Grading Policies

Excerpts from 2006-07 Student Bulletin & Handbook of Policies

• The faculty is expected to exhibit professionalism. Along these lines, faculty is expected to turn in grades on time [05-09-06 Faculty Meeting Minutes]
• When faculty receive a student request to review an exam and they are not able to follow up quickly, let the Office of Career and Student Services know so that students will know that their requests are not being ignored. [02-21-07 Faculty Meeting Minutes]

Grades

The grades awarded in all courses are indicative of the quality of work done.

Letter Grade Definitions

• A—Excellent—4 grade points per credit hour.
• B—Good—3 grade points per credit hour.
• C—Satisfactory—2 grade points per credit hour.
• D—Barely Passed—1 grade point per credit hour.
• F—Failed—0 grade points per credit hour.
• CR—Credit—Gives credit for the course but is not computed in the grade point average. CR” credit is the equivalent of at least a grade of “C”.
• NC—No Credit—Not computed in the grade point average.
• I—Incomplete—The grade of “I” is given only when circumstances beyond the student’s control have prevented completion of the work of a course within the official dates of a session. Courses given a grade of “I” are excluded in the calculation of the grade point average.
• AUDIT—Audit is recorded for completion of enrollment in an audited course. No credit is earned for an audit grade option
• WP—Withdrawal Passing—Courses given a grade of “WP” are excluded in the calculation of the grade point average.
• WF—Withdrawal Failing—A grade of “WF” will be calculated as a failing grade in the student’s grade point average.
• W—Withdrawal—A “W” grade is used for approved administrative withdrawals.

Computation of Grades

1. Course grades shall be recorded as letter grades in all courses except those courses
   designated as "CR”, “C­“, “D+”, “D”, “D­“, “F " or "Credit/No Credit".
2. Each grade shall be assigned a fractionated grade point value. (see Grade Points below)
3. Only letter grades shall be computed in determining a student's grade point average,
   including non­passing grades earned in "CR/C­/D+/D/D­/F" courses.
4. Grade points ­ grade points shall be determined in each course by multiplying the
   numerical value of the grade earned by the number of credit hours f or the course.
5. Grade point average ­ a student's grade point average shall be determined by dividing
   the total number of grade points earned in all graded courses by the number of credit
   hours attempted in such courses.

Grade Points

The University of New Mexico utilizes a fractionated grading system. Following
are the allowable letter grades and associated grade points:

Note: “A+” became effective fall semester 1991. An “F+” is not a valid grade.

Grade Point Average

A student’s academic standing is ref erred to in terms of a grade point
average calculated by dividing the total number of grade points earned at the School of Law by
the total number of graded hours attempted. Courses given a grade of “WP”, “CR”, “NC”, or “I”
are excluded in the grade point average calculation.

Grading Practices

Law professors must grade all students in a course using the same grading system. Available grading systems are:

1. Regular fractionated grading (most law courses)
2. “CR”, “C­”, ”D+”, “D”, “D­“, “F” (typically “skills” courses, e. g., mediation courses, and designated elective courses throughout the law school)
3. “CR/NC” (examples of courses designated by the faculty as using this grading system are participation in the New Mexico Law Review, the Natural Resources Journal, and various Moot Court competitions).

Grading Options

Law students must register for courses using the GRADING option. Because law professors must grade all students in a course using the same grading system, students do not have the option to take a particular course on a “Credit/No Credit” basis. Exception: By faculty policy, the only courses where a student is allowed to register using the “CR/NC” grading option are Moot Court competitions and Law Journal courses since these must be graded as “CR/NC”.

Some professors, after consulting with the Associate Dean f or Academic Affairs, may choose to grade an entire course on a “CR”, “C­“, “D+”, “D”, “D­“, “F” basis and any necessary grading adjustments will be made at the law school Registrar’s Office. This grading system is not the same as “CR/NC”. In addition, a student may register for a course as an audit, without credit. The audit card must be submitted to the law school Registrar’s Office not later than November 15th for
the fall semester and April 15th for the spring semester.

Limited Grading Options

Students will be able, during their law school years, to take up to two designated elective courses on a “CR”, “C­“, “D+”, “D”, “D­”, “F” basis.

Please note the following:
No required courses are available on this basis (i.e., first year courses, Constitutional Rights, Ethics, and Clinic).

This optional grading system may be selected only in elective courses in which the option is made available by the instructor. A list of elective courses so designated will be available by the beginning of the semester.

A student may take no more than one elective course under this option during a semester, and no
more than two elective courses during the student’s law school career.

In order to exercise this option, a student must complete a grading option card, which is available
from the law school Assistant Dean f or Registration, and submit it to the law school Registrar’s
Office no later than November 15th for the fall semester and no later than April 15th for the spring semester. Submission of a grading option card is irrevocable; there will be no exceptions.

Students selecting this grading option will be expected to meet all course requirements, including
class participation, examination, papers, etc.

Auditing Law Courses

Law electives may be audited. Students wishing to enroll in a limited enrollment course as auditors are allowed to enroll on a space available basis. An auditor who fails to attend class may be dropped at the instructor’s request or a grade of F may be submitted. The fee for audited courses is the same as for credit courses. Audit enrollment receives no credit and is not included in the student’s total course load f or purposes of enrollment certification, but audited courses are included on the student’s transcript. Once a student elects to audit a course, the status cannot be reversed to a grade or credit. Courses taken f or audit may be repeated for credit. The deadline for auditing a class is Nov ember 15th for the fall semester and April 15th for the spring semester.

Incomplete (I) Grade

According to the academic policy, no “I” grade can be outstanding for a student who is graduating from the University.

The grade of “I” is given only when circumstances beyond the student’s control have prevented
completion of the course work within the official dates of session.

Incomplete Papers

1. For any course in which a paper is a component of the grade, the paper must be submitted by the due date established by the professor and applicable to all members of the course (which, in any event, must be no later than one week after the last day of the examination period). Requests for extensions may be approved by the supervising faculty member, but, if an extension is granted, the final course grade will be “CR”, “C­“, “D+”, “D”, “D­“, “F”.
2. Papers written f or independent research credit, whether or not in satisfy action of the
   advanced writing requirement, shall be due no later than one week after the close of the examination period. An extension may be granted by the supervising faculty member, at his or her discretion, and will result in a grade of “I”.
3. The grade of “I” is given only when circumstances beyond the student’s control have
   prevented completion of course work within the official dates of the semester.
   Requests for extension of time to fulfill requirements of a course are limited to one extension. If course requirements are not completed within a five month period after receipt of an “Incomplete”, credit will not be granted for the course and the Assistant Dean for Registration will submit a grade of “F”, unless strong justification has been made by the student to the instructor for a grade of “WP” (Withdraw Pass).

Time Table for Completion of an Incomplete Grade

Submission of Grades by Faculty

Faculty shall submit grades f or all courses to the Assistant Dean for Registration as soon as possible but no later than 30 days following the last examination for the fall and spring semesters, and 20 days after the last class day for the summer term.

Grade Notification

Students may call LoboPhone (246-2020) or log onto LoboWeb (my.unm.edu) to receive grades. (This section was updated by Anthony Apodaca on 2-13-07).

Bar Graph/Rank

The School of Law does not provide an academic rank order of students. Rather, a bar graph (numerical grouping of grade point averages) is utilized to illustrate a student’s academic standing in relation to other members of the class. The graph is updated at the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters.

Review of Grades

Students are prohibited from discussing their examination, examination number, or grade with a professor prior to the time grades have been submitted for posting. After grades have been submitted, a professor may change a grade only after he/she has determined that a mathematical, transpositional error, or other similar event not involving the exercise of discretion in grading, has occurred in the grading process and the change is approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Grade Change Deadline

Any change to the grade must be reported within 12 months after the original grade was issued and prior to graduation.

Student Objection to Grade

When a student has questions about the grade he or she received on a paper or in a course, the student should first talk with the professor. If the matter is not thereby resolved, the following procedure is to be followed:

The student may confer with the Dean, who will seek to work the matter out.

After conf erring with the Dean, the student may formally question a grade by filing a write notice with the Dean. On receipt of the notice, the Dean will appoint two or more faculty members as a committee to make a recommendation. The Committee may seek advice inside or outside of the faculty. If, after considering the Committee’s recommendation, the Dean believes a change in grade should be made, he/she shall confer with the full faculty before acting. Because of the position, the Dean represent s both students and faculty in such matters, and he/she has a broad responsibility and authority. Any decision made pursuant to this policy shall be reviewable by the President and the Regents of UNM. Specific details on this review process may be found in the current UNM Pathfinder. Also, refer to Student Standards and Grievance Procedure on page 39.