Dear Colleagues:
We would like to make you aware of a new tool that you will have available to communicate academic progress to all of our students — Midterm Grading.
The posting of Midterm Grades is a universally used best practice that helps students understand where they stand academically in a course. It is also critical to assist us with identifying at-risk students and intervening with those who may be struggling academically early enough to allow them a chance to improve their course performance. This initiative is a key component of the University’s strategic goals to increase student retention, reduce equity gaps, and maintain enrollments.
Starting in the fall of 2022, Midterm Grading will be available to all faculty to enter for students in their courses through Banner. Grades entered into Pilot can be pushed into Banner, if desired. Midterm Grading applies to only full-term classes (15-week classes in the fall). A Term, B Term, and X term classes are excluded from reporting. Please note that Midterm Grading may not be appropriate for some courses such as thesis, internships, and independent studies.
During Fall Semester, the Midterm Grade reporting window will open on Monday, October 3, at 8 a.m. (week seven of the semester) and will close Wednesday, October 12, at noon (week eight of the semester — this corresponds with the deadline for submission of A Term grades).
Midterm Grade reporting will be optional, but we highly encourage all faculty to participate. As an incentive, the college with the highest faculty participation rate will receive a free pizza party provided by the provost and the vice president for enrollment management at the beginning of Spring Semester as a special thank you.
It is critical that we do everything we can to support the success of our students, and while we recognize this is asking for your support and some additional effort, our students will greatly benefit from this high-impact practice. We will also speak with faculty and students throughout this pilot program to obtain feedback on this process.
Please keep an eye out for email announcements from the provost and the Registrar’s Office regarding the opening and closing of the Midterm Grading window.
Thank you in advance for your assistance on this critical student success initiative.
Best,
Amy Thompson, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Susan Schaurer
Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success
