Faculty members urged to submit grades on time

To the Faculty:

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee discussed recently the problem of late reporting of grades. According to the registrar, late reporting of grades is a significant problem: 246 late course grades for Spring 2000, seven of which still had not been received as of Oct. 2.

It is the responsibility of the faculty to assess the academic progress of students in a timely fashion. The Faculty Senate passed a resolution in 1987 stipulating a deadline of four working days after the end of the final examination period for the submission of grades in undergraduate courses.

Late reporting of grades has a significant and negative effect upon our students. Students seeking jobs or admission to other academic programs need to have complete grades so that transcripts can be issued.

Most of our students participate in programs for financial aid and timely reporting of grades is essential for them to continue receiving this support.

Students receiving failing grades in courses that are prerequisites for other courses may need to adjust their academic courseload so that they can obtain mastery of the material by repeating the course.

For all of these reasons, students need a timely assessment of their academic performance.

I strongly urge all members of the faculty to submit their grades on time. Deans, department chairs and the department representative to whom the grades are distributed also should ensure timely submission of grades.

It is our responsibility as members of the faculty at UB to reduce the number of late submissions of grades.

Peter A. Nickerson, Chair
Faculty Senate