Prep Week 

Prep Week 

Final Exam Preparatory Week ("Prep Week") is the week immediately preceding the initial day of the final examination period of a full-term, regular academic semester.  Classes are held according to the regular semester schedule, but there will be no final examinations or other major exams scheduled during this week. Exceptions to this rule must be approved by the Office of Instruction and may only be granted when scheduling an exam during Prep Week directly benefits students (e.g. lab practical exams that would otherwise have to be scheduled during finals week, in addition to the lecture final). Faculty may, at their discretion, make an arrangement with an individual student if the student has a compelling need.  Student activities are allowed, but only insofar as they benefit students and do not require mandatory attendance or extra-curricular work on the part of students. Prep Week constraints do not apply to late-start and short-term courses.

Final Exams and Final Course Grades

Final Exams

All instructors are expected to give final examinations on the day and time at which they are scheduled.  Exceptions to this schedule must have prior approval of the Dean.   Please refer the current Schedule of Classes for the final examination schedule. 

All students are required to take a final exam in all credit courses.  Final exams are not required in noncredit courses.  Students must take the final exam on the scheduled date/time.  Final examinations will not be given in advance of scheduled times unless special permission to do so is granted by the instructor in exceptional cases.  For more information about this policy, refer to the College Catalog.  

Final Course Grades

You must build and maintain your own grade roster for your course(s).  This can easily be accomplished using our Canvas course management system, or by creating an Excel spreadsheet.  Faculty are encouraged to use Canvas for grade tracking so that students have regular access to their grades.  If you are using Canvas as your grade roster, at the end of the semester download the scores into a file as a backup copy for future reference.  

Final course grades are due within five (5) calendar days of the date of the final exam.  It is imperative that faculty adhere to this deadline.  Late submission of grades impacts the ability to evaluate students’ financial aid eligibility, degree/certificate completion, transcript production, and academic standing, etc.  Faculty who do not submit grades by the deadline will be contacted by the Division Dean with procedures for submitting them late.  

Grades are submitted electronically through Banner.  For more information on submitting your final course grades, download the How to Submit Grades 

Once you have submitted the grades online, they cannot be changed online; errors must be fixed with a grade change form (see below). 

Positive Attendance Reporting

Positive Attendance Reporting (anchor here) 

A positive attendance course is any class with fewer than five (5) class meetings and/or meets irregularly for any number of class meetings during the term.  Few courses at Mission College are considered positive attendance courses for attendance accounting purposes.  Check with your Department Chair if you are uncertain if your course is positive attendance. 

Instructors are expected to maintain accurate attendance records for positive attendance courses by creating sign-in sheets to track the hours of attendance by each student.  Record their attendance for every class meeting, including lecture, lab and “by arrangement”.  At the end of the semester, the sign-in sheets should be submitted to A&R.  You can submit either the paper version of the sheets, or a scan of the sheets via DocuSign using your district email address.  If submitting your originals, it is highly recommended that you make a photocopy first.  

For more information on how to use DocuSign, download the DocuSign Quick Steps guide. 

Incompletes and Grade Changes

Incompletes (anchor here) 

Assigning students a grade of “Incomplete” must only be done due to extenuating circumstances.  According to the College Catalog:  Incompletes are given “for unforeseeable, emergency, and justifiable reasons near the end of the term”.  A student who is failing a course and wishes to retake the course does not qualify for an Incomplete.  If a student approaches you about an incomplete, please make it known to him/her that all grades earned up until that point will still count toward their final grade; in other words, they cannot re-take exams, assignments, etc. that they have already taken in an attempt to raise their grade.  

If this student has a verifiable excuse that you accept, then instructors must fill out the incomplete form.  Once completed, supply at copy of the form to A&R and the student; it is highly recommended that you keep a copy for yourself as well.  When submitting your grades online, you will need to give the student a grade of “I”.  

Students who wish to receive an incomplete have one (1) year to complete the course and will not be allowed to re-enroll in the course while an incomplete is pending.  Both instructor and student need to work out arrangements for the work to be completed within a one-year period of the term when the incomplete goes into effect.  As the instructor, you should know that by agreeing to assign an incomplete you are responsible for completing the activities outlined in the Incomplete contract (administering and grading exams, etc.) even if you are not employed by the college at the time that the activities are being completed.  Also, only the instructor on record for the course can change the student’s grade from an Incomplete to a final course grade.  

After all the necessary make-up works have been completed, instructors need to submit a grade change form.  

For security and integrity purposes, incomplete and grade change forms are not available electronically and need to be picked up at A&R.  

Grade Changes

Once you have submitted grades, they cannot be changed online; errors must be fixed with a grade change form.  For security and integrity purposes, grade change forms are not available electronically and need to be obtained from A&R.  Once you have completed the form, deliver a copy to A&R (SEC 118), either by handing the form to a Student Enrollment & Financial Services Advisor at the window or dropping it in the secure box located outside of A&R.  Be sure to retain a copy for yourself.