Quizzes and examinations are administered during the semester at the discretion of the instructor, except that the instructor is expected to announce any hour-long examination one week in advance.

Final examinations, where required, must be held according to the published examination schedule. Neither students nor faculty members may make changes without prior approval from the Registrar.

A student is not normally permitted to make up missed final examinations. A student absent from any announced hour-long examination or final examination because of an emergency, such as personal or family illness, may make up the examination or reasonable substitute if he or she provides the instructor with written verification from a physician or parent/guardian. The Health Center can provide this verification to the Student Affairs office for an exam only when the student is seen at the Health Center while he or she is ill or is a patient at the hospital.

A student who is absent from an examination because of participation in scheduled collegiate athletic activities, or in tours, field trips, and similar events approved in advance by the faculty or the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, is permitted to make up the examination or reasonable substitute. If requested, the director of any such activity will furnish a list of all participants to the Director of Academic Advising before each event.

All course work for the semester (including all examinations, reports, notebooks, essays, laboratory work, etc.) is due no later than 5:00 p.m. of the last day of the examination period. For summer research and summer internships, all course work must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. of the day before the beginning of first semester classes. In either case, instructors may stipulate an earlier due date for course work.

Requests for an extension of no more than two weeks beyond the end of the semester to complete course work must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar using the Incomplete Request Form. The Incomplete Request Form requires the written endorsement of the instructor (i.e., more than a signature) and must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. of the last day of classes, or noon of the day before the beginning of first semester classes in the case of summer research or summer internships.

Eligibility for an Incomplete is based on the following criteria: The student must (1) be registered for 14 or more credits; (2) be a non-graduating senior; and (3) be in good academic standing. Students who do not meet these criteria or who wish to request more than one incomplete in a semester must gain the approval of the Director of Academic Advising or Vice President for Student Services. All claims of incapacitating illness must be accompanied by a written verification from the Health Center or the student's doctor or therapist that includes the severity and duration of the illness.

Late requests for Incompletes may be granted during the final examination period, but only in cases involving exceptional and extreme circumstances that are both beyond students' control and impossible to foresee. Late requests attributable to poor planning will be denied. During examination week, students should seek approval for Incompletes from the Director for Academic Advising or Vice President for Student Services. Requests for incompletes which come after the deadline for the student's final exam or paper for the course for which the Incomplete is being requested or after 2:00 p.m. Friday of finals week will not be granted under any circumstances.

Students are responsible for submitting completed course work directly to the Office of the Registrar, not to the instructor. Work can be mailed or e-mailed; in either case, it must be postmarked (mail) or date-stamped (e-mail) by the deadline date specified on the Incomplete Request Form. Work mailed to the Office of the Registrar should be sent by certified mail, so that lost items may be tracked by the U. S. Postal Service. The College is not responsible for losses by the U. S. Postal Service. Work received by the deadline is forwarded to the instructor for grading. Credit is not given for work submitted after the approved deadline. Approved Incompletes do not entitle students to occupy residence hall rooms beyond noon of the day after the final examination period ends.

Works passed with "D" grades are subject to these limits:

• A maximum of 16 credits of D grades may count toward satisfying the 124-credit graduation requirement.
• Credit earned with a grade below "C" may not count toward the satisfaction of any requirement for a major or an interdisciplinary concentration. This includes all extra departmental and cognate courses such as mathematics, statistics, and languages.
• A grade of "C" or better is necessary to satisfy a prerequisite for a higher-level course. A student receiving a "D" in a course needed as a prerequisite must petition the Committee on Academic Standing.

Grades are reported to students, and their faculty advisers at the end of each semester. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (often referred to as the "Buckley Amendment"), the College has a responsibility to maintain the privacy of academic records. Accordingly, the record of grades is sent directly to students. A student may request in writing that final grades be sent to parent(s). The College informs the parent(s) of a dependent student when that student is warned for poor performance, placed on probation, suspended, or dismissed. Instructors are asked to inform the Director of Academic Advising whenever a student's work in a course becomes unsatisfactory during the semester.

A grade entered by the Office of the Registrar may be changed only if the instructor's request is approved by the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. A request based on an evaluation of late work must be considered by the Committee on Academic Standing.

A student will be placed on the Dean's List if she or he attains a term grade average for the semester of 3.75 or higher. In order to qualify for the Dean's List, a student must complete 16 credits, 14 of which must be taken for a letter grade. Only credits completed at Grinnell and those programs directly administered by Grinnell will be used in determining eligibility. A student cannot earn Dean's List recognition if he or she has an incomplete or an NGR (no grade reported). A student who has an incomplete or NGR converted later to a letter grade and who thereby becomes eligible for the Dean's List will be placed on the Dean's List retroactively.

The grading system for all courses:

All grades are recorded on a student's permanent transcript.