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1953-2003 - 50 Years of Promoting International Education & Understanding

   
Course grading
A student receives grades for work completed. Although grading is the professional responsibility of the teacher, it represents an evaluative process which is clear and understandable to both student and teacher. The assessment is continuous.

Grades are recorded according to the following scale:

A Work of distinction or excellence.
B Work of consistently high quality which more than meets the essential requirements of the Course.
C Work which meets the essential requirements of the course
D Work which meets most of the requirements of the Course in quantity but is unsatisfactory in quality.
F Failure. The student has not achieved the Course objectives.
P Passing grade
W Withdrawal
INC Incomplete. A grade given to a student who has not completed the required work on schedule because of illness. If the teacher elects to assign an INC grade, s/he will also assign a date (up to midway through the following semester - unless otherwise determined) by which the work must be completed. When the work is completed, the teacher will assign an appropriate grade.
Notes:
The above categories are further distinguished by the use of single plus (+) and minus (-) signs.
Students should note that the average grade at St. Clare's is B/B+.

Grading at St. Clare's is based upon a variety of factors:

  1. Regular attendance at classes; failure to attend regularly will affect grades.
  2. Careful and consistent preparation of material for class, and preparation of all material required to time.
  3. Quality of contribution in class.
  4. Progress made in relation in both oral and written work.
  5. Written work will be judged in relation to the following criteria: quality of research into primary and secondary sources; relevance of the material to the topic; clarity of argument and organisation of material; response to material; quality of expression (to include accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation).

As grading does not take into account solely the quality of the written work, it is possible that a moderate grade for written work may be improved by good performance in relation to points 1-4 above. The reverse is also true i.e. good written work at the end of a course cannot compensate for inconsistent performance during the rest of the semester. Please note that teachers may not change final grades unless there is a computational error. While your home institutions may adopt a slightly different system, grade points at St. Clare's are allocated to grades as follows:

Grade Points per unit
A 4.00
A- 3.66
B+ 3.33
B 3.00
B- 2.66
C+ 2.33
C 2.00
C- 1.66
D+ 1.33
D 1.00
F 0.00
INC 0.00

The Incomplete Grade is not counted in the computation of the Grade Point Average for which the Incomplete Grade was authorised. Incomplete Grades may be recorded to indicate that the requirements of the course have been substantially completed, but for a good legitimate reason a small part of the work has yet to be completed. It is the student's responsibility to request an Incomplete Grade. Top

Transcripts and grade reports
Official transcripts are prepared for each student. These transcripts detail courses taken, grades achieved (or pass/fail) together with the credit rating for each course. Each transcript is prepared in triplicate: the official copy goes to the Registrar at the home university or college (or, in the case of Gap year students, used for application purposes to universities and colleges); the student copy goes to the student and the file copy remains at St. Clare's. Each student also receives individual detailed academic reports for each course taken. Top

Transfer of credit
If the student meets the requirements of the courses taken, St. Clare's will recommend that the appropriate number of credits be transferred to the student's home university or college and be accepted towards their degree.

It must be emphasised that the Transfer of Academic Credits rests entirely with the home institution in line with the rules, regulations and procedures laid out by that institution and the accrediting association to which the institution belongs. With this in mind you should familiarise yourself with all the regulations in force at your own institution prior to applying to St. Clare's. Top