Dear colleagues,

The end of the fall semester is next week, and this is a very busy time. The purpose of this email is to remind you of a few end-of-the semester expectations:

Please remind students to register for spring semester 2021

Please encourage your students to register for spring semester classes before fall semester ends. If students have not yet met with their academic advisor to discuss spring registration, they need to schedule an appointment in Navigate as soon as possible. Using the Navigate website, students can:

• Schedule an appointment with their advisor
• Look up who their advisor is (if they don’t know)
• Download the Navigate app.

As you know, Navigate is a new advising system. If you or your students encounter any technical difficulties with Navigate, please contact Lindsey Peterson in the Office for Student Success.

Finals Week counts as an instructional week

Instructors should plan to meet with their classes, remotely or face to face, during finals week (Thursday, Nov. 19 – Wednesday, Nov. 25).

Please turn in grades by Tuesday, Dec. 1

With Winter Session beginning Monday, Nov. 30, it is even more critical for instructors to turn in fall semester grades on time so that the Registrar’s Office may proactively address student issues (academic suspension, pre-requisite checks) in a timely manner. As you know, when grades are submitted late, that can

• affect a student’s financial aid, including veteran’s benefits,
• delay a student’s ability to graduate on time,
• affect NCAA eligibility for student-athletes
• cause students to be inadvertently, unknowingly dropped from spring semester courses for which they have registered, and
• delay the determination of a student’s academic standing, thus delaying notifying students of their status (good academic standing, placed on probation, or placed on suspension).

Delays like this can have a snowball effect; the later a student finds out they are on academic probation or suspension, the less likely they are to seek help and get back on track. (And students in good standing won’t be recognized on the dean’s list!)

We all want UM students to reach their full potential, stay at UM, and complete their degrees. Turning your grades in before the deadline is one way that you can help. Below you will find additional information about submitting fall semester grades.

Thanks for all that you do to support our students’ success,

Reed Humphrey, Acting Provost and Maria Mangold, Interim Registrar

Instructions From the Registrar's Office on Grade Submission.

Important Dates

Final grading opens Wednesday, Nov. 18 in CyberBear and closes at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Dec.1, 2020.

Please note that you do not have to enter all grades at the same time, but you do have to enter them between tomorrow (Nov. 18) and Dec. 1. For directions on how to enter grades in CyberBear, please visit the Registrar’s Office grading information website.

NOTE: Instructors of record must submit grades via CyberBear

Grades may only be submitted by an instructor assigned to the course. Instructor assignments can be viewed in the CyberBear dynamic class schedule. To make changes to instructor assignments, please notify the room scheduler and include the CRN, SUBJ, CRSE #, & SECT # of the course and the 790# of the new instructor.

The U.S. Department of Education requires last dates of attendance (LDA) to be entered for grades of F, RF, NCR, and I. LDA can be determined based on missing assignments, quizzes, tests, etc.

• If you choose to use the new upload feature in CyberBear, enter LDA dates in your spreadsheet and the LDA will autofill.
• If you choose to enter grades individually, as in the past, please follow these instructions:
  • Enter all final grades except F, RF, NCR or I.
  • Click save.
  • Enter F, RF, NCR and I grades with the Last Date of Attendance for each student in the format MM/DD/YYYY or click on the calendar and select a day.
  • Click save.
  • Double-check that all grades and the last dates of attendance were successfully saved and are accurate.
  • Refresh your browser to see the most current Grading Status indicators.  If you are finished, they will switch to “Complete”. If some grades are still needed, it will show “In Progress.”
    • The “Rolled” column is not the responsibility of the faculty member.

Not sure whether to assign an “N” or “I” grade?

As described in the UM course catalog, an "I" grade is appropriate for unfinished work and an “N” grade is appropriate for internships, thesis credits, practicums, etc.

• An “I” grade will eventually convert to a failing grade if the work remains incomplete after one calendar year. While “I” grades are unfavorable for future terms of Financial Aid eligibility, they are appropriately assigned in most courses.
• “N” grades are much less common and nuanced; the Registrar’s Office does not recommend their widespread use, except in courses in which the work is designed to span more than one semester (e.g. thesis credits).

Questions? Need help?
Check out the Registrar’s Office video tutorials on grade entry or call us at (406) 243-5600.