Middlebury Handbook

1. Grading System

The following grades are used at Middlebury College:

a. A, B, C, D, F (+ is used only with B and C; - is used only with A, B and C): fall, winter, spring, and summer.

Numerical equivalents of grades: 
A = 4.00
A- = 3.67 
B+ = 3.33 
B = 3.00 
B- = 2.67 
C+ = 2.33 
C = 2.00 
C- = 1.67 
D = 1.00 
F = 0

b. CR (credit), NCR (no credit): winter term internships, student-led courses and by student adoption of the CR/NCR grading option.

c. S (satisfactory), U (unsatisfactory): for work in progress in a multiple-term course

d. INC (incomplete)

e. Honors, pass, fail: winter term independent projects and some designated winter term or summer study courses

f. P (pass), does not count in the grade point average

Note: The Middlebury grade point average (GPA) is truncated at two decimal points; any values beyond the second decimal place are not considered in the GPA calculation.

g. Half-credit courses count in the grade point average, weighted proportionally.

2. Probation and Failure

All undergraduate students have the same probation and failure rules. These rules also apply to Middlebury undergraduates who enroll in Language Schools, Schools Abroad, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Bread Loaf School of English, School of the Environment, and externally sponsored programs approved by the office of International Programs and Off-Campus Study. The Administration Committee will exercise considerable leniency in responding to first-year, first-term students and therefore will give strong consideration to readmitting a student who has received academic failure unless the student has demonstrated flagrant neglect of schoolwork.

Probation (please also refer to the section on Student Status):

2 Ds
1 D and 1 F
D or F in winter term
D or F in summer study
1 D or 1 F for students completing only three courses in term

Failure (please also refer to the section on Student Status):

3 Ds
2 Fs
1 F and 2 Ds
2 Ds or 1 F while on probation
D or F in winter term while on probation
D or F in summer study while on probation
Three times on probation or failure
1 F and 1 D, or 2 Ds for students completing only three courses
A second successive term on probation

Failure while on Probation:
2 Ds
1 F
D or F in winter term
D or F in summer study
Three times on probation
A second successive term on probation

3. Grade Reports

Final grades are reported to the Office of the Registrar at the end of each semester, term or study period. All grades must be submitted online by the time specified by the registrar. A faculty member who fails to meet this deadline is reported within 24 hours to the department chair. If there is no response within another 24 hours, the VPAA or designate is notified. Instructors should not report final course grades to students.

Failure and D reports must be submitted by instructors to the registrar. These reports are used by the Administration Committee for determining eligibility for readmission and by Class Deans for advising.

Students are responsible for keeping parents correctly and currently informed of their standing and progress in college. Students can view their own grades online and may print and distribute them as they wish. For students who sign an authorization form each semester, fall grades and spring grades are mailed to parents. Notices of second course warnings, academic probation, academic failure, withdrawals, written reprimands, disciplinary probation, suspension, and expulsion are sent to parents as a matter of course.

4. Repeated Courses

A student who fails a course and takes it a second time will have both grades calculated into the grade point average. If a student passes a course and then repeats it (after receiving permission of the Administration Committee), only the first grade is calculated into the grade point average, and the course is only counted once for credit, although both grades appear on the transcript.

5. Multiple-Semester or Term Course Grades

When a course would have relatively little value unless followed by a second semester or term course intended to complement it, a department may designate first-semester courses for which no credit will be received without completion of a second semester of the course sequence. A department may designate second semester courses in which the final examination will cover the work of the entire year. Students must register each semester or term for the continuing credit. The first semester of such courses is graded Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory grades may be submitted only for multiple-semester or term projects carrying more than one course credit (500-honors projects for seniors, 700-level senior work). At the conclusion of the project, the student receives alphabetical grades for all course units.

6. Incomplete Grades

Incompletes are issued only in unanticipated, exceptional circumstances that arise near the end of the study period and when a student has been meeting the majority of course expectations. Incompletes are granted by the Class Dean, after consultation with the faculty member involved and ordinarily may not be granted after the last day of the final exam period. 

In order for the dean to grant an incomplete, the faculty member will provide the dean and the Office of the Registrar with a provisional grade that would be assigned if the remaining work in the course were not completed. When the faculty member submits grades for the course, they will submit an incomplete for the student.

The Dean will share the provisional grade with the student and will set the deadline for the submission of all remaining work, which will ordinarily be before the deadline for adding classes in the following Fall or Spring semester. The deadline may be no later than the deadline to drop classes in the following semester. Incompletes in winter term courses will follow the same procedures: the deadline for the submission of all remaining work may be no later than the deadline to drop classes in the Spring semester. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all work is completed by the deadline. Should the faculty member be unavailable to evaluate the remaining work, it will be the responsibility of the department chair or program director, or designee, to complete the evaluation of submitted work. If the course is not completed by the deadline, the provisional grade based on the work that has been completed will be recorded by the Office of the Registrar. 

If the Office of the Registrar has not received either a provisional or a final grade by the deadline, the grade will ordinarily be recorded as an F. The Office of the Registrar will notify the student that the grade has been recorded. 

Students seeking incompletes based on a disability or medical condition should be directed to the Disability Resource Center (DRC) Office. When DRC staff determine that an incomplete is a reasonable, prospective accommodation for a documented disability, and the dean determines that the student meets the other criteria for an Incomplete (the student has been meeting the majority of course expectations prior to onset of the medical condition) the dean will grant the incomplete following the procedures described above.

7. Change in Grades

Any request for a grade change must be submitted on a change of grade form to the Administration Committee by the instructor of the course with the endorsement of the department chair. Changes will be made only in case of clerical error or for the reason of fairness to a student, following the Administration Committee's protocols for such requests. Requests for grade changes that are denied by the Administration Committee may be resubmitted by the course instructor only in cases where additional information not included in the original request may affect the committee's final decision. No change in a final grade on the transcript is effective until it is approved by the entire faculty.

Students wishing to protest a grade may do so by speaking first to the instructor of the course, and then to the department chair. If the instructor and department chair believe the grade should not be changed, and the student is still not satisfied, the student may appeal in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA). The VPAA or designate will consult with the instructor of the course and the department chair and will make a final decision on the matter.  If the VPAA recommends a change in the student's grade, that recommendation will be submitted to the Administration Committee, which will include it on the recommendations for grade changes submitted to the faculty. Students may not appeal to the VPAA for grade change requests that are denied by the Administration Committee. No change in a final grade on the transcript is effective until it is approved by the entire faculty.

8. College Honors

a. College Scholar: semester grade point average of 3.60 or higher for students taking four or more full-credit courses, with no grade below B-.

b. Dean's List: semester grade point average of 3.30 or higher for students taking four or more full-credit courses, with no grade below B-.

c. Graduation honors (on the basis of cumulative grades from the Middlebury undergraduate, summer, and overseas schools, all other approved programs abroad, and approved programs of domestic off-campus study):

i. Cum laude: graduation average of 3.40 or higher

ii. Magna cum laude: graduation average of 3.60 or higher

iii. Summa cum laude: graduation average of 3.80 or higher

Standards for graduation honors are the same for all students eligible for a degree, regardless of the number of courses taken at Middlebury.

Except for valedictory and salutatory honors, no class rank is computed for official College purposes. Transfer students are not eligible for valedictory or salutatory honors.

Students who have received official College discipline as a result of academic dishonesty are ineligible for graduation honors.

9. Departmental Honors

Awarding of departmental honors (Honors, High Honors, Highest Honors) is a departmental decision, but the following minimum requirements must be met:

a. A student must have at least a B average (3.00) in courses taken in his or her department or program (excluding 0500, 0600, 0700, or equivalent independent study course work, if given).

b. There must be significant independent research (0500 project) or an honors thesis (0700 course) in a student's program and the grade must be a B or higher.

c. A program must fall within the maximum permissible number of courses that students may take in their major departments. The program may be part of the senior work program or independent of it.

d. An exceptionally strong project qualifies the student for honors.

e. In order to be considered for honors, independent scholars normally must meet two criteria: a minimum average of B+ in courses taken towards the major and a minimum grade of B+ on the senior work component. The Dean of Curriculum oversees the first requirement and will inform the advisor of the student's eligibility. The senior work component must be evaluated by a committee of three faculty members (one of whom, at the advisor's request, may be a faculty member on the Curriculum Committee). Minimum thesis grades for each level of honors are B+ (Honors), A- (High Honors), and A (Highest Honors), but the determination of the appropriate level will be made by the committee.

f. Students who have received official College discipline as a result of academic dishonesty are ineligible for departmental honors.

10. Transcripts

Currently enrolled students have secure, ongoing access to their academic records online in BannerWeb. They may also request an official academic transcript from the Office of the Registrar. The official transcript contains information on courses taken, grades received, majors and minors, degrees earned, and honors awarded. The transcript also includes a student's semester and cumulative grade point average, calculated using the numerical equivalents in Section A above. The grades used in calculating the grade point average are those earned in the Middlebury undergraduate, summer, and overseas schools, all other approved programs abroad, and approved programs of domestic off-campus study.

The transcript and information in the student file may be released to persons or organizations outside of the College only with specific written authorization from the student or as permitted by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as noted in the Student Privacy Rights under U.S. Federal Law (FERPA) section of the Handbook.

A fee of $5 is charged for each official transcript requested. A request form is available at https://go.middlebury.edu/transcript. Transcript requests are accepted by mail, and in person Monday through Friday in the Service Building during regular office hours.  Students may also request a transcript through the online ordering system. An additional surcharge is applied to transcript orders placed via the online ordering system. Please plan on two days for processing requests, and longer during end of term grading periods.  Students and alumni continue to have access to their own academic records on BannerWeb.

11.  Registrar

Office of the Registrar
E-mail: registrar@middlebury.edu 
Website: https://go.middlebury.edu/registrar
Phone: 802.443.5770

Currently enrolled students should contact this office if they have questions about their academic transcripts or procedures regarding registration, dropping or adding courses, or transfer of credit.