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Tips for Midterm Grades

Students will be able to view midterm grades via Student Self-Service during the eighth week of the semester.

ESF Mid-Term policy states, Faculty shall provide mid-term grades for undergraduate students only. Such grades are a progress report for the undergraduate students to serve as an evaluation of the quality of the work to date. Mid-term grades are informational, therefore do not become part of the student’s permanent record.

Mid-term grades shall be submitted within seven (7) calendar days after the designated midterm date set by the Registrar’s Office. These grades should reflect the standing of each student based on the current coursework completed.

 

How to Prepare for Midterms

  • Be ready for midterms and evaluate your own progress.
  • Be ready for midterms. Review your syllabus and make sure that you are up to date. Attend your classes, complete your assignments, consult with your instructor or TA when necessary, do all of your assigned reading, and review your notes. Midterms do not necessarily imply midterm examinations; rather midterms are a snapshot of where you are at the halfway point of the semester. Don’t assume that you can catch up in the second half of the term if you get behind in the first half. Remember that your midterm grade is not necessarily an accurate predictor of your final grade; the course syllabus may provide information about how final grades are computed. Ask your instructor or TA if they will be providing midterm grades.
  • Evaluate your own progress before midterms. Have you done all of your assignments? How many quizzes and/or tests have you taken? What grades have you received? Have you attended all your classes and lab/discussion sessions? Have you been an active participant in classroom discussions? Have you completed assigned problem sets and/or reading? If your grades for a class are on Blackboard, do you regularly review them?

 

Reviewing your midterm grades

  • Check your midterm grades as soon as they are available and evaluate your progress after midterms.
  • Check your midterm grades as soon as they are available. To review your midterms, go to your myESF Banner account and click on “grades”. If you do not see midterm grades posted, you can check your class Blackboard site or contact your instructor for information on your progress in the course.
  • Evaluate your progress after midterms. Are you satisfied with your performance in all of your courses? If so, keep up the good work. If not, take responsibility and develop an action plan. Generally speaking, more of the same will not improve your performance in a course. You may need to adjust your level of effort, your study skills, your reading comprehension, and/or your attendance record. You may need to seek outside help in the way of a study group, academic support services, or tutoring. You may need to do all of these things. See the list of academic support services and resources below to help you get started.

 

Talking with your Instructor about your Grade

  • See your instructor and/or TA. If you are disappointed in your performance in one or more courses, plan on going to office hours. The following tips will help you prepare for seeing your instructor:
  • Take responsibility for your performance in the course. Own up to any classes, assignments, or reading you may have missed. Most instructors are not going to be sympathetic to students who claim not to know why a midterm grade was low when their attendance, assignments, reading, class participation, and/or test grades have been below expectations for the course.
  • Be prepared. Develop a list of questions related to the course or reading materials. Ask specific questions about concepts you don’t understand. Focus on what you think you need to do to better understand the material and check with the instructor to see if you are on the right track. Instructors may be aware of support services available through the department or the college to supplement the information taught in the course. In addition, they may be aware of additional reading materials that students can explore to help them better understand what is being taught.

 

Concerned about midterm grades? What are your options?

See your advisor. If you are disappointed in your performance in one or more courses, see your academic advisor. An advisor can help you evaluate academic policies and requirements related to the course/s that you are doing poorly in. An advisor can provide information on available academic support services. An advisor can walk you through any choices that might be available to you. Consider the information and resources below to help you prepare for meeting with your advisor.  If you have circumstances that have affected your academic performance, be sure to tell the advisor.

 

Resources to help you improve your grades

If you would like to improve your performance in one or more courses, please consider utilizing one or more of the following resources:

  • Academic Success Center provides academic coaching and workshops
    • To make an academic coaching appointment, contact Iman Wilkinson at [email protected].
    • To attend an “SOS—Save Our Semester” workshop, view the schedule on Engage.
  • Academic Support Services provide tutoring for a variety of subjects. Visit the appointment scheduler to make an appointment with Academic Success Peer Tutoring, Public Speaking Lab, Writing Resource Center, or English for Speakers for Other Languages (ESOL) Center.
  • Math Center provides drop-in math support. You can also view resources on Blackboard by searching Math Center in the Organizations tab once you log-in.
  • Counseling Center provides mental health services to support student well-being, promote personal and academic success, and foster a healthy campus community.
  • TimelyCare provides 24/7 virtual mental health and health care.