Grades Plan

Purpose:

To provide guidelines for the timely, accurate, and secure recording and maintenance of student grades and related records and to ensure integrity and confidentiality in the handling of student grades.

Definitions:

Course records: departmental course offerings and individual course content that may include, but is not limited to, syllabi, course descriptions, course outlines, course summaries, course requests and proposals, lists of classes by term, required bibliographies and reading lists, course announcements, and related documentation and correspondence.

Grade roster: a print or electronic report on which final course grades are recorded under a student’s name and identification number, and which includes course title, number, section, and instructor’s name. A grade roster may include an electronic signature in accordance with college procedures for recognition of electronic signatures.

Instructor’s grade book: the record of grades for all activities used to compute the final course grade, which may be in electronic or print format.

Official student records: all permanently maintained academic documentation, which is comprised of, but not limited to, transcripts, record of drops and withdrawals, change of grades, and course substitutions.

Registration documents: may include add/drop forms, withdrawal forms, grade appeals, or grade change requests.

Student grade assignments: may include, but are not limited to, examinations/tests and answers, quizzes and answers, homework assignments, course papers, term papers, and essay assignments.

Policy:

All grades, grade reports, and records shall be maintained and input in a timely manner into a secure student information system using procedures that protect the integrity and confidentiality of these records and reports. These grades, grade records, and reports will be maintained and destroyed in accordance with Reynolds Policy No. 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition.

This policy refers to standard end-of-term grades (A, B, C, D, F, P, R, S, and U). Reynolds Policy No. 1-7, Incomplete "I" Grade, Reynolds Policy No. 1-10, Student Initiated Withdrawal from a Course(s), Reynolds Policy No. 1-3, Student Attendance, and VCCS Policy 5.6.0 address the use and awarding of “I” grades, “W” grades, and audit “X” grades, respectively.

The college shall provide for periodic, internal, written reviews of Reynolds Policy No. 2-6 to ensure compliance with the plan and to determine if any revisions should be made to the plan.

Procedures:

1. Recording of grades

   1. Timelines: All grades will be electronically posted by the instructor of record in accordance with the access schedule established by the Director of Enterprise Systems and Data Intelligence and the Office of the Registrar. To ensure the integrity of the grades, grades will be stored electronically through the system deemed by the college in accordance with Reynolds Policy No. 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition.

      Adjunct and full-time faculty will submit attendance records and a copy of the final course instrument to the school by the “grades due” date to be stored electronically through the system deemed by the college.

   2. Accuracy of records: Accuracy of recorded final course grades is verified by the instructor of record as a part of the process for submitting grades.

      Final course grades that are recorded in the Student Information System by an authorized person, other than the instructor of record, will be verified by the school dean or the Office of the Registrar. The instructor of record will also be notified, if still employed by the college.

      Faculty will be afforded the opportunity to verify the authenticity of grade changes made after grades have been posted through a verification process that will serve to inform them that the process has been completed.

   3. Access

      1. Access to data screens for inputting records: Access to grade input screens in the Student Information System will be determined by the vice president of finance and administration and the Office of the Registrar. Access will be given only to persons with an essential need to maintain the student academic records. The ability to input grades will be available to instructors only during the identified access period each semester.

         The recording of grades at other times and the changing of grades at any time can only be done by persons authorized by the Office of the Registrar.

      2. Authority to change grades: Authority to input grade changes can only be given to essential persons by the Office of the Registrar.

         Only grade changes that have been submitted on JSRCC Form No. 11-0019, Grade Change, and signed by the instructor of record, the school dean, and the Office of the Registrar (or designee) will be recorded in the Student Information System.

         Grade changes not submitted or endorsed by the instructor of record must be submitted on JSRCC Form No. 11-0019, Grade Change, and signed by the school dean, vice president of academic affairs, and the Office of the Registrar.

      3. Grade changes for classes taken that are over one (1) year old will be reviewed and approved by the vice president of academic affairs on a case-by-case basis.

2. Security of records

   1. Security of forms: All forms used to report or change grades and all forms used to change course registration are available in electronic format on the Reynolds intranet.

      All processed forms are stored by Office of the Registrar in a secure location and are retained in accordance with Reynolds Policy No. 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition. This plan is in compliance with the Commonwealth of Virginia Library of Virginia Records Retention and Disposition Schedule No. 111.

      At no time should the following forms, blank or endorsed, be given to students to transport from one office/person to another:

      1. JSRCC Form No. 11-0019, Grade Change form
      2. JSRCC Form No. 11-0029, Class Waiver and Substitution form

   2. Security of records

      1. The unit manager of each unit in the college that may house student records is responsible for developing and executing a plan for maintaining the security and confidentiality of these records. These records may include instructors’ grade books, student grade records, course records, and registration records. The Office of the Registrar and the vice president of academic affairs will provide directions for the appropriate handling and storage of student records within units in the college.
      2. The Office of the Registrar is the repository for all official student academic records. All records are stored in a secure location and are retained in accordance with Reynolds Policy No. 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition.

3. Confidentiality of student grades

   All faculty and staff in the college must comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations in disclosing or discussing student academic performance or grades.

   All faculty and staff at the college are required to handle, store, and dispose of student records, including grades, in a format and location that protects the confidentiality of the records. This includes the timely shredding of notes and personal records and the retention and disposal of other records in accordance with Reynolds Policy No. 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition.

4. Review of Policy 2-6, Grades Plan

   Review of this policy will be required every four years as part of the four-year policy review cycle, or sooner, if needed.

Other Information:

U.S. Department of Education, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Reynolds Policy No. 1-3, Student Attendance

Reynolds Policy No. 1-7, Incomplete “I” Grade

Reynolds Policy No. 1-10, Student Initiated Withdrawal from a Course(s)

Reynolds Policy No. 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition