GENERIC GRADING GUIDELINES FOR NANCY'S GRADUATE COURSES:

These are my guidelines.  Other instructors might have different guidelines.  
UBC rules and department rules are the same for all instructors.

HOW I GRADE:
I record the homework marks, along with comments about where you have had 
trouble.  When I calculate a course grade, I use the homework grades and 
any other grades (eg project grades) in a somewhat subjective way.  That is, 
I don't just add up the numbers, calculate a percent, and then give that grade.  

To help you understand how you are doing in the grad course I'm teaching, how 
I will evaluate you, I've come up with categories based on UBC final course 
grades. UBC grades are on a scale of 0 to 100%.  Of course, the division between
my Category IV and my Category V is only one point!  So the categories are 
guidelines, to give you some idea.

On your homework, I will indicate the category of your work.  This just gives a
rough idea of category, since it's hard to give such a category opinion based on
one homework.

CATEGORY I:
Any grade below 68% has academic consequences for the student. By UBC rules, 
the passing grade is 60% for the Master's students, 68% for PhD students.  This
is not a good category at all.

CATEGORY II: 
A grade of 68% to 75% gives the student credit but indicates the student is 
having some problems. The department requires an over-all academic average of 
75%.   This can certainly happen due to adjusting the course, to UBC, but you 
don't want to stay in this category.
 
CATEGORY III: 
76% to 84% indicates satisfactory work, nothing outstanding.

CATEGORY IV: 
85% to 89% identifies good work. I would probably be happy to direct the student
in a thesis (depending on student's other grades, student's enthusiasm, how many
other students I'm directing).  I would be happy to write a reasonably strong
letter for job applications.
 
CATEGORY V: 
90% to 100% identifies work of a high calibre.  I would be happy to direct the 
student's thesis (depending on student's enthusiasm and how many other students
I'm directing).  I would be very happy to help the student seek a job. I would 
write a very strong letter of recommendation.