non-punitive grade indicating that a student has officially withdrawn from the course during the approved time period.

PLEASE NOTE: Professors must be extremely cautious about encouraging students to withdraw from classes. If you are working within the first half of the semester, it may be better to offer the student an opportunity to make up work and get back on track. Many students’ financial aid is dependent on them maintaining a certain number of credits within a semester, so dropping a class too soon could imperil them financially. If a student speaks to you about wanting to drop a class, or if you think that might be the best option for a student, encourage them to speak to Financial Aid, the Registrar, and/or their Advisor before making a decision.

WU (Unofficial Withdrawal)—A grade you may issue at the end of the semester to any student who stopped attending / participating in the class to the point that you cannot issue them a traditional grade. Here is the college policy on when to issue a “WU” versus an “F”:

• A grade of “WU” is to be assigned to students who attended a minimum of one class, completely stopped attending at any time before final exam week and did not officially withdraw. A WU grade should never be given in place of an “F” grade. The “F” grade is an earned grade based on poor performance and the student not meeting the learning objectives/outcomes of the course throughout the entire academic term/session.” Effective Fall 2021, WU grades are no longer calculated in the GPA as an F.

• A grade of “F” is a failure grade given to a student who completed the course and failed. A student who completed a course unsuccessfully should be granted the grade of “F” with the culminating academic experience of the course, i.e. final exam, final paper, etc. This grade can also be assigned if the student has completed a majority of the course and documentation of failing course work is available. This documentation must be retained and available for review by auditors.