Grades & Appeals

Grades

At the end of each term the university posts . Undergraduate grades and standards are noted in the  (Academic Regulations > 17.1). Graduate grades are noted in the  (FGS Regulations > 7.7). An instructor cannot release final grades; they must be approved first by the School of Architecture committee, and are later released by the university.

All courses are assessed in letter grades, except for ARCH 4004.03: B3 Free Lab (pass/fail), ARCH 6002.03: M1 Free Lab (pass/fail), and ARCH 9013/9009: MArch Thesis (approved/fail).

C– is the lowest clear passing grade in an undergraduate course. D is a marginal grade that the year-end review committee may regard as either a passing grade or a failing grade, depending on the student's overall academic record. A student cannot do supplementary work to raise a grade for an assignment or a course. Supplementary work may be assigned only by a year-end review committee, and only in exceptional cases.

B– is the lowest passing grade in a graduate course. If a graduate student takes a course at another department or university and receives a grade below B–, it will be recorded as an F on the ±«Óãtv transcript.

In courses where grade components are in percentages, the total is converted to a letter grade in the following way: 90–100 = A+; 85–89 = A; 80–84 = A–; 77–79 = B+; 73–76 = B; 70–72 = B–; 65–69 = C+; 60–64 = C; 55–59 = C–; 50–54 = D; 0–49 = F. 

Grade Reassessment

If you are not sure why you received a particular grade or if you think that a grading error was made, check with the instructor. If this does not resolve the question, you may request a grade reassessment by submitting a and your assignment(s) to the Architecture office (not the Registrar's Office), along with the $50 fee, which is refunded if the grade is either raised or lowered. The university's deadlines for requesting a reassessment are March 1 for a fall grade, July 1 for a winter grade, and November 1 for a summer grade. The same appeal procedures are used in the BEDS and MArch programs. For comparison purposes in a reassessment, two other students in the course will be asked to submit their assignments for a few days; their grades will not be affected.

Note: The School's Grade Reassessment process is separate from the Faculty's Academic Appeal process. (Grade reassessments used to be called appeals.)

Appeals

The Faculty of Architecture and Planning office (in Sexton House) handles appeals involving academic standards, academic evaluation, academic progression, and the application of Faculty and University academic regulations. Certain decisions are not appealable: admission; scholarships, awards, and bursaries; and waiving an academic regulation on a compassionate basis. The Faculty does not consider grade reassessment requests; only the School does that.

Probation and Withdrawal

After two or more terms in the BEDS program, a student with a GPA between 1.70 and 2.00 is on probation. A student with a GPA below 1.70 must withdraw from the program. See the (academic regulations 19–20) for details. A graduate student with one failing grade may continue in the program but must withdraw if a second failing grade is received.

Year-end Reviews

The year-end review committees make the final decision on promotion to Year 4 and BEDS graduation. For details, see Year-end Reviews.

Dean's List, Distinction, and Sexton Distinction

A full-time BEDS student who achieves a term GPA between 3.70 and 3.84 will receive a "Dean's List" designation on his/her transcript. A student with a cumulative GPA in this range at the end of the BEDS program will receive the degree with distinction. A GPA of 3.85 or higher will raise this designation to "Sexton Distinction." This does not apply to the MArch program, as the university does not calculate GPAs or award distinctions in graduate programs.

Academic Advice

If you have questions concerning a course, check with the instructor. All academic committees in the School of Architecture have at least one student representative, so any concerns may also be brought there. If you need academic advice about your status in the program, check with the Director or the Undergraduate/Graduate Coordinator.