ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

POLICY AND PROCEDURE STATEMENT

Reference

AA

Issued By

PRESIDENT

Section

Responsible Officer

VPAA

1-1

Date Issued

2 February 2010

Date Revised

Serial No.
Academic and
Administrative Affairs No. of Pages

TITLE:

I.

POLICIES ON GRADING

PURPOSE OF GRADING
Grades serve, above all, to evaluate the students performance. They are meant to
signify how well the student did, measured principally in relation to the instructors
expectations, quantifiable in terms of examinations, assignments, projects and other
parameters.
Specifically, grades are given to:

II.

1.

provide students with accurate signals about the quality of their work, which
in turn helps them to calibrate the effectiveness of their efforts;

2.

help convey the achievements rather than effort; grades are meant to signify
what students actually accomplished, not how hard students tried or how much
the students improved; and/or

3.

enable the identification of students who may require special assistance, or

may need to change direction or take some time away from the Institute, in
order to make further academic progress.

GUIDELINES ON STANDARDS
Instructors are guided to ensure that:
1.

there are explicit learning outcomes, clear criteria, and where possible,
statements of the various levels of achivement. This will enable students to be
aware of what is valued and what will be rewarded.

2.

a close match between the assessment tasks the knowledge and skills these
tasks are capable of determining and the intended learning outcomes.

3.

the grades awarded make a direct link between the intended learning outcomes
and students actual performance on assessment tasks.

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AA-3-1-1: POLICIES ON GRADING

III.

4.

assessment tasks are capable of detecting the higher-order learning outcomes

that characterize higher education.

5.

there is ongoing assessment on the appropriateness of learning outcomes and

grading with people teaching in the same discipline.

6.

the grading standards are drawn up in coordination with other instructors

within the FoS/program and School. Each FoS/program and School should
review the course and research grades each semester to ensure similarity of
grading standards within a FoS/program and School.

METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
1.

The course instructor is responsible for assessing the individual performance of

students in his/her course. Instructors should announce in the first week of the
course the method of assessment to be employed and should circulate a course
outline. Assessment may be based on oral or written examination, project
reports and/or assignments.

2.

Instructors are encouraged to address the following methods of assessment and

communicate them to the students:
a.

Will I grade on an absolute (criterion-based standard) or on a

relative (norm-referenced) standard? Absolute grading is
encouraged, whenever possible.

b.

What are my reasons for choosing the method I will use?

c.

What do I consider as outstanding or excellent performance?

d.

How should an average student perform?

e.

What are my reasons for allowing or not allowing students

opportunities to earn extra credit?

f.

What are my values concerning student attendance, class participation,

and completion of assignments?

g.

Will I depend upon a single method of assessing students learning or

will I use a variety of methods (exams, assignments, presentations,
etc.)?

h.

Have I described my grading plan adequately to students in writing and

orally at the beginning of the course?

i.

How will I handle late or missing assignments?

j.

How will I grade group projects/reports? How should I assess and

identify the contribution of each student in groupworks?

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AA-3-1-1: POLICIES ON GRADING

3.

IV.

Mid-Semester Grading
a.

Mid-semester grading is compulsory for all semester-long courses and

must be reported to the Registry by the middle of the ninth week of the
semester. Students are informed of their grades at the end of the tenth
week and School Deans receive the complete list of grades for students
in his/her School. The Deans subsequently inform the student Advisors
concerned. Mid-semester grades are not recorded on the official
transcript, but can be viewed in the SIS.

b.

The purpose of mid-semester grades is to provide an indication of a

students progress for his/her own benefit and for that of the Advisor.

GUIDELINES ON THE AIT GRADING SYSTEM

PROGRAMS
1.

FOR GRADUATE

Definition of Course Grades. The grade assigned to a student in each course which
he/she takes for credit is based on a letter system. The letters which are used have the
following significance and grade points for the calculation of grade point average
(GPA):
Grade

Definition

Grade Points

Excellent. Thorough knowledge and mastery of concepts

and/or techniques together with a high degree of skill and/or
great originality in satisfying the requirements of a piece of
work or course

4.00

B+

Very Good. Thorough knowledge and mastery of concepts

and/or techniques together with a fairly high degree of skill
in the use of those concepts and techniques in satisfying the
requirements of a piece of work or course

3.50

Good.Good level of knowledge or mastery of concepts

and/or techniques with a considerable skill in using them in
satisfying the requirements of a piece of work or course

3.00

C+

Near Competent. Level of knowledge or mastery of concepts

and/or techniques requires more efforts to satisfy the
requirements of a piece of work or course.

2.50

Deficient. Level of knowledge or mastery of concepts and/or

techniques requires intensive efforts to satisfy the
requirements of a piece of work or course.

2.00

Highly Deficient. Knowledge or mastery of concepts and /or

techniques and understanding of the subject matter
unacceptably low.

1.00

Failing. Very poor with very limited knowledge or limited

mastery and understanding of concepts and/or techniques;
comprehension of the subject matter is very limited.

Incomplete. Course may be completed at a later time without

prejudice

0
-

A passing grade refers to any grade above 1 and a

failing grade refers to grade equal to 1 or below.
Note: (a) To qualify for the degree of Doctor, a student must maintain a cumulative grade point
average of not less than 3.50; while (b) a masters student must achieve a final cumulative grade
point average of not less than 2.75 in all courses. For further details, please refer to the Academic
Regulations: http://www.ait.ac.th/admissions/academic_regulations.html
Pass/Fail

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AA-3-1-1: POLICIES ON GRADING

2.

Grade Point Average. The grade point average is calculated by averaging (with
weighting according to the number of credits that each course carries) all the grade
points obtained in every course taken for credit except those graded with Pass/Fail. One
semester credit is earned from a course for each hour of lecture, two hours of workshop
or seminar or three hours of laboratory work per week for a semester, provided the
student has registered to take the course for credit. Whilst grades D and F count toward
the computation of the cumulative average, the courses in which a student received
these grades do not count toward the total credit requirement for degrees or the
Diploma.

3.

Incomplete. The grade 'I' (Incomplete) can be given only if: a) there is a special
reason, accepted by the course instructor, which makes it impossible for an individual
student to be graded before the meeting of the Academic Senate (Review of
Students); b) there are other special reasons which are accepted by the Academic
Senate.

4.

a.

An 'I' grade given in any course and reported to Academic Senate will be
recorded on the transcript. Registration for the course in subsequent semester
should take place and the new grade given by the Instructor recorded on the
transcript without deleting the 'I' grade.

b.

An 'I' grade will subsequently be converted to 'F' unless the course is

satisfactorily completed at a time specified by the Instructor, which must not
be later than one semester from the time at which the final grade would
normally have been recorded.

c.

Courses spanning two-semesters, when not completed at the end of two

semesters will be given an incomplete I grade. If at the end of the
subsequent semester in which the course remains incomplete, the I grade
for these courses will be converted to fail F.

Pass/Fail. The pass/fail grading can be used if knowledge and mastery of

concepts or techniques or the degree of skill in the use of those concepts and
techniques cannot be assessed precisely enough to assign a letter grade.
Instructors teaching a course graded on a Pass/Fail method must like any other
course, have a specific set of requirements, what are to be assessed and the method of
assessment.
5.

Definition of Thesis/Research Study/Project Grades. When grading, attention

should be paid on the following areas with emphasis varying for thesis,
research study and project in graduate programs:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

question forming and consistent realization

mastering the subject matter
adequacy and relevance of source literature and source critique
application of theoretical and analytical concepts
mastering of research method, material gathering and analysis
significance of solutions to practical problems
innovative thinking
research ethics
use of terminology, language and presentation

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AA-3-1-1: POLICIES ON GRADING

A thesis, research study or project which is judged to be satisfactory shall be accorded

one of the following grades:
Grade

6.

V.

Definition

Excellent

An excellent grade marks an exceptionally skillful and innovative piece of

research. The work clearly and explicitly has significance in the respective
field on a national and international level. The knowledge of previous
research and theoretical discussion is comprehensive, the concepts relevant
and derived skillfully from prior discourse in the respective field. Due to
scientific or practical merits, the work could be published as such or as an
abridged version in a scientific or - in case of a project - practitioners
journal or a similar reviewed publication in the field.

Very Good

Overall, the work indicates the authors independent, critical and innovative
research method, ability to analyze theoretically substantial bodies of
knowledge and problems or the skill to implement solutions to significant
practical assignments. The research goals, concepts and terminology and
research problems are well-determined and skillfully combined into a
theoretical framework. The research methodology is well chosen and
argued, and the gathering and analysis of material has been done with
insight.

Good

The work demonstrates, while not on a high level, the authors ability to
accurately conduct research or in case of a project - prepare solutions to
practical problems. The topic and approach chosen may be conventional.
The methodical choices have been accounted for, if only narrowly. Theories
and research results related to the research subject have been discussed, but
on the whole the approach may be mechanical, merely listing the relevant
research bases. The language range used may be limited.

Fair

The research work is acceptable but there are shortcomings on several

aspects. Research goal and the terminology used may be unclear. The
scientific or practical background may be either too narrow or badly
delimited. Analysis of the material may be incomplete and the presentation
of the results not fully convincing.

Grade Distribution. Grading standards should be set according to the levels of

mastery of the course and the quality of the research as indicated in the grade
definition. Standards and assessment methods should be evaluated and
reviewed over time to ensure differentiation of students varying levels of
mastery, which typically follows a normal distribution.

RIGHT TO REVIEW OR APPEAL ASSESSMENT

1.

A student has the right to review his/her marked scripts (examinations, projects,
assignments, etc.).

2.

If not satisfied with his/her grade, a student may, after the meeting of the
Academic Senate (Review of Students), appeal to the relevant course instructor
for re-assessment. The level of review to be carried out is at the instructor's
discretion.

3.

A student appeal for revision of his/her coursework assessment should be made

to the instructor within one week after grades are released/announced. If
necessary, a student, after seeking help from the Advisor, may make an appeal
through the Field/Area of Study Coordinator and the School Dean for

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AA-3-1-1: POLICIES ON GRADING

recommendation to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

4.

If a student believes that his/her academic performance has been adversely

affected by illness or some other external factor, he/she should consult the
Advisor as soon as possible and before the next meeting of the Academic Senate
(Review of Students).

Effective immediately

Modification History:

1st Revision
Reviewed By:

Senate, 4 November 2009

Institute Education Council, 2 September 2009

2nd Revision
Related Policies
Keywords
Rationale for Revisions:

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