Definition of Grades

Progress Reports

At any point in the semester, faculty may submit a progress report for any student who may be at risk of failing the course or is doing unsatisfactory work. A copy of all progress reports will be sent to the student, the student’s adviser, the course instructor, the Center for Academic and Experiential Advising, and if applicable, the Office of Student and Community Life and faculty coaches.

Grading Procedures

Following the close of each term, the student receives a grade report. Passing grades for students receiving academic credit are A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, P (pass), and LP (low pass). Grades below C- are unsatisfactory. F denotes failure. Passing grade for students receiving co-curricular credit are graded on the DST (distinction) and P (pass). F denotes failure, from fall 2021 through summer 2023. Beginning fall 2023, passing grades for students receiving co-curricular credit are graded on the DST (distinction), S (satisfactory), and U (Unsatisfactory). The provisional designation incomplete (IN) may be granted by a subcommittee of the Academic Affairs Committee when it determines that a student is unable to complete course work on time because of wholly unusual or unforeseen circumstances or for sound educational reasons.

Pass/Low Pass/Fail Option

Students may designate a maximum of four academic courses during their college careers as pass/low pass/fail. Each semester any matriculated student may take no more than one academic course on a pass/low pass/fail basis, provided the course is not required for the major, minor, language concentration, general education distribution requirement, writing proficiency, or quantitative literacy requirement, and provided that the student did not incur academic probation in the preceding semester. Courses taken as part of a special first-year program, such as the Gateway Programs, must also be taken for a letter grade, as must first-year seminars and classes taken in study away programs. College students may not elect the pass/low pass/fail option for summer courses. The deadline to designate an academic course pass/low pass/fail is the last day of the add/drop period. In the unusual case that a class is added after the add/drop period has ended, this class must be taken on a graded basis. To revert back to a letter grade, the student must submit a form to the Registrar’s Office within one month of the last day of class for the semester in which the course was taken (see exception for the final semester before graduation below). An academic course once designated as pass/low pass/fail counts toward the maximum of four pass/low pass/fail courses, even if the student should revert to a letter grade. In the final semester before graduation, students must revert back to a letter grade no later than that semester’s deadline for faculty grade submission.

For students matriculating prior to the fall of 2021, pass/fail is the mandatory grading system for courses in physical education, exploratory internships, and student-taught courses and may be employed by the faculty sponsor of an Open Semester. Some teaching assistantships are also graded pass/fail. Pass/fail courses mentioned in this paragraph do not count toward the four-course maximum. However, students teaching or taking a student-taught course may not elect to take another course on a pass/low pass/fail basis during the same semester.

A student who has elected the pass/low pass/fail option in an academic course will have that option noted on the class list of the designated course. In such courses, a grade of “pass” will be recorded if the instructor reports a letter grade of C- or better to the registrar, whereas a grade of “low pass” will be recorded if the instructor reports a letter grade from D+ to D-. Full credit will be given for courses graded “pass” or “low pass”, no credit will be given for courses graded “fail,” and a “fail” will have the same effects on grade point average and academic standing as the regular grade of F.

Incompletes

The provisional designation of “incomplete,” noted by the IN on the transcript, may be granted by a subcommittee of the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC).

1.    The deadline for requesting an incomplete is the last day of scheduled exams each semester or the last day of the term for J-Term and summer session. The request must state the reasons that prevented the completion of the work; these reasons must be verifiable. If a student is incapacitated, the dean of students may submit the request to the subcommittee on the student’s behalf.

2.   The subcommittee will grant an incomplete when the student has completed at least 75 percent of the semester course work and, with approval from the instructor, for sound educational reasons. Too much work at the end of a semester does not constitute sufficient grounds for an incomplete, nor does failure to fulfill final course work, such as final examinations or papers. In such cases, the instructor will issue a grade on the basis of work completed with appropriate penalty for missing work.

3.    The conditions that must be fulfilled in order to remove the incomplete will be determined by the instructor. The deadline for fulfilling these conditions will be set by the subcommittee in consultation with the instructor.

4.    If the student fails to meet the conditions for removing the incomplete by the date specified, the instructor will issue a grade that reflects the performance of the student including an appropriate penalty (usually an F for the missing work) for the incomplete work. If no grade has been submitted by the incomplete deadline, the IN grade will be converted to an F by the Office of the Registrar.

In very unusual cases, such as serious, prolonged illness, the designation of incomplete may be allowed to stand permanently without removal.

Intellectual Honesty

Intellectual honesty is doing our own work and fully crediting the work of others if we use their ideas in our own work. Each student is responsible for knowing what constitutes intellectual honesty in every examination, quiz, paper, lab report, or academic exercise submitted for evaluation at Trinity College. Students are expected to abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic exercises. To learn more, including examples of intellectual dishonesty such as plagiarism, as well as investigative and disciplinary procedures for instances of academic dishonesty, see the Intellectual Honesty section of the Student Handbook.

Grading Deadlines

Instructors are asked to submit grades within five calendar days after the last scheduled exam. If that day is an official College holiday, the grades are due the next day. Instructors are not permitted to leave blanks on their grade rosters past the grade deadline and will submit grades based on the work received. If an instructor emergency prevents submission of grades by the deadline, the instructor is asked to inform their class, their chair, and the Registrar of their expected delivery date. If missing grades at the point of the Academic Standing Review prevent determination of good or bad academic standing, students will be barred from enrollment in the subsequent term. If a student receives an NGR (no grade received) in a course, the NGR will automatically convert to an F if the instructor does not submit a letter grade to replace the NGR within 15 calendar days after the last day of the final examination period.

Grade Changes

Beginning Fall 2024, grade changes are permitted only in the following cases:

• Calculation or tabulation error

• Submission of incorrect grade (transcription error)

This policy does not apply to approved course incomplete petitions (see above).

For students not graduating, instructors will submit grade changes for fall and J-term by the spring grading deadline and for spring and summer by the fall grading deadline. No grade changes are permitted after these deadlines. For graduating students, instructors will submit grade changes by the grading deadline prior to the students’ degree conferral date. No grade changes are permitted after degree conferral.

Grade Appeals

A student who wishes to appeal a grade should follow these steps:

1.  Contact the instructor, providing a rationale for the grade appeal and requesting an overview of the system of assessment in the course and how the final grade was determined.

2. If the appeal was not resolved in a satisfactory manner, speak with the chair or director of the area who can confirm whether the system of assessment was effectively communicated and followed.

3. If there are remaining questions, the associate dean for curriculum will speak with the instructor to gather information and recommend a final resolution.

A student who believes themself to have been aggrieved by a faculty member may refer a written complaint to the dean of faculty at any time. Depending on the nature of the complaint, it may be resolved informally, by arbitration, or by a formal hearing. The learn about these processes, see the Complaints Against Faculty Members section of the Student Handbook.

Grade Point Average and Class Rank

Prior to graduation, all courses taken at Trinity shall be recorded with applicable credits and grades on the Trinity College transcript. All such courses, credits, and grades shall be counted toward the requirement of course credits for the bachelor’s degree and shall be included in computations of grade point average and class rank.

All courses taken outside Trinity after matriculation but with the prior approval of the appropriate Trinity faculty adviser, the registrar, and when appropriate, the liaison of the Individualized Degree Program shall be recorded with applicable credits on the Trinity College transcript and shall be counted toward the requirements of course credits for the bachelor’s degree. Post-matriculation transfer grades will be indicated on the transcript but will not be included in calculations of grade point average, class rank, or other academic standings. Academic courses from outside Trinity for which a grade lower than C- has been received will not be recorded. Co-curricular courses from outside Trinity for which a grade equivalent to fail has been received will not be recorded. Courses taken through the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, the Twelve-College Exchange, or Trinity and (beginning January 2019) Trinity-approved study-away programs are exceptions; they will have credit, and all grades (including those below C-) earned in those programs calculated on the Trinity transcript.

Pre-matriculation transfer credit will be recorded as course and credit only; no notation or calculation of the grade earned will appear on the Trinity transcript. For a full discussion of transfer credit, see the section, “Transfer Credits."

Grade point average is computed by converting each student’s letter grades to their numerical equivalents (i.e., A + = 4.333, A = 4.000, A - = 3.667, etc.) on a four-point scale. Fractional course credits are evaluated accordingly in this conversion.

Class rank is computed once for all classes at the end of each semester. The roster of students constituting any group when class rank is computed reflects a variety of circumstances (e.g., students who transfer to Trinity, leave Trinity, participate in programs for which grades are not received). The class rank is only posted to the transcript of seniors who have fulfilled all degree requirements.