After much discussion and deliberation, a new policy will be implemented in Spring 2027 requiring mid-semester letter grades, A-F, for all first-year students, all first-semester transfer students, and all students whose academic performance is a C- or below at the time of submission of the mid-semester grade. Click here to access the full policy.
Letter grades at mid-term will help our newest students navigate their TCU academic experience and consider, seek and utilize TCU’s Student Success strategies, if needed. For faculty, this will help you provide more detailed signposts for assessing students’ learning outcomes.
To make it easier for faculty to utilize letter grade submission, we are waiting until Spring 2027 to implement the policy so we can develop and pilot a grade pass-through directly from the D2L learning management system to the PeopleSoft system. This also will give you additional time to prepare for the policy’s implementation. I have faith that we can take this important step with the least disruptions for faculty and the best outcomes for our students.
This policy was developed as we began discussing strategies almost three years ago to provide students with timely feedback on their course assignments while not overburdening our hard-working faculty. Since fall 2025, we have had discussions and welcomed input from the Provost Council, Deans, Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Faculty Senate, and Student Government Association. The framework for this policy underwent multiple revisions in response to their suggestions and concerns. A timeline of discussions and steps is available here. We expect that this, along with the implementation of the joint Student Government Association-Faculty Senate resolution supporting the adoption of a timely feedback policy, will further facilitate student success.
You work hard to make sure our students receive a premier learning experience. We’ll work with university leadership to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on faculty so you can focus more on your instructional, scholarly, and creative work.