COLLEGE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
MEMORANDUM NO. 5

ATTENDANCE, WITHDRAWALS, AND GRADE REPORTING

Revised: April 6, 2000

This Policies and Procedures memorandum rescinds Memorandum 3, issued on December 20, 1967; Memorandum 90, issued on January 31, 1975; Memorandum 23A, issued on August 2, 1978; Memorandum 95, issued on January 29, 1976; Memorandum 106A, issued May 12, 1982; and Memorandum 121, issued April 12, 1983. It incorporates the intent of these memoranda and is hereby reissued as Policies and Procedures Memorandum No. 5, Attendance, Withdrawals and Grade Reporting.

ARTICLE I Required Attendance Records (Replaces Policies and Procedures 3, 90, & 95)

In order to satisfy present and anticipated requirements of various governmental offices and agencies which fund our operation and support our students, it will be necessary for the College to maintain and have available accurate attendance records of all students throughout each academic term. Effective February 2, 1976 each full-time and adjunct member of the instructional staff will be held responsible for maintaining such attendance records and, when inquiries are made or audit questions arise, attesting to their accuracy and completeness. Attendance records for a given semester should be kept on file long enough to satisfy the requirement of Section 35.66 of the State Board of Education Regulations which stipulates that:

"Official accounts and supporting data shall be retained for a period of three years after the close of the fiscal year in which the transaction took place, or until notified that a Commonwealth fiscal audit of such accounts has been made, whichever is later not exceeding five years."

At the end of both the third week and seventh week of classes during regular terms and at the end of the equivalent of the third week of classes for summer and accelerated terms, faculty will certify the attendance records, which are mandated for reimbursement purposes by the Commonwealth auditors. The Office of Student Records & Registration will provide, at the times indicated, the Student Attendance Report forms for this purpose. Each faculty member will return such reports with the appropriate indication, for each student listed, as follows:

Attendance is satisfactory
Attendance is not satisfactory
Never attended

Individual departments of the College may, because of special demands imposed by outside agencies or the exigencies of certain courses, establish particular attendance requirements for students enrolled in designated programs and courses providing the department stipulates such in writing and advises students of the requirements at the beginning of the term.

If a student misses the equivalent of two (2) weeks work in any class without an acceptable excuse, the teacher may initiate an official "Drop" form for the student and send it to the Director of Student Records & Registration who will inform the student and change the permanent record accordingly.

After the end of the eleventh week of classes, in a given semester, no "Drop" form for attendance may be executed. In these cases the teacher must assign a final grade.

With this policy, the attendance records may serve a useful secondary purpose in providing information needed by students seeking verification of claims relative to academic records, financial aid, and refunds.

ARTICLE II Change in Time Period During Which a Student May Withdraw From a Course Without Academic Penalty (Replaces Policies and Procedures 23A)

1. A student has the privilege of withdrawing from a course or courses without academic penalty up to and including the eleventh (11th) week of a regular semester, and up to and including the equivalent of the eleventh (11th) week in a nonstandard term.
2. If the official withdrawal form is filed with the Office of Student records and Registration within the established time limit, the student's grade report will show the grade W (withdrawn).
3. If the official withdrawal form is not filed within the established time limit, the student's grade report will show F (failure).
4. The appropriate form will be provided by the Office of Student Records & Registration.

ARTICLE III Mid-Semester Grade Reporting (Replaces Policies and Procedures 106A)

In the interest of assuring earlier feedback to students, thus facilitating an earlier student decision, each instructor shall submit a mid-semester letter grade for each student in his/her classes. This shall be done at the time of the Mid-Semester Attendance & Grade Report, using the form provided by the Office of Student Records & Registration.

Mid-term attendance and grades need to be reported only for semesters in excess of ten weeks.

ARTICLE IV Grading System of Community College of Philadelphia (Replaces Policies and Procedures 121)

Effective September, 1998, with the implementation of P & P 104F, the grading system of the College will be as follows: