Grades & Appeals

Grades

At the end of each term the university posts grades online. Undergraduate grades and standards are noted in the undergraduate calendar (Academic Regulations > 17.1). Graduate grades are noted in the graduate calendar (FGS Regulations > 7.6.2). 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 Dalhousie 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. 

Appeals

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 appeal the grade by referring to the appeal procedure [PDF] and then submitting an appeal request [PDF] and your course work 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 deadline for requesting a "reassessment of a final grade" is noted in the undergraduate calendar, but students are encouraged to apply a month earlier (October 1 for a summer grade, February 1 for a fall grade, June 1 for a winter grade) so that any appeals can be resolved as soon as possible. The same appeal procedures are used in the BEDS and MArch programs. For comparison purposes in an appeal session, several other students in the course will be asked to submit their work for a few days; their grades will not be affected.

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 undergraduate calendar (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.