Grading Policies

Grade Appeals

A student who wishes to appeal a final grade of a course must do so within two weeks of the grade being posted by the Registrar’s Office. The first appeal should be in writing to the instructor, who must make a decision to uphold or change the grade within 3 business days of the appeal. The written appeal should contain the rationale for the appeal. If a mutually acceptable agreement cannot be reached (or the instructor does not respond within 3 business days), the student has 3 business days to appeal in writing to the administrator in charge of the academic unit offering the course (Department Chair, Program Director or designee). The appeal should contain the rationale for the appeal and the result of the appeal to the instructor. The academic unit administrator must decide to uphold or change the grade within 3 business days of the appeal. If this procedure does not successfully resolve the matter (or if the administrator does not rule on the matter in 3 business days), the student has 3 business days to appeal in writing to the chief administrator (School Dean or designee) overseeing the academic unit offering the course. The appeal should contain the rationale for the appeal and the results of the appeals to the instructor and the academic unit administrator. The chief administrator will uphold or change the grade and inform the student within three business days. The decision of the chief administrator is final. Decisions on grade appeals are based solely on objective grade information.

If the grade appeal affects a student’s progression status, the grade appeal process must be completed on or before the first day of class/clinical rotation, prior to the start of the next semester. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate the grade appeal.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

The total number of quality points (see Grading System section of this catalog), divided by the total number of credit hours taken, yields the grade point average. The grade point average for each semester and cumulatively is calculated to two decimal points. In some degree programs, a professional grade point average also is calculated for each student by dividing the number of professional quality points by the total number of professional credit hours taken.

Grade Reports

At the end of each academic term, students can view their grades online via Self-Service. The Office of the Registrar notifies students when grades are posted.

Address Changes

Address change forms are located at the Office of the Registrar. Current students may change their address online via the Student Information Update form available on the Registrar website at https://my.mcphs.edu/departments/registrar/personal-information-collection.

Incomplete Grades

Courses with a grade of Incomplete must be completed within three weeks of the new semester following the academic term (including summer sessions) in which the Incomplete grade was assigned, or the grade automatically becomes an F. The instructor is responsible for notifying the Office of the Registrar regarding any student who has been granted additional time for coursework completion. The instructor also must specify the extended time period, up to one semester. No student may progress to courses for which the course with an Incomplete is a prerequisite until the work is completed and the I grade is changed. Incomplete grades render a student ineligible for the dean’s list. No student can graduate with an Incomplete grade in any course necessary for graduation.

Auditing Courses—No Credit (Boston)

A student may audit a course with the consent of the instructor. The student must register for the course through the Office of the Registrar prior to the add/drop deadline and pay two-thirds of the tuition. The student does not earn academic credit for audited courses. Students cannot audit courses that are part of their required curriculum.

Pass/Fail Courses

A maximum of one elective course may be taken on a pass/fail basis at another institution, including the Colleges of the Fenway. A grade of P or F will appear on the MCPHS transcript for any course taken pass/fail. A pass grade (P) will not affect a student’s grade point average.

Repeated Courses

Following completion of a course repeated at MCPHS, the earlier grade will be removed from the grade point average, and the more recent grade will be used in the calculation. Both grades remain on the transcript for future reference. If the student repeats a course outside the University (see Courses Taken at Other Colleges after Matriculation), the lower grade is dropped from the grade point average, but a substitute grade is not used in the calculation. Such courses are listed as transfer credit.