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grade may also be assigned to students who do not submit required work in courses from which they have not officially withdrawn. Zero or E grades are assigned to students for missing work, which are included in the final grade evaluation. HES does not issue an F grade; the E is the equivalent failing grade notation.

Permanent grade notation assigned to a course completed for which the student registered as a noncredit participant. The NC grade notation indicates the student was enrolled and could 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. Please see Choosing a Credit Status for more information on noncredit status.

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

Specific courses taken for noncredit may fulfill requirements for HES academic programs. This notation is issued to students enrolled in program specific courses for which course requirements are not satisfied. 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.

SAT (satisfactory): Earned by work that demonstrates full comprehension of course materials and strong command of the skills needed to work with the course materials. 

UNS (unsatisfactory): Earned by work that is unsatisfactory and will not earn academic credit. May be assigned to students who do not submit required work in courses for which they have not withdrawn.

PA (passing grade): Earned by work that demonstrates full comprehension of the course materials, good command of the skills required to work with the course materials, and the student’s full engagement with the course requirements and activities.  

FL (failing grade): Earned by work that is unworthy of course credit and not of passing quality or for students who did not fully engage with the course requirements and activities. May be assigned to students who do not submit required work in courses for which they have not withdrawn.

HHON (high honors): Earned by work whose superior quality indicates full mastery of the subject and extraordinary distinction.  

HON (honors): Earned by work that demonstrates strong comprehension of course materials and exceptional command of the skills needed to work with the course materials.  

PA (pass): Earned by work that demonstrates full comprehension of course materials and good command of the skills required to work with course materials.  

FL (fail): Earned by work that is unsatisfactory and unworthy of academic credit.

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

This is 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.

In the rare case where a student does not meet the requirements to complete their thesis prior to their designated completion period, students may be issued the TNC / Thesis not Complete grade. This is a permanent final grade notation.

This is a permanent final grade assigned to credit students who officially withdraw by the final 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 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.

Is a permanent notation assigned to noncredit students who remain registered through the duration of the term but take action to withdraw from the noncredit enrollment prior to the respective withdrawal deadline. Similar to the WD grade, no tuition refund is issued and the course and grade notation will appear on a student transcript reflecting the final withdrawal status of the course.

This is assigned to students who are administratively withdrawn in accordance with Extension School policies. WA may be a permanent notation.

Is an interim grade assigned to students who have been approved for an Extension of Time. This notation is changed to a letter grade when the extension of time period 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 work that remained outstanding. Access to the course platform may be extended for students that are officially approved for an extension of time. See more information on the Extension of Time policy. Noncredit students are not eligible for a EXT grade notation.

Degree candidate courses that require multiple term enrollment, such as thesis registration, will see an INP grade posted to their transcript once the initial term of registration is concluded. The INP will remain on the academic transcript until the student completes, times out, or withdraws from their thesis track program.

This is an interim grade assigned 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. Noncredit students are not eligible for a MU grade notation.

This is an interim grade notation assigned by the Registrar’s Office to students with cases pending before the Administrative Board.

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 HES 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 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 EXT coursework 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:

If students have met the eligibility criteria listed above for an EXT request, all sections of the Extension of Time Request Form must be completed signed and dated by the student and their faculty. Completed forms should be sent to AcademicServices@Extension.Harvard.edu no later than the last academic day of the respective term:

Academic Services will review the submitted EXT request to ensure the request is within the scope of the extension policy as outlined above and can be supported in full after the term concludes. Once reviewed, Academic Services will send and email notification to the student with the Extension of Time request decision and final details. Faculty will be open copied on the correspondence to the student.

Students are responsible to ensure the EXT request is submitted no later than the last academic day of 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 approved by Academic Services it is considered unofficial. Unofficial extensions are not eligible for grade change.

Questions related to a grade or assessment issued within a term, such as a problem set, paper, draft, or midterm exam, should be raised directly with the instructional staff during the term in which the grade was issued. Students should connect as soon as possible after the assessment is returned to discuss any academic concerns they may have with the assessment issued. The final authority for the assignment of grades during the term rests with the lead instructor of the course. If an exception is granted by the lead instructor, students should plan for that to be accounted for in the final calculation of the overall course grade. If the lead faculty does not commit to or does not approve an exception, retroactive review or exceptions approved by the Harvard Division of Continuing Education administration are unlikely to occur.

Faculty are not required to alter or adjust their in-term grading standards or offer an exception to coursework even when students feel it appropriate or equitable based on personal circumstances encountered. Students who encounter documented, extenuating circumstances that causes coursework to be missed and occurs after the semester deadline may withdraw from the class if the deadline has not passed. Students who have documented disruptions due to extenuating circumstances may also wish to file an appeal to request a retroactive registration change. Students who do not agree with feedback given by faculty on the in-term assessment that wish to remain registered in the class are encouraged to provide feedback on the course at large, including the course and faculty administration directly, during the end-of-term anonymous course review surveys.

A student may request that the lead faculty review a final course grade calculation that has been issued after the term concludes or ask for an explanation on how the final letter grade was calculated 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 the Academic Services office is unlikely to change the final course grade. On the rare occasion where either faculty are unreachable after two weeks of attempted outreach or if the faculty offer limited feedback on the grade calculation that does not resolve the student concern, students may contact Academic Services for additional support in reviewing the calculation and issuance of the final grade notation.

Students that contact Academic Services should be prepared to submit their inquiry in writing:

• Detail the aspect of the course grading standard that was incorrectly calculated or assessed.
• Offer context to the attempts to communicate with the faculty regarding this concern. This includes detailing attempts to reach out and the manner of the outreach. If faculty have offered a response, students should plan to attach or forward any prior communications with the teaching staff regarding the grade expectations and calculation.
• Attach any documents related to the student grade concerns — the course syllabus, course grading rubrics, and any feedback received from the instructional staff related to the grade issued at the end of the term.

Academic Services staff will review grade inquiries for a respective term after the official grade release date and will work with the course faculty, Academic Administration, and the program or department office as necessary to determine if there is an error in the final grade issued. Requests to review individual assignments or midterm grades will not be considered on an individual basis or as evidence of an incorrect final grade once the term is concluded and the final grade has been issued. Students are not eligible for a grade change if the incorrect document was submitted for evaluation or if the original submission was not received by faculty as expected. Course materials received after the final academic day of the term, even if an unofficial faculty extension was granted, are not considered valid or final until the Academic Services team reviews the request and confirms, in writing via email, to the student and faculty. Grade inquiries requesting to include final work that was not submitted on time or not accepted by the faculty per the course expectations will not be reviewed under a grade inquiry.

The Academic Services staff, when reviewing final grade inquiries, must be satisfied that all students in the course have been issued a fair and equitable grade, per the standard set in the course during the respective term dates, before authorizing any final grade change. If evidence of an error cannot be confirmed, then the final grade as issued will stand as accurate.

Note: Grade changes based on student inquiry very rarely result in a final grade change after the term ends. Students who connect to discuss final grade concerns may not have their final grade adjusted; students should plan their academic pursuits ahead assuming the grade issued at the end of the term will stand. If there is cause for a grade change identified, the Academic Services team will work with the student and appropriate administration to ensure the student record is corrected.

Grade Inquiry Time Period

Grade inquiries will be reviewed only after official, final course grades post and must be received within the 6-month period after the respective course concludes to be eligible for review.