SA R40 (2024-2025): Clarifying Grading Systems on Course Syllabi

Acknowledged by the President

• Resolution:
  SA R40 (2024-2025): Clarifying Grading Systems on Course Syllabi
• Day:
  May 1, 2025
• Action:
  Acknowledged by the President
• Summary / Notes:

  Dear Zora,

   

  Thank you for conveying SA R40: Clarifying Grading Systems on Course Syllabi. I deeply appreciate the Assembly’s interest in ensuring grading systems are clear for Cornell students.

   

  In May 1965, the University Faculty adopted the Cornell University Grading System. As the SA noted, Cornell faculty follow the New York State Education Department (NYSED) syllabi requirements, which require that syllabi include, among other items, the “method of assessing student achievement, including the assessment rubrics at the course and project levels” and the “basis of grade determination.”

   

  Beginning in the fall of 2025, the Office of the Dean of Faculty will send a reminder to faculty before each semester to include on their syllabi a clear explanation of the letter grade scale (A+ to F), the numerical scale (0-100), and the grading scheme, which should detail the methods of evaluation, their relative weights, and the timing of each evaluation.

   

  I have recommended to the Dean of Faculty that the Faculty Senate reaffirm the university’s grading policy, emphasizing that once grading methods are established, instructors cannot alter them or their significance without the approval of a majority of students.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Michael Kotlikoff

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