Grades

Earned by work whose superior quality indicates a full mastery of the subject—and in the case of A, work of extraordinary distinction. There is no grade of A+.

Earned by work that indicates a strong comprehension of the course material, a good command of the skills needed to work with the course materials, and the student’s full engagement with the course requirements and activities.

Earned by work that indicates an adequate and satisfactory comprehension of the course material and the skills needed to work with the course materials, and that indicates that the student has met the basic requirements for completing assigned work and participating in class activities.

Earned by work that is unsatisfactory but that indicates some minimal command of the course materials and some minimal participation in class activities that is worthy of course credit.

Earned by work that is unsatisfactory and unworthy of course credit. This grade may also be assigned to students who do not submit required work in courses from which they have not officially withdrawn by the withdrawal deadline. Zero or E grades are assigned to students for missing work. These grades are included in the calculation of the final grade.

This is a permanent grade notation assigned to a course completed for which these student was registered as a noncredit participant. The NC grade notation indicates the student was enrolled and expected to engage with the class per the faculty policies, but was not eligible to complete final exams or assessments, similar to a traditional course audit. Students who pursue a course as a noncredit enrollee will have the course and grade notation posted to their academic transcript. See choosing a credit status for more information on Noncredit enrollment.  

Specific courses offered only for noncredit may fulfill specific program requirements. This notation is issued to students enrolled in noncredit courses for which program requirements have been met. The notation indicates that the student attended, participated in full and as expected, and met all course requirements to earn the program requirement associated with the noncredit course offering.  

Specific courses offered only for noncredit may fulfill specific program requirements. This notation is issued to students enrolled in program specific courses for which program requirements are not met. The notation indicates that the student did not meet the expectations of the course and therefore does not earn the associated requirement or standard for course completion.  

Students in the Pre-College Program may earn either a ‘Met all RQMTS’ or ‘RQMTS not met’ for a final grade notation. The final grade notation will be published to the Harvard DCE official transcript at the end of the respective term. Pre-college courses do not carry credit hours; academic standing is not kept as part of a pre-college academic record.  

In addition to assigning grades, Pre-College instructors will provide a written evaluation for each student within six weeks of completion of the course. It will include a short description of the course and the materials covered as well as a summary of the student’s performance in the course. Evaluations will be available for download in online services. 

To earn the ‘Met all RQMTS’ final grade notation, students must attend every required session and complete coursework per course standards.  

A permanent final grade assigned to credit and noncredit students who are no longer permitted to continue in the course. An EXD grade is equivalent to a failing grade and does not result in any tuition refund. 

A permanent final grade assigned to credit and noncredit students who are required by the Administrative Board to withdraw from one or more courses. An RQ grade is equivalent to a failing grade and does not result in any tuition refund. Courses in which students have been assigned RQ grades are not included in the calculation of enrollment status. 

A grade assigned to students who are administratively withdrawn in accordance with Summer School policies. WA may be a permanent notation. The student must forfeit all tuition and fees. 

A permanent final grade assigned to credit students who officially withdraw from courses by the withdrawal deadline. 

WD grades may not be changed to letter grades and do not result in any tuition refund. Courses in which students have been assigned WD grades are not included in the calculation of enrollment status. An E grade may be assigned to students who do not complete course requirements and do not officially withdraw by the withdrawal deadline. Admitted Harvard Extension School program candidates and prospective applicants should contact their program offices to discuss the implications of withdrawing from a course on their academic record and GPA. 

A permanent notation assigned to noncredit students who withdraw from a course by the withdrawal deadline. WN notations do not result in any tuition refund. 

An interim grade notation assigned by the Registrar’s Office to students with cases pending before the Administrative Board. May be assigned to noncredit, undergraduate, or graduate credit students.

An interim grade assigned to students who have been formally approved for an Extension of Time in the respective course. This notation is changed to a letter grade when the extension of time deadline is concluded. A student approved for an extension of time that does not complete the remaining work by the assigned deadline will be issued a final grade, factoring a 0 or E for any approved coursework that remains outstanding. Access to the course platform may be extended for students that are officially approved for an extension of time. Noncredit students are not eligible for an EXT grade notation.

An interim grade assigned by the Registrar’s Office to students whose appeals for a make-up final exam are approved. This notation is changed to a letter grade when the student takes the make-up exam. Students who do not take the make-up exam as scheduled are assigned an E for that exam. Access to video lectures is extended to the make-up exam date in each term for students whose appeals for make-up final exams are approved. Students enrolled for noncredit are not eligible for a Make-Up final exam or MU grade notation.

To be eligible for an EXT, students must: 

Be in good standing in the term: Students must have all coursework due prior to the course withdrawal deadline complete and submitted. This includes completion of coursework that was issued an in-term extension by the faculty. Coursework approved in the EXT must be final coursework. Students must meet all other course expectations and attendance policies to be eligible for an EXT. 

Only final coursework is permissible under the EXT request. This includes final work such as: 

• Final Paper 
• Final take home exam 
• Final individual project 
• Final Group Project (depending on course policies) 

• Final Presentation (depending on course policies) 
• Final problem set or small end-of term assignment (originally due at the end of the term only) 

**Students who owe a significant amount of work may not be eligible for an EXT. This includes courses that may only have a final paper or project. EXT requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for courses that only have a final deliverable to determine if the student meets the academic standing in the course. 

Encounter an extenuating end-of-term situation: The situation must be encountered in the student’s personal life, not related to academic course load. This includes academic responsibilities at HSS and / or combined with work or alternate academic endeavors. Most often, the EXT is approved to support students that encounter an acute illness at the end of the term, who encounter an unexpected emergency with family care, or who encounter extreme weather-related disruptions that prevent access to the final course meetings. 

Receive Faculty Support, permission for the EXT request: The EXT is first and foremost an agreement with the course faculty. The faculty must be able to support the EXT request, and the coursework requested in the EXT must be eligible for independent completion after the term concludes. 

When a course ends with both a timed final exam and final written coursework, students may need to request both the Make-Up final Exam (MU) appeal and the EXT. More information on the MU appeal can be seen on the Exams page. In the event a student needs to request both the MU appeal and EXT request: 

• Submit the MU appeal form in Online Services and submit the EXT form via email to Academic Services. 
• The MU appeal will be reviewed as the primary request; the EXT request will be held until the MU appeal review is complete. 

• Once a decision is released from the MU appeal, the EXT confirmation will follow: 
• If an MU is approved, the EXT is often approved as well. 
• If the MU is not eligible for approval, the EXT may not be either. Academic Services will correspond with all students who submit an EXT, regardless of the MU outcome. 

*Note: A take home final is considered under the Extension of Time. If the course ends in an open book, take home final assessment, you do not need to file the Make Up exam appeal. 

Students should confirm the final coursework and final due date of the respective EXT request directly with the course faculty first. Faculty may require an earlier deadline for EXT work than the HES final due date specified below. If an earlier date is set by the faculty, this must be specified on the EXT request form when submitted to Academic Services. If no deadline is specified on the EXT form, the last day available to complete approved extension of time work in the respective term is:

Students requesting an EXT should weigh their time and circumstances to ensure they can complete the final work by the specified EXT deadline before submitting the official EXT request to Academic Services. Students who feel unable to complete final work due to documented extenuating circumstances that occur at the end of the term may wish to review the Financial and Registration (FR) appeal option to request a retroactive withdrawal (WD) from a course.

To submit the EXT request: 

• Discuss and confirm the EXT request with faculty before the term is over. 

• If in agreement, complete the Extension of Time forms in full and submit to Academic Services before the final day of the semester in one of the following ways: 
• Email the completed form to Academic Services and open CC the lead faculty in the course. If the lead faculty is not copied onto the submission, Academic Services will confirm the EXT request with them directly. This may take additional time and create delays in the EXT review. 
• Forward the completed and signed form to the faculty directly. The faculty can then confirm the final details of the EXT request and forward the completed form to Academic Services. The student should have previously signed the EXT form and be copied on the email submission to ensure transparency. 
• Academic Services will review the submitted EXT request to ensure the request is within the scope of the extension policy as outlined and can be supported in full after the term concludes. 

Once reviewed, Academic Services will send email notification to the student to confirm the EXT request and final details. Faculty will be open copied onto the correspondence to the student. 

Students are responsible to ensure the extension request is submitted before the last academic day in the term. Unofficial extensions arranged between the faculty and student independent of Academic Services cannot be supported after the term ends. If an EXT is not confirmed by Academic Services it is considered unofficial; unofficial extensions may not be eligible for an updated grade once the final work is reviewed by the course faculty after the term ends. 

Final authority for approving grade changes after the term concludes is the Registrar’s Office responsibility.

Final grade changes are in place to correct an error in final grade reporting — omission, transcription, or calculation — not to offer exceptional support for a student beyond the set course expectations. When reporting grade changes after the term, faculty are responsible to document the error that occurred. Common errors that may occur and can be corrected after the term ends:

• Error in grade calculation or incorrectly calculating a student’s term assessments per the course standards.
• Error in omission when faculty previously supported an in-term exception then did not include this when calculating final grades.
• Error in transcription during final grade reporting when the faculty enters grade notations for the Registrar’s Office

Academic Services will notify students when a final grade change request is approved via email.

Some examples of common reasons why a grade change request is made but cannot be accepted after the term are as follows, students may not:

• Submit additional academic work or extra credit to improve a final course grade
• Submit coursework after the final academic day of the term for inclusion in the grade calculation (without an approved Extension of Time),
• Re-submit coursework that has already been evaluated within the term for an improved final assessment or retroactive exception, including if a wrong version or document was provided in the original assignment submission. All assessment exceptions must be granted by the faculty during the respective term.
• Be graded by an alternate standard than peers enrolled due to encountered hardship.
• Use 3^rd party assessment of coursework as evidence of faculty grading error.

Grade changes must be initiated within 180 days from the end-of-term for the respective course. Students that have questions related to their final grade issued should first contact the faculty first to request feedback on the final grade and evaluation in the course (see Grade Inquiries for more information) Once the 180-day period is concluded, the Registrar’s Office will only review grade change requests in exceptional and well-documented circumstances.

Students who have been awarded a degree, diploma, or certificate are not eligible for a grade change in any course included in the respective program curriculum or requirements once the degree is conferred or the diploma or certificate is awarded.

When questions regarding an assessment or in-term assignment arise, students should first inquire with the course instructional staff directly. In-term assessment and assignment grade inquiries must be addressed within the term. Requests to review individual assignments or midterms will not be considered on an individual basis as evidence of an incorrect final grade calculation or to improve a final grade after the term is concluded.

A student may request feedback from the lead faculty on the final grade calculation if they believe an error was made. If an instructor provides this explanation, even if the student disagrees with the faculty assessment, further pursuit of a grade inquiry with Academic Services is unlikely to change the final course grade. More information regarding expectations on student conduct with respect to final grades can be referenced on the Student Conduct and Expectations page.

On the rare occasion where either faculty are unreachable after two weeks of attempted outreach, or if the faculty offered limited feedback on the grade calculation that does not resolve the student concern, students may contact Academic Services for additional support in reviewing the final grade issued. Students that contact Academic Services should be prepared to submit their inquiry in writing:

• Detail the aspect of the course grading standard or calculation that may be incorrect.
• Offer context to the attempts to communicate with the faculty regarding this concern. This includes detailing attempts to reach out and the manner of outreach. If faculty have offered a response, students should attach or forward any relevant communications with the teaching staff regarding grade expectations and calculation.
• Attach any documents related to the grade accuracy concerns — the course syllabus, course grading rubrics and expectations, and any feedback or exception agreed upon with the course faculty during the term.

Academic Services will review grade inquiries for a respective term only after the official grade release date and will work with the course faculty, Academic Administration, and the program or department as necessary to determine if there is an error in the final grade issued.

Ask your instructor for explanations of your grades if you believe errors were made. However, you may not submit extra work or resubmit work to improve a final grade or have your work evaluated by a third party.

Although you are entitled to an explanation of your grades, you should be careful not to harass your instructor. Repeatedly calling your instructor about a grade or additional points or telling your instructor that you need a certain grade could be considered harassment.