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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Many professors miss grade deadline

Grades from more than 400 classes have not been posted to the University’s Banner online information system by the classes’ respective professors, leaving students without final grades nearly one month after finals ended.

University Registrar Elizabeth Amundson said professors have five days after the end of finals to submit grades to GWeb before they are not in compliance with the faculty code – a code mandated, but not enforced by the Faculty Senate.

For the fall 2009 semester, the deadline to submit grades was extended from Dec. 21 to Dec. 30 because of the massive snowstorm that dumped nearly 18 inches of snow on D.C. Nevertheless, Amundson said, not all grades were in before the deadline.

“As of January 7th, there are 415 main campus courses for which grades have not been submitted for one or more students – out of a total of 3828 course sections,” Amundson said in an e-mail.

Professors are able to submit their class grades directly through GWeb, Amundson said. They can also give the Office of the Registrar grades on paper grade sheets, if they are unable to submit online.

“Fortunately, very few faculty members require that option,” Amundson said.

The office has not kept the records of how many professors have submitted grades late in previous years, but Amundson said instances of noncompliance have declined since the use of GWeb began.

The Faculty Senate does not have the authority to discipline specific faculty members, Chair of the Committee on Education Policy Diana Johnson Rather said. Instead, the deans of each school handle punishments. Johnson said, however, that she cannot recall an instance where a professor was cited for late grades.

Interim Senior Associate Dean of the School of Business Pradeep Rau said the School of Business usually relies on the faculty to monitor themselves.

“We make multiple announcements to our faculty that they should have their grades in. I’m not going to suggest that it happens all the time,” Rau said. “The only recourse we have is to plead with the individual faculty member to speed up the process.”

Rau added that professors are conscious of and sensitive to the fact that students need their grades in a timely manner.

In an e-mail sent to students of professor Kim Moreland’s Contemporary American Literature class, Chair of the English Department Gayle Wald said grades from the class were, as of Jan. 6, not posted.

“The English Department is taking actions to try to get you your grades as soon as possible. I apologize for the delay and for the inconvenience to you,” Wald wrote.

When contacted, Wald declined to comment on Moreland’s case.

Student opinion was mixed on professors missing the deadline; some thought it was hypocritical.

“It is strange that teachers miss deadlines for grades by several weeks sometimes, when students are penalized for assignments being turned in even a minute after the deadline,” junior Brett Gall said.

Other students said they would not be worried if professors were late posting grades.

Sophomore Matt Pergamo said, “I know the grades are going to be posted eventually, so if it’s not right away I don’t really mind.

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