THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

FACULTY SENATE

Senate Document Number 0206F

Date of Senate Approval 11/09/06

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

Sense of the Senate Resolution: Deadlines for Grades: Fall, 2006

1. CHANGE IN FALL 2006 CALENDAR DEADLINES

Current Schedule New Schedule

Tuesday (December 12) finals end Tuesday (December 12) Finals End

Thursday (December 14) noon: grades due Wednesday (December 13) noon: senior grades due

Friday (December 15) noon: all grades due

Saturday (December 16) Graduation Saturday (December 16) graduation

Faculty are encouraged to submit their grades, especially for seniors, as soon as possible rather than waiting until the deadline.

2. ASSESSMENT

The Registrar’s Office will report to APC in February on two issues: the ability of the office to

complete their task in the time allotted and the degree to which faculty complied with the deadline.

RATIONALE

This fall UNCA experiments with a December graduation. Early estimates indicate between 160 and 170 students will be eligible to participate. Before a student can graduate, the Registrar’s Office must certify seniors as having met graduation requirements. The complexity of the task is one reason why senior grades must be submitted early. The traditional UNCA practice has been for faculty to submit senior grades before the final examination period.

Realizing the difficulties associated with submitting senior grades early, the individual responsible for certification is willing to do what she can to alleviate the burden. The change in the deadlines for the Fall, 2006 semester permits seniors to take exams with other students, while still allowing the certification process to be completed in time for the ceremony.

This is a short term solution to a burden placed on the registrar’s office. The assessment report will aid in planning for possible future December graduations and help APC determine whether it might be possible to do away with early senior grades for the spring semester.