Grades

The Grading System

The Registrar is authorized to obtain from instructors reports on the performance of students in the form of the grades established by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Online grade entry forms are available to instructors and must be submitted by the indicated due dates. (See the Due Dates charts for fall and spring later in this chapter.) The Faculty of Arts and Sciences uses the following system of letter and non-letter grades to evaluate undergraduate student work:

Letter Grades: Undergraduate Students

  • A, A- Earned by work whose excellent quality indicates a full mastery of the subject and, in the case of the grade of A, is of extraordinary distinction.
  • B+, B, B- Earned by work that indicates a good comprehension of the course material, a good command of the skills needed to work with the course material, and the student’s full engagement with the course requirements and activities.
  • C+, C, C- Earned by work that indicates an adequate and satisfactory comprehension of the course material and the skills needed to work with the course material and that indicates the student has met the basic requirements for completing assigned work and participating in class activities.
  • D+, D, D- Earned by work that is unsatisfactory but that indicates some minimal command of the course materials and some minimal participation in class activities that is worthy of course credit toward the degree.
  • E Earned by work which is unsatisfactory and unworthy of course credit towards the degree.

Non-letter Grades: Undergraduate Students

Incomplete (INC) cannot under any circumstances be given to undergraduates.

  • ABS Students who miss a regularly-scheduled Final Examination scheduled by the Registrar's Office during the Final Examination Period are given a failing grade of Absent (ABS) which will be changed only if the student is granted and takes a makeup examination. Unexcused absences are counted as failures. (See Final Examinations.) No other grade can be accepted. Final assessments not scheduled by the Registrar's Office, including take-home examinations and special final projects, are not "regularly-scheduled" examinations; therefore, ABS cannot be used in these cases. If, after an absence from a regularly scheduled Final Examination, a student is granted a makeup examination by the Administrative Board, the appropriate grade is then submitted after completion of the examination.
  • EXL A notation of Excluded (EXL) indicates that the student was not permitted to continue in the course by vote of the Administrative Board of the College and received no credit. Exclusion from a course is equivalent in all respects to failing it and in and of itself makes the student’s record for the term unsatisfactory.
  • EXT Instructors may allow students extensions of time to complete course work up to the last day of the Examination Period. After that date, only the Administrative Board may grant extensions of time for undergraduates to complete course work. (See Late Work and Extension of Time for Course Work.) Until the date of extension set by the Board, a final grade should not be reported by the instructor; instead, the designation EXT (Extension) should be reported on the grade sheet. EXT is only a temporary notation. When the allowed time for late work has passed, or if additional time is not granted by the Administrative Board of the College, the instructor should officially inform the Registrar of the final grade. Students who miss a regularly scheduled Final Examination scheduled by the Registrar's Office must be given an ABS (Absent), not an EXT.
  • PA/FL The grade of Pass represents letter grades of A to D-; the grade of Fail represents the letter grade of E only. Students admitted to a course on a PA/FL basis are so identified on the grade sheet. For such students, only a grade of Pass or Fail can be accepted by the Registrar. Independent Study is always graded PA/FL.
  • SAT/UNS The grade of Satisfactory includes letter grades from A to C-; the grade of Unsatisfactory represents work below C- and is considered a failing grade. No students enrolled in courses graded SAT/UNS may receive letter grades in those courses.

The following junior and senior tutorials must be graded SAT/UNS:

African and African American Studies 99
Applied Mathematics 99r
Chemistry 91r, 98r, and 99r
English 99r
Folklore and Mythology 99
French 99
German 99
Government 99r
History 99
History and Literature 99
History of Art and Architecture 99
History of Science 99a and 99b
Italian 99
Latin American Studies 99
Linguistics 99a, 99b
Literature 98a, 98b, 99a, and 99b
Mathematics 60r
Philosophy 99
Portuguese 99
Psychology 985, 990, 992, and 993
Religion 99
Romance Studies 99
Scandinavian 99
Slavic 99a, 99b
Social Studies 99
Sociology 99
South Asian Studies 99
Spanish 99
Special Concentrations 99
Studies of Women, Gender, Sexuality 99a, 99b

All First Year Seminars are graded SAT/UNS.

Certain House Seminars may also be graded SAT/UNS, provided instructors inform the Standing Committee on First Year Seminars of their intentions at the time the House Seminar proposals are submitted, and all students in a particular seminar are graded on the same scale.

In addition, SAT/UNS may be reported as a midyear grade in any full year tutorial or half-course extending throughout the year which does not give a midyear examination. In this case only, Unsatisfactory may be used to indicate passing-but-unsatisfactory work. Assigning an unsatisfactory midyear grade will make the student’s record for the term unsatisfactory and subject to review by the Administrative Board.

The instructor must obtain permission from the Office of Undergraduate Education (for courses below the 200- or 2000-level) or Dean of the Graduate School (for courses at the 200- or 2000-level) before grading SAT/UNS for any course not listed above.

Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory Undergraduate Studies

Grades of C- or higher, as well as the grades of PA and SAT, are passing and satisfactory grades. Grades of D+ through D- are passing but unsatisfactory grades. Grades of E, ABS (Absent), FL (Fail), UNS (Unsatisfactory), and EXL (Excluded) are failing grades. All undergraduate student records with any unsatisfactory or failing grade are reviewed at the end of the term by the Administrative Board, which responds to such records in the manner described in the appropriate sections of the Handbook for Students and in the Administrative Board Guide for Students. Responses may include a period of academic probation or a requirement to withdraw from the College for a year.

Letter Grades—Graduate Students

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences uses the following letter grades: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, E. A grade of E is a failing grade.

The minimum standard for satisfactory work in the Graduate School is a “B” average in each academic year. A grade of “C” or “INC” is offset by a grade of “A” and a “D” by two “A’s”; no account is taken of plus or minus. Grades of “E” or an unexcused “ABS” are failing. A grade of “UNS” is unsatisfactory. A course in which a student receives an “E” or permanent “INC” or “ABS” may be retaken for credit at a later time, in which case both grades will appear on the student’s transcript. In many departments, students are expected to maintain an average well above the Harvard Griffin GSAS minimum.

Letter grades are to be used in every case except as follows:

Non-letter Grades—Graduate Students

Graduate students are not allowed to take courses on a Pass/Fail (PA/FL) basis.

  • ABS The designation ABS (Absent) is used in the case of a student who is absent from a regularly scheduled Final Examination scheduled by the Registrar's Office during the Final Examination Period. No other grade can be accepted. Final assessments not administered by the Registrar’s Office, including take-home examinations and special final projects are not “regularly scheduled” examinations; therefore, ABS cannot be used in courses with take-home Final Exams. If, after an absence from a regularly scheduled Final Examination, a student is subsequently granted a makeup examination by filing a petition with the Exams Office in the Registrar's Office, the appropriate grade is then submitted after completion of the examination. Instructors should log into my.harvard.edu and submit a grade change request to submit the final grade.
  • EXC Graduate students may be excused from a Final Examination or other course assignments by their division, department, or committee Chairs on the basis of having passed departmental examinations or other requirements. At the written request of a Chair, the Associate Registrar of Records and Requirements records the grade of EXC (Excused). If students elect to take the Final Examination and complete the course, they receive a letter grade.
  • INC For graduate students only The instructor has the prerogative of approving an extension of time for completion of course work beyond the end of the term. The appropriate grade in this situation is INC (Incomplete), not EXT (Extension). In order to have the grade of INC changed to a letter or appropriate non-letter grade, the graduate student must complete the work of the course before the end of the next regular term. An INC which has not been completed by that time will become a permanent grade, unless the student successfully petitions for an extension of time. This petition requires the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies and of the Dean of the Graduate School. When a student has made up an INC within the allowable time period, the instructor should log into my.harvard.edu and submit a grade change request to submit the final grade. If the instructor reports the grade after the deadline for completing the work has passed, the instructor must include the date on which the student submitted the work to the instructor. Failure to affirm to the Registrar that the student completed the work on time will render the grade unacceptable.
  • SAT/UNS For graduate students, Satisfactory indicates that the course was passed with distinction (B- or above). Graduate courses of Reading and Research (300-level courses) must be graded Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. No other courses may be graded on a SAT/UNS basis with the exception of designated foreign language courses. Graduate students must petition to obtain permission from the instructor to take a language course on a SAT/UNS basis. Graduate students admitted to a course on a SAT/UNS basis are so identified on the grade roster.

Student Request for Review of an Assigned Grade

Both undergraduate and graduate students may request that an instructor review a grade that has been received and may also ask to consult with the Chair of the department or committee offering the course. However, final authority for the assignment of grades rests with the course head.

Once a grade has been reported to the Registrar, it can be changed by submitting a request of the instructor to the Registrar, acting on behalf of the Dean of Harvard College (or the Dean of the Graduate School in the case of 200- or 300-level courses). The Registrar must be satisfied that all students in the course will have been treated equitably before authorizing any grade change. Grade changes should be submitted electronically through my.harvard.

Grade Point Averages

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences averages its letter grades with a 4-point scale: A = 4.00, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.00, B- = 2.67, C+ = 2.33, C = 2.00, C- = 1.67, D+ = 1.33, D = 1.00, D- = 0.67. E, ABS, UNS, EXLD = 0. The grade point average is the numerical average of all grades received in courses taken under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for degree credit, including courses taken for credit in the Harvard Summer School and cross-registration courses as appropriate. Passing grades received for courses given by other Harvard Faculties or MIT will not be used in computing a student’s grade-point average except when the courses are counted toward concentration requirements or taken in the Graduate School of Education. Grades received for course work done out of residence will not be used in computing the grade-point average. Grade-point averages are calculated on both a cumulative and annual basis.

Submission of Grades

Submission of Final Grades

During the Final Examination period, instructors should not leave the vicinity of Cambridge until their course grades have been submitted to my.harvard. Because the course head is responsible for the grades given by their assistants, it is important that the course head closely supervise grading. (See Responsibility for Evaluation.) Each grade roster for a course must be posted on my.harvard as soon as possible but no later than the due date noted.

 

Due Dates for Grades

Mid-Term Grades/UNSAT Reports 2023-2024  

Unsatisfactory mid-term progress of undergraduates should be reported online from the third week of the semester until final grading opens. Undergraduates making unsatisfactory progress, or for whom you have other concerns, should be reported in the Mid-Term Reporting function at my.harvard. You do this in the course roster by following the Mid-Term Reporting instructions. This is a critically important action needed to support our students.

Due Dates for Fall Final Grades 2023-2024 

Final grades for all fall courses with or without Final Examinations, including 300-level courses, must be submitted on-line based on the due date associated with their assigned Exam and Course Deadline Group as detailed below. View the deadlines listed by course. 

FALL 2023                                      

 

 

Exam/Student Deadline Group 

Exam Date                    

Grades Due          

FAS01 

Monday, Dec. 11

Dec 15 (Fri) 

FAS02 

Monday, Dec. 11

Dec 15 (Fri) 

FAS03 

Tuesday, Dec. 12

Dec 16 (Sat) 

FAS04 

Tuesday, Dec. 12

Dec 16 (Sat) 

FAS05 

Wednesday, Dec. 13

Dec 16 (Sat) 

FAS06 

Wednesday, Dec. 13

Dec 16 (Sat) 

FAS07 

Thursday, Dec. 14

Dec 19 (Tue) 

FAS08 

Thursday, Dec. 14

Dec 19 (Tue) 

FAS09 

Friday, Dec. 15

Dec 20 (Wed) 

FAS10 

Friday, Dec. 15

Dec 20 (Wed) 

FAS11 

Saturday, Dec. 16

Dec 21 (Thu) 

FAS12 

Saturday, Dec. 16

Dec 21 (Thu) 

FAS13 

Monday, Dec. 18

Dec 22 (Fri) 

FAS14 

Monday, Dec. 18

Dec 22 (Fri) 

FAS15 

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Dec 27 (Wed) 

FAS16 

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Dec 27 (Wed) 

FAS17 

Wednesday, Dec. 20

Dec 27 (Wed) 

FAS18 

Wednesday, Dec. 20

Dec 27 (Wed) 


Due Dates for Spring Final Grades 2023-2024 

Final grades for all spring courses with or without Final Examinations, including 300-level courses, must be submitted on-line based on the due date associated with their assigned Exam and Course Deadline Group as detailed below. View the deadlines listed by course.

SPRING 2024 

Exam/Student Deadline Group 

Exam Date 

May Degree grades due 

Non-Degree grades due 

FAS01 

Thursday, May 2

May 8 (Wed) 

May 11 (Sat) 

FAS02 

Thursday, May 2

May 8 (Wed) 

May 11 (Sat) 

FAS03 

Friday, May 3 

May 9 (Thur) 

May 12 (Sun) 

FAS04 

Friday, May 3 

May 9 (Thur) 

May 12 (Sun) 

FAS05 

Saturday, May 4 

May 10 (Fri) 

May 13  (Mon) 

FAS06 

Saturday, May 4 

May 10 (Fri) 

May 13 (Mon) 

FAS07 

Monday, May 6 

May 12 (Sun) 

May 15 (Wed) 

FAS08 

Monday, May 6 

May 12 (Sun) 

May 15  (Wed) 

FAS09 

Tuesday, May 7 

May 13 (Mon) 

May 16 (Thur) 

FAS10 

Tuesday, May 7 

May 13 (Mon) 

May 16 (Thur) 

FAS11 

Wednesday, May 8

May 14 (Tue) 

May 17 (Fri) 

FAS12 

Wednesday, May 8

May 14 (Tue) 

May 17 (Fri) 

FAS13 

Thursday, May 9

May 15 (Wed) 

May 18 (Sat) 

FAS14 

Thursday, May 9

May 15 (Wed) 

May 18 (Sat) 

FAS15 

Friday, May 10

May 15 (Wed) 

May 19 (Sun) 

FAS16 

Friday, May 10

May 15 (Wed) 

May 19 (Sun) 

FAS17 

Saturday, May 11

May 15 (Wed) 

May 20 (Mon) 

FAS18 

Saturday, May 11

May 15 (Wed) 

May 20 (Mon) 

Session Final Grade Due Dates 2023-2024 

Session                                

Final Grade Due Date                    

F1 

October 20, 2023 

F2 

December 12, 2023 

JAN @ Harvard Griffin GSAS 

January 26, 2024 

S1 

March 18, 2024 

S2 

May 1, 2024 

Submitting Late Grades 

Grades must be submitted online to the Registrar's Office on or before the due date noted. Instructors will receive automated email reminders if grades are not submitted by published date. If grades remain outstanding the matter will be referred to the appropriate Dean’s office. 

 

Final Grades in Indivisible Courses

Final Grades in Indivisible Courses

Final grades in indivisible courses are always cumulative—that is, they represent the standing of the students from the beginning of the first term of the course, not merely during the second term. The fall grade will appear on the transcript with a designation such as “A*” (with an explanation on transcript) and not factor into the GPA; faculty may also choose “IP” for “in progress.” The fall grade will be replaced by the spring grade at the time the spring grade is entered. Once the spring course has been graded that grade will appear on the transcript and be used to calculate GPA with all academic credits.

Final Grades for Degree Candidates

Grades for degree candidates must be submitted online by the date specified. Degree candidates are listed separately on the grading portal and they have an earlier due date. Grades submitted online are final and may not be changed except as indicated in Changes in Grades.

Changes in Grades

A grade that has been reported may be changed by requesting a grade change in my.harvard. The request should include an explanation for the grade change. If a grade change is requested because of a clerical error or misunderstanding of Faculty rules concerning the grading structure, the appropriate dean will ordinarily authorize the Registrar to change the grade. In the case of a grade change due to judgmental error, the instructor is expected to review the work of other students in the course or relevant section(s) to determine that grade equity would be maintained if the grade change were approved. When late work is the basis of a grade change request, it is essential that the work have been received by the deadline set by the Faculty: the end of the Examination Period for undergraduates or the end of the next regular term for graduate students. After submitting a grade change request, faculty will receive two emails: the first acknowledges that the submission of a grade change request, and the second confirms that the Registrar has approved or denied the grade change request. Consult grade change instructions in my.harvard.

Although the grades of degree candidates are reported before those of other students, these grades are considered final and are subject to the same regulations for changes.

 

Posting of Grades

It is the Faculty’s legal responsibility to maintain confidentiality of student grades and also of materials upon which evaluations are made. For this reason, instructors should not post grades by student name or student identification number. Furthermore, instructors should never make a student’s submitted work, such as problem sets, exam booklets, or papers, accessible to anyone other than the student who has submitted it, unless specifically authorized to do so by the author.

Approximately six business days after the end of the Final Examination Period, students can begin viewing their final and midyear grades via my.harvard. However, students who complete online evaluations for all courses in which they were enrolled for the term will be provided early online access to their final course grades. Faculty will not be provided online access to their course evaluation results until they have submitted their grades.

Retention of Exam Booklets and Course Records

Most instructors return exam booklets, papers, and other academic work to the students enrolled in their courses. Work that is not returned to students must be kept in a safe, accessible location on campus for at least one year after the end of a course. By law, students have the right to review all materials submitted to a course, and for a reasonable charge, may have copies of any originals not returned to them. Course heads should be sure to collect from section leaders and tutors any course assignments that have not been returned to students for appropriate storage. Faculty who are leaving the FAS or who will be on leave and away from the University should make appropriate arrangements for maintaining the availability of students’ work.