An understanding of UNT Teaching Policies is a crucial element to teaching effectiveness and success. UNT has adopted a number of policies designed to ensure that students are safe and are treated fairly. In addition to being mandatory, these policies provide useful guidance to instructors. In this article, we overview classroom policies related to grading, pre-finals and finals week, and records retention.

Grading

In the UNT grading system, the letters A, B, C, D, F, P, NP, I, PR, NPR, and W are used. To learn more about the meaning of each of these letters, visit the Understanding Your Grades on the registrar’s webpage. To learn more about withdrawals, view the article, Class Rolls and Attendance.

Submitting Grades

All student grades are submitted online. Grade Rosters are made available via https://my.unt.edu and should be submitted by the deadline assigned by the UNT Registrar's Office. Visit Help for EIS and MyUNT for directions on how to submit grades.

Helpful Hint: At the end of each semester, the Registrar sends out information to instructors’ official UNT e-mail addresses about how to upload grades, so keep an eye out for that e-mail.

Grade Changes

Grades can be accessed and changed on the electronic Grade Roster during the grading period prior to the grading deadline. After the deadline, grades cannot be changed online.

Generally speaking, once grades have been posted in EIS, they cannot be changed. There are three exceptions:

• If a student has been given a grade of “I” and the student completes the agreed-upon work for the course, the instructor should consult with his or her department about the procedure for changing the “I” into a letter grade.
• An instructor who makes a clerical error when reporting grades may correct it. Requests for error correction must be initiated within 30 days after the close of the semester or summer term the grade was awarded. Corrections require the approval of the department chair and appropriate dean.
• If the student successfully appeals his or her grade, then a grade change can be processed. (See Grade Appeals Process below.)

Posting Grades

Students should be notified of their grades in a manner that protects their right to privacy. Instructors should not post student grades in a public forum. Grades may be kept in the learning management system gradebook tool. This allows students to see the instructor’s record of student performance without compromising student privacy.

For more information regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), visit What is Ferpa Training?

Grade Appeals Process

For the University of North Texas policy on Grade Appeals, view the Grade Appeals policy.

Pre-Finals Week and Finals

UNT policy regarding pre-finals week is found in the Policy Manual. Student activities (including athletics) are curtailed during pre-finals week. Final exams are scheduled by the Registrar; the schedule for final exams is available on the Registrar’s webpage. Faculty are expected to give some sort of exam during the scheduled period. Note that final exams are generally held in the room in which the class meets, with occasional exceptions.

The Sage Hall Computer Testing Center is available for courses needing computerized testing in support of distance, blended, or face-to-face classes.

Records Retention

Student records are private. While students have a right to review their own records (e.g., their exams, papers, etc.), instructors should not discuss a student’s grades with other individuals—including parents, other students, potential employers, etc.—without verifying that the student has waived his or her educational privacy rights (consult with the department chair or advisor if this situation arises).

The instructor of record should maintain all course records for at least one calendar year; the grade book should be maintained in the department for a period of five years. This means keeping student exams and answer sheets (along with a key), student papers, and any calculations of student grades in a secure place (e.g. a locked cabinet in a private office or on a password protected computer). If students submit papers or assignments via the learning management system, the system will maintain the records; however, check to be certain that the electronic version includes grading information and any comments. Arrangements should be made with the department chair for retaining important student records.

The grade book in the learning management system remains in place for only one year. It is the responsibility of the instructor to download his or her grade book for keeping in the department for five years.

The disposal of student educational records should be done in a secure way. Department administrative staff can provide information about secure bulk shredding of documents.

Instructors can also add an optional statement to their syllabus regarding records retention. View the statement language in UNT Policy 04.008