Student work is evaluated throughout the semester through examinations, quizzes, research and writing assignments, projects and participation in class discussions. Final exams and/or projects typically comprise less than 50 percent of the final grade for a course.

Grading Guidelines for Faculty

The following guidelines* are not intended to dictate exact grade distributions in courses but are rather intended to prevent grade inflation and to provide useful benchmarks for the benefit of course instructors and external reviewers. Not all courses will assign A's or F's for instance, depending on the actual quality of work submitted by the students.

A 'D' grade does not count towards credits in a major area of study, nor does it count towards prerequisites for other courses.

A typical Grade Point Average (GPA) for a course is approximately 3.0. (This GPA would result, for example, from 23% A's, 50% B's, 20% C's, 5% D's, and 2% F's.) A class whose GPA falls outside the range 2.7 - 3.3 should be considered atypical, and instructors for such courses should submit an explanation for the deviation from the norm in order to facilitate external examiner review of the course.

Instructors have discretion to adjust final grades upwards or downwards by 0.3 - 0.7 points, on the basis of class participation, class attendance, and timely submission of assignments. For example, a student who earns a B- on the basis of final score alone may be awarded a final grade of B or B+ if he or she regularly attended classes and demonstrated a good understanding of the material during classroom discussions. Conversely, a student who earns a B- on the basis of final score alone may be awarded a final grade of C+ or C if he/she consistently skipped classes, consistently submitted assignments after prescribed deadlines, and/or did not demonstrate a deep understanding of the material during class discussions.

Instructors for courses that involve significant writing and critical analysis should consider the following guidelines in assigning grades.

Class Attendance

Attending and participating in class, laboratory sessions and discussion sessions are essential to the process of learning at Ashesi University. Students benefit from lectures and discussions with their teachers and classmates. By missing classes, students are failing to take advantage of and contribute to the full potential of Ashesi’s educational experience. As such, teachers will take attendance and participation into account in assigning students’ grades. While each teacher will determine how class attendance affects students’ grades, general guidelines at Ashesi University are as follows.

• Any absence may affect the student’s grade.
• Teachers are not required to administer substitute assignments or examinations for students who have missed class without prior notification.
• If a student misses more than two weeks of classes during a quarter or three weeks over the course of a semester, a teacher may fail the student in the course, request that the course be repeated or, in the event that the absence was due to a proven illness or other emergency, may give the student an Incomplete grade and allow the course to be completed upon the student’s return to the school.

Probation and Dismissal

Students will be placed on academic probation if at the end of any semester their cumulative grade-point average is less than 2.0 (C average) computed on the total of all courses undertaken at the University. Students will be subject to dismissal from Ashesi University if (1) they fail to make normal degree progress, (2) their semester grade-point averages fall below 1.5 for any one semester, or (3) after one semester on probation they have not achieved a cumulative grade point average of 2.0.

Course Load

The normal course load for students is 4 to 4 1/2 units per semester. Because the academic performance of students who take additional courses is often impacted negatively, only students with a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better will be able to take an additional course in a semester. Even then, such students must receive permission from their academic advisors before taking on an additional course.

Repeating a Course

A course may be repeated one time for the purpose of removing the effect of a poor grade, if the grade on record is D+, D or F. Only the most recently earned grade points will be used in computing grade-point averages; the course will not be counted a second time toward graduation requirements. Repeated courses will be identified as such on the student’s permanent record. The student should notify the Registrar’s Office of the intent to repeat a course.

Incomplete Grade

An Incomplete (I) grade may be assigned only if the work in a course has been of passing quality but is incomplete due to circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as illness. Requests must be approved in writing by an instructor, prior to the deadline for the submission of term grades. An Incomplete grade must be replaced by a final grade by the first day of the following semester. Any Incomplete grade not replaced within the above deadlines will be converted to a Failure (F).

Repetition of a course in which an Incomplete was received will cause that Incomplete to lapse immediately into a Failure (F). The grade-point average will reflect grade points earned on the second attempt of the course; the course units are counted only once toward graduation requirements.

Academic Honours

Dean's List
Students with a GPA of 3.5 or above at the end of a semester are placed on the Dean’s List. This status is noted on each student's academic record.

Graduation Honours
Students who earn a cumulative GPA of 3.5 for all undergraduate work earn Cum Laude (honors). Those with a cumulative GPA of 3.7 for all undergraduate work earn Magna Cum Laude (high honors). Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.85 for all undergraduate work earn Summa Cum Laude (highest honors).

For the sake of clarification, the following table indicates how Ashesi's classification of degrees maps on to the classification system at the University of Cape Coast.