You will receive a grade of "K" for work in progress, which is not factored into your GPA. The best examples of the use of the “K” grade are for the Senior Honors Thesis Program, which extends over three quarters, the Certificate in Civic Engagement Capstone Project, which extends over two quarters, or for study abroad.
You may withdraw from a course without any academic implications until the end of the 6th week of classes.
You may request permission for a “late drop” after the deadline until the end of the 8th week of the term, and before the due date of the final assessment of the class in question. At this stage, all approved withdrawals will result in a “W” (withdrawal) being posted to the transcript. You will be asked to attest that the due date for the final assessment in the particular course has not been reached. If you request a withdrawal after the final assessment date has been reached, you will be in violation of the academic integrity policy.
You must discuss dropping a course with a grade of “W” with your adviser or the SESP Assistant Dean for Student Affairs prior to the deadline.
You can find out more about Course Withdrawal from the Office of the Registrar.
You will receive a grade of “P” or “N” if you take a course under the Pass/No Pass option. The maximum number of courses you may take under the Pass/No Pass system is six. Coursework in which you earn a “P” may only be counted as an elective.
You will receive a grade of “NR,” meaning “not reported,” if your professor does not submit a grade by the deadline. This grade, while it appears on your transcript, is not factored into your GPA. You should follow up with your professor to ask them to submit your final grade.
You may make a change of grade request of your instructor only if such a request is based on a clerical or computational error in computing the grade. You may not request a grade change for re-doing or submitting extra work, for taking an exam over, or for re-evaluating your work after the grades of other students in the class have been submitted to the Office of the Registrar.
All grade disputes must be initiated within six weeks from the end of the quarter in which the student received the grade. In the School of Education and Social Policy, once a faculty member gives a final grade, that grade is final. In the event that an instructor makes an error in the reporting of a final grade, they will complete a change of grade form online through CAESAR. Students who are dissatisfied with the grading in a class should discuss their grade dissatisfaction with the instructor. Students who believe a grade was given in a prejudicial or capricious manner may appeal according to the following procedures.
A student alleging prejudicial or capricious grading may petition the assistant dean for student affairs. The standard for prejudicial or capricious grading is strict; a student must demonstrate that s/he was treated differently from others in the class because of prejudice or that the assignment of the grade represented a substantial departure from the instructor’s previously announced standards.
If the matter remains unresolved following the petition to the assistant dean, subsequent appeals would go first to the director of undergraduate education, and if still unresolved, finally, to the dean. In all cases, no one other than the instructor may change a student’s grade.
Nothing in this policy shall limit a student¹s rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to request that a grade be changed on the grounds that it is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the privacy rights of a student. A full copy of the FERPA policy is available here.
Northwestern University does not discriminate or permit discrimination by any member of its community against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, marital status, age, disability, citizenship, veteran status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by law in matters of admissions, employment, housing, or services or in the educational programs or activities it operates.
A full copy of the policy is available here.
If you are told that your grade will be changed, you should check your online transcript to make sure that the grade has indeed been changed.