North Dakota State University

NDSU is continuing its pilot of Mid-term Grading to further examine mid-term grading impacts on student academic success and retention.  Mid-term grading was identified as a high priority by the Sophomore Year Experience Committee, which was jointly charged by the Divisions of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs.

The goals of mid-term grading are to identify and notify students and advisers of individuals receiving deficient grades at mid-point in the semester, to provide options and promote academic/student support services available on campus, and to remind students of existing drop deadlines and procedures.

All instructors are being asked, at minimum, to enter into Campus Connection undergraduate grades of 'D' and 'F' at mid-semester for regular semester length courses.*

Timeline of events and important dates related to this process:

• Tuesday, February 26 — Mid-term grade loading opens in Campus Connection
• Friday, March 1 — Official mid-point of Spring semester
• Friday, March 8 — Deadline to enter Mid-term deficient grades into Campus Connection. Grades are available for viewing by students and advisers.
• Monday, March 18 — Advising Week begins
• Friday, April 15 — Last day to drop classes (full semester courses) in Campus Connection

Note: Courses shorter than the full semester are not included in the Mid-term grading pilot, and have variable drop deadlines. Instructors are still encouraged to provide progress reports to students mid-way through short courses.

Instructions for Loading and Viewing Mid-term Grades in Campus Connection:

• Mid-Term Grade Loading Instructions – for Instructors
• Viewing Mid-Term Grades – for Advisers
• Viewing Mid-Term Grades – for Staff/Administrators
• Viewing Mid-Term Grades – for Students 

Guidelines for Mid-term Grading:

1. Instructors are asked to enter, at minimum, deficient mid-term grades for undergraduate students, even if this information also is available to students in BlackBoard. Mid-term grades are based on how students are doing approximately half way through a semester, and do not necessarily reflect 50% of graded work completed/required for a course.
   
   
2. If no deficient grades are being earned by students at mid-semester, instructors are still asked to set their Mid-Term Grade Rosters to ‘Ready for Review’ status. This will help distinguish rosters where there are no deficient students from those that were not reviewed for mid-term grades.
   
   
3. Students will be notified via email of their deficient status in one or more courses by the start of advising week.  If no mid-term grades are entered for students, it may be assumed that they are making satisfactory progress in their courses.
   
   
4. Mid-term grades are not official grades and do not appear on student transcripts.
   
   
5. Instructors are welcome to enter all mid-grades for all regular/full-semester courses (UGRD-PROF-GRAD), but it is not expected.
   
   
6. Students should be reminded that a mid-term grade does not guarantee a final grade for a class, and to contact their instructors with questions about their standing in a class.