U Grade Reporting for Student Success

Faculty are key stakeholders in your students’ success and critical partners in Academic Affairs’ Student Success efforts. The submission of U grades is a clear expectation stated in the TCU Faculty Handbook and are due between week five and week seven of every semester.

The goal of TCU’s Student Success team is to increase faculty’s response to Unsatisfactory (U) grade reporting at each mid-semester point (as of Fall 2024, 70% of faculty submit U grade reports) so they can intervene to change the outcome (from Fall 2021 to Spring 2024, approximately 25% of TCU students receiving a U grade at mid-semester received a final grade of D, F or no-credit for the class).

Early intervention is key in assisting students to understand their standing and take action to be successful in their classes.

Typically, U grades serve as a notification that a student’s work is below C level or consistently late, they are not participating in required discussions, or they are not attending class regularly.  U-grade reporting helps Student Success identify students at risk, make sure they are aware of the significance of a U grade, engage them in the process to address concerns and deficits, and connect them with academic support services and campus resources as soon as possible.

Beginning Spring 2025, once U grades are submitted to the Registrar, members of our Student Success team spring into action to:

• reach out to each student individually and acknowledge and explain the U grade
• encourage the student to meet with their faculty member during office hours or at another convenient time to receive feedback and develop a plan of action to improve their grade
• share the following resources relevant to U grades, studentsuccess.tcu.edu/u-grades
• encourage the student to touch base with their academic advisor if they have questions about their schedule, major or selecting courses for next semester.

In addition, students with multiple U grades or who are part of a community on campus with dedicated staff (e.g., transfers, BIPOC students, veterans, fraternity/sorority members, etc.) will receive additional communication from their respective staff offering support.

NOTE: If faculty have concerns about a student for any reason ranging from student success to concerning behaviors or absences, submit a Student of Concern form which will go to the Dean of Students office and be assigned to an additional Student Success stakeholder for timely follow-up.