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The public posting of grades by the student’s name, institutional student identification number, or social security number without the student’s written permission is a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Even with names obscured, numeric student identifier numbers are considered personally identifiable information. Therefore, the practice of posting grades by social security number or student identification number violates FERPA.
Instructors and others who post grades should use a system that ensures FERPA requirements are met. This can be accomplished either by obtaining the student’s uncoerced written permission to do so or by using code words or randomly assigned numbers known only to the instructor and individual student. The order of posting should not be alphabetic.
Two grading options are available for instructors when posting grades for students who are to receive an F grade for a course. Students who attended or participated in a course at least one time will be given the traditional F grade, and the instructor is responsible for reporting the last day of attendance or participation. The grade of NF (Non-Participation) is given when a student’s name appears on a final grade report, but there is no record of attendance or other evidence of participation in the course. The NF grade is treated as an F grade in calculating grade point averages.
Participation includes most documented forms of academic activity: attendance in class or labs, graded quizzes, tests, assignments, and participation in online discussions. However, simply logging into a system like Canvas does not constitute participation.
Final grades are available on the unofficial transcript in BANNER or by requesting official transcripts online, by mail or in person. See https://www.usu.edu/registrar/records/access for more information.
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