According to federal regulations[1], an institution must have a procedure for determining whether a Title IV recipient who began attendance during a period completed the period or should be treated as a withdrawal.
Online Class Grading[2] requires instructors to enter either a valid grade or the NG (No Grade) mark for all students officially enrolled in their class. In the event the instructor fails to meet the Online Class Grading deadline for the term, the Registrar's Office will record the NG mark for all students. The NG mark is noted on grade reports and official transcripts until the instructor submits a valid grade to replace the NG. According to Registrar Policy the NG mark is not a grade.
Though the Registrar’s Office does establish a per-term deadline for faculty grade submissions, a small percentage of full class sections and students within class sections are not awarded standard grades by this deadline. Of this group of initially “non-graded” classes/students, the Registrar’s Office receives grades from the instructors for the majority within approximately three weeks. Yet, a number of classes/students will remain “ungraded”, perhaps indefinitely, with the NG mark remaining as part of the student(s)’ permanent record. Consequently, the Bursar’s Office is compelled to establish policy and procedures to comply with Federal Title IV Regulations[3] as it pertains to the Return of Title IV funds (R2T4). This policy should not be considered a Registrar policy; nor should this policy be viewed as an official grade change, which would amend the student’s official transcript. It is simply an interpretation of the NG mark to facilitate compliance with Federal Title IV Regulations. Therefore, this policy only pertains to those students receiving Title IV funds and will determine the student’s classification with relation to the Return of Title IV (R2T4) process.
If a student receiving Title IV aid receives a mark of NG for one or more classes and does not receive an earned grade of completion for a class (such as an A, B, C, etc.), the student will have three weeks to receive an earned grade of completion for at least one class before the NG marks are considered as non-completion for the R2T4 process. An earned grade of completion is defined as any grade other than U, W, WX, or UW. The process will be handled in the following ways:
If a student officially withdraws from all classes, except for the one(s) in which he/she receives a NG mark, the student will be considered to be an official withdrawal from all classes. The withdrawal date used will be the date of the last class that the student withdrew from[4]. For example:
- John Doe is an undergraduate student that enrolls for four classes at three credit hours each, in the fall quarter. John then officially withdraws from two of the classes on November 18th and then a third class on November 19th, for which he receives the grades of “W”. John fails to officially withdraw from his fourth class and at the end of the term the instructor gives John the mark of “NG”, instead of a valid grade. In this situation, John’s classification for R2T4 purposes would be considered an official withdrawal as of November 19th.
If a student unofficially withdraws from all classes, except for the one(s) in which he/she receives a NG mark, the student will be considered to be an unofficial withdrawal from all classes. The date of withdrawal will be the 50% date normally used for an unofficial withdrawal as prescribe by R2T4 regulations[5]. In the situation where a student is only taking one class for the term and he/she receives only a NG mark for that class, the student will be considered an unofficial withdrawal. This is due to the lack of an official withdrawal date. For example:
- Jane Doe is an undergraduate student that enrolls for four classes at three credit hours each, in the fall quarter. Jane fails to officially withdraw from all of her classes. One instructor gives Jane the mark of “NG”, instead of a valid grade. Jane now has three “UW’s” for the quarter and one “NG” mark. In this situation, Jane’s classification for R2T4 purposes would be considered an unofficial withdrawal.
- James Smith is a graduate student that enrolls for one class at 5 credit hours, in the fall quarter. James fails to officially withdraw from his class and the instructor gives him the mark of “NG” at the end of the term, which is not considered to be a valid grade. In this situation, James is classified as an unofficial withdrawal for R2T4 purposes, due to not having an official withdrawal date or grade of completion.
In the event that a student has a combination, such as officially withdraws from a class, unofficially withdraws from a class, does not participate in a class and then has a NG mark for another class, the withdrawal date will be the later of the withdrawal or the 50% date used for unofficial withdrawals[6]. For example:
- Jane Doe is an undergraduate student that enrolls for three classes at three credit hours each, in the fall quarter. Jane officially withdraws from one class on November 19th and fails to officially withdraw from all of her other classes, but for one of her classes the instructor gives Jane the mark of “NG”, instead of a valid grade. Jane now has one “W”, one “UW” and one “NG” mark for the quarter. In this situation, Jane’s classification for R2T4 purposes would be considered an official withdrawal, since the official withdrawal date for her first class was later than the 50% date of the quarter.
- Jane Doe is an undergraduate student that enrolls for three classes at three credit hours each, in the fall quarter. Jane does not participate in one class and fails to officially withdraw from all of her other classes, but for one of her classes the instructor gives Jane the mark of “NG”, instead of a valid grade. Jane now has one “X”, one “UW” and one “NG” mark for the quarter. In this situation, Jane’s classification for R2T4 purposes would be considered an unofficial withdrawal. The withdrawal date would be the 50% date that would be used in a normal unofficial withdrawal for R2T4.
- Jane Doe is an undergraduate student that enrolls for three classes at three credit hours each, in the fall quarter. Jane does not participate in one class and officially withdraws from a class November 19th, but for one of her classes the instructor gives Jane the mark of “NG”, instead of a valid grade. Jane now has one “X”, one “W” and one “NG” mark for the quarter. In this situation, Jane’s classification for R2T4 purposes would be considered an official withdrawal as of November 19th.
- Jane Doe is an undergraduate student that enrolls for three classes at three credit hours each, in the fall quarter. Jane does not participate in two classes, but for one of her classes the instructor gives Jane the mark of “NG”, instead of a valid grade. Jane now has Two “X” grades and one “NG” mark for the quarter. In this situation, Jane’s classification for R2T4 purposes would be as a non-participant and the student’s withdrawal date would be the day before the first day of the term.
Once grades are finalized for a term a query will be ran to identify students meeting the above situations. Student Account’s staff will then send an e-mail to the student(s) (with a copy to the instructor and dean of the college offering the class) UConnect email account (formally Bearcat Online (BOL)) informing them that they have 3 weeks to resolve the NG mark. Otherwise we have no alternative but to follow federal regulations and process the R2T4 as required by law. All e-mails will be sent to the official university e-mail address per University policy.
