End of Semester
To learn more about scheduling for undergraduate final examinations, please navigate to the schedule of classes page until you find Final Exams. Exact times and dates for all finals are added to the course schedule after census. Faculty members must adhere to this schedule and they may not change the date, time or place of final exams. In addition, one electronic copy of the final examination must be submitted to somsubmission@usfca.edu. If you are not giving a final exam, you should directly email your program assistant in Academic Affairs indicating what assignment(s) are substituting for a final, if this is not in your syllabus.
If you will not be using your classroom during your assigned final exam time slot, we ask that you let Katherine Green know as soon as possible so that the room can be used for other classes needing exam space. All faculty (adjunct and full time) should retain papers and exams not returned to the student for six months following the end of that term. As long as there is no sensitive personally identifiable information therein, hard copies of student work may be kept in either the faculty’s personal domicile or campus office space. The School does not provide additional storage space for student assignments. After six months the documents may be destroyed or disposed of.
Make-up Exams
Faculty are expected to proctor their own exams. If the faculty is unable to proctor the exam they should contact a fellow faculty member to assist. It is preferable to find a faculty member who is familiar with the course content should questions arise from the students. No department assistant or another member of the O.P.E. union is permitted to proctor exams.
Makeup exams are allowed only for students who miss the normal exam due to circumstances beyond their control, which must be documented (medical, athletics, etc.). Make-up exams should also be conditional upon the student agreeing that they have not nor will not communicate with anyone else regarding the exam that would provide them with an unfair advantage or opportunity for unfair advantage.
The University wants to encourage good teaching in all its programs and courses. To this end, the University has the right to evaluate faculty including the use of student and/or administrative evaluations
About USF’s Online Survey of Teaching Effectiveness
In Fall 2010 the University of San Francisco (USF) and the University of San Francisco Faculty Association (USFFA) were asked by the Provost to establish a joint committee to evaluate and recommend a new online system for conducting student evaluations of teaching. The committee was charged with reviewing and assessing both in-house and outsourced options for conducting online teaching evaluations, paying particular attention to effectiveness, feasibility, cost, and administrative efficiency. Anticipated to be released for use in the Spring 2015 the Committee created an in-house, fully validated instrument for use as a measure of teaching effectiveness with a focus on four related constructs of Instructional Design, Instructional Practices, Student Engagement, and Student Learning in all USF courses. The new instrument, which replaces the paper-based SUMMA, represents a conscious effort to encourage pedagogical improvements through both quantitative and qualitative feedback.
Access to Online Survey
The new online survey of teaching effectiveness runs on the Blue Course Evaluation System by eXplorance. Access to Blue is available through Banner Self-Service and Canvas. Log on with your MyUSF userID and password.
Some Key Benefits
The survey is accessible to students on their desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The survey dynamically resizes to fit the pertinent device’s screen.
Students may save their responses mid-completion and return to finish later.
Complete anonymity for students.
Reports will be available 48 hours after the survey closes and after grades are submitted.
A copy of the questions asked on the evaluation can be found by navigating to the finalized questionnaire page, and other resources concerning the survey (including a FAQ) can be found by navigating to the faculty resources page.
For assistance with BLUE please contact course.evaluations@usfca.edu
Grading
All final grades are to be submitted via the MyUSF website by the published deadline on the USF 5 year academic schedule. Courses that finish before the end of the semester should be graded within two weeks of the last class date. Faculty are strongly encouraged to submit their grades well in advance of the deadline.
Timely submission of official grades is very important to students. You should know that because of their importance to students, grade deadlines are closely monitored. The University runs an automated report the day after grades are due.
For step-by-step instructions on how to enter your grades, please follow this link.
Students who have officially dropped the class after the census date will have a ‘W’ posted in the grade column. If a student has simply stopped attending class, the grade space will be blank. In this case, you should give the student an ‘F’. In exceptional circumstances, it may happen that a student officially dropped the course after the grade rosters were issued. If this happens, you still assign a grade of ‘F’. The registrar will correct any errors when working with the student.
Incompletes (‘I’) are strongly discouraged. The instructor may file an ‘I’ for incomplete only if the student has completed the majority of the work for the course at a passing level and only if the student, near the end of the semester, experiences a significant event typically beyond their control (e.g., illness, injury, family bereavement, etc.) that prevents them from completing the requirements for the course(s). The student should provide written verification (e.g., physician’s note) of the circumstances. Please note that incomplete grades automatically change to an ‘F’ unless the work is completed within one semester.
The USF General Catalog describes the grading system as follows:
Undergraduate Graduate
A Outstanding A Outstanding (capable of doctoral-level work)
B Superior B Satisfactory (meets all major course competencies)
C Satisfactory C Meets minimum standards for obtaining credit
D Lowest Passing
F Failing
In addition, the grades A, B, C, and D may be modified by (+) or (-).
Change of Grade:
The change of grade process is handled online through the Banner SSB (faculty) under the Faculty tab.
The change of grade process takes time and changed grades are available on the student's transcript. If the student has any questions about the process, please direct them to their student services office.
If you have missed the grading deadline for several or all students in your class, a separate form will need to be filled out for every student in the class.
If a student is undergraduate-level
Approval of the instructor's Dean is required for all grade changes. - This is obtained via the form. No need to seek approval prior to filling out the form.
If a student is graduate-level
Approval of the instructor's Dean is NOT REQUIRED for:
Changes from "I" to any other symbol if the change is within one term (excluding intersession and summer) of the course conclusion.
Changes from "NR"
Approval of the instructor's Dean is REQUIRED for:
Changes from "I" to any other symbol if the change is two or more terms (excluding intersession and summer) after the course conclusion. - This is obtained via the form. No need to seek approval prior to filling out the form.
Changes from one evaluative grade to another (e.g., from "B" to "C") - This is obtained via the form. No need to seek approval prior to filling out the form.
Grade Appeal:
Students may appeal to have their final grade changed.
The Appeal Process for Change of Course Grade applies to students and both full-time and part-time faculty members in all schools and colleges except the School of Law.
When a student believes that his or her final grade for a course was unfair, the student may use the process to seek resolution of the matter. The burden of proving a claim of an unfair grade (e.g. discrimination, unjust treatment, or errors in a calculation) rests with the student. Grades are awarded or changed only by the course instructor or through this appeals process. An appealed grade may be raised or lowered during the course of this appeals process. The parties should make every effort to achieve consensus and to resolve conflicts at the lowest level and as quickly as possible, especially in cases where a student’s timely academic progress is in jeopardy.
To find the appeal process for a change in course grade, please navigate to the Appeals Process for Change of Course Grade page.