Instructors are required to inform students of their standing in the class by issuing midterm grades no later than the eighth week of the semester. While these grades do not get submitted in CUNYFirst, they should be recorded and submitted at the end of the semester in the eClass Folder. You should assign students one of four mid-semester grades, but also look out for emails from the college because sometimes this grading schema changes:

You can alert students of their grades using your classroom LMS (OpenLab, Brightspace, etc.), via email, or using another communication system of your choice. If you are using the model 1101 or 1121 curriculi, there is also time built in for you to conference with students during class. You can also use some or all of the faculty created Mid-Semester Check-in, which is located on the Composition Skills student page, under Student Success. When sharing these grades, it’s also a good idea to notify students of their attendance or participation record in the class, as well as of any missing work and whether that work can still be submitted. You should encourage students to speak with you if they’re concerned about their grade. Faculty should not advise students to withdraw, as doing so without checking with an official advisor or the Financial Aid Office might impact their status as a full time student. You can make them aware of the dates when withdrawing is no longer an option by using the Academic Calendar.

It is VERY important to let a student know that, even if they’re getting an “Unsatisfactory,” they will still be able to turn their grade around. Some students might see this as a reason to throw in the towel instead of an opportunity to improve. Please take the time to let students know they can still succeed if they put in the work. Encourage them to speak with their professors during office hours, visit the Atrium Learning Center or Writing Center; or even use Tutor.Com, which is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. 

The mid-semester mark is also a good opportunity to issue any “high fives” for good work or interventions for struggling students using the CUNY Navigate system.