F.A.Q. Grading Information
How are Language Credit via Distance Education students enrolled in courses?
Once the Foreign Studies Advisor verifies students have met the requirements for being enrolled in courses, the Office of Study Abroad will register the students.
What is the definition of a recordable instructional contact hour?
An instructional contact hour is 50 minutes of class or 150 minutes of organized and supervised educational activities (including labs) which reinforce the the language lessons. Contact hours must be recorded on the institution's transcript or official evaluation report of the student's academic performance. For example, a student may have class for 3.5 hours (175 minutes) followed by an instructor escorted visit of 75 minutes to a market or museum to reinforce vocabulary or cultural material learned in the classroom. The 75 minutes of 'lab' counts as 25 minutes of classroom instruction - so 175 minutes of classroom plus 25 minutes of out of classroom supervised hours would equal 200 minutes or 4 recordable instructional contact hours of 50 minutes each. If the student simply went to the market as part of his or her daily routine, this out-of-class activity, while valuable for reinforcing language learning, is not verifiable and would not count as recordable instructional contact hours.
How are grades determined?
The instructor of the course will determine the grade for each course as follows: 60% based on WebCT orientation completion, correspondence with instructor about the learning experience, other activities required on-line, and submission of final evaluation; 40% based on the evaluation reports provided by the foreign academic institution.
Do students receive numerical or letter grades?
Only letter grades (A - F) will be issued. For conversion purposes we use: A (4.0, or 90-100), B (3.0, or 80-89), C (2.0, or 70-79), D (1.0, or 60-69 ), F (0.0, or less than 60). A plus or minus does not change the point value in the GPA calculation. Students may also request to receive S/U grades.
When to Expect Your Grades
Study abroad credit may take 6 weeks or longer to be posted to your transcript. As a result it is your responsibility to make sure that you have completed ALL aspects of the course within the academic term.
Courses scheduled for completion between Aug 1 and Nov 30 (Fall Semester). Transcripts mailed by Jan 31
Courses scheduled for completion between Dec 1 and Apr 30 (Spring Semester). Transcripts mailed by Jun 15
Courses scheduled for completion between May 1 and Jul 31 (Summer Term). Transcripts mailed by Sep 15
Failure to complete ALL course requirements within the above dates will result in a failing grade.
Incomplete grades for verifiable emergencies (such as extended illness) are at the US Instructor’s discretion and must be given in writing for completion by a specific date i.e. if a 30 day extension is given and ALL course requirements are not received within 30 days, grade automatically reverts to an F with no further extensions or appeals possible.
Study away from your home institution poses special challenges. Papers may be misplaced during travels, communications may go astray. It is important to recognize and plan for these obstacles so they do not become a barrier for your receiving credit for work which you performed. If in doubt, ask the US faculty if ALL needed information was received and recorded correctly - and keep a copy of the reply.