New, federally mandated grade notations have been added to the University grading system that could possibly help students on financial aid, Michael George, University Registrar, said.

“A ‘NA’ grade denotes that the student has never attended any meeting time for the course,” George said. “A ‘DO’ grade denotes that the student attended at least one or more meeting times for the course.”

George added that these notions will not appear on a student’s transcript.

“When the faculty assigns a ‘DO’, the faculty will be asked to indicate the last recorded date of class attendance or, if that information is not available, the approximate date when class participation stopped,” George said. “If the date the student stopped attending/participating is beyond the last day to drop with a ‘W,’ faculty will post an ‘F’ grade, rather than a ‘DO.’”

George said these notions were implemented from the federal government regarding students who receive federal financial aid but stop attending class.

“Students must attend classes to receive their federal funding,” George said. “If not, repayment or adjustment in federal aid is necessary.  Creation and reporting of these grades was the ‘remedy’ chosen by the University to avoid a current or future multi-million dollar fine being levied against UA by the Federal Government because we were not documenting the last recorded date of class attendance.”

This change will not apply to students who drop a course or withdraw from the University, George said. The change is only for students who never attend or stop attending classes and do not officially drop the course or withdraw from the University.

“For any student who possesses a combination of ‘NA,’ ‘DO,’ or ‘W’ for all registered courses for the term, Student Receivables will make adjustments in the student’s financial aid,” George said.

Clair Cook, a senior majoring in hospitality management, said she thinks some of the change is important but not every aspect.

“I think that the ‘NA’ is a good, but I don’t think that the ‘DO’ is really necessary,” Cook said. “I mean if someone went once or twice then stopped going why not just put an incomplete? I think they might be getting a little too specific.”

The additional notations give the faculty a more descriptive choice, George said.

“[The notations] represent reality rather than a grade of ‘I,’ ‘F,’ or no grade at all,” George said. “In addition, they provide the University an early alert that students are having problems and some intervention may be appropriate by the University.”

Alison Landry, a junior majoring in criminal profiling, disagreed with Cook’s opinion.

“I think the fact that they added the ‘DO’ helps a lot of students out,” Landry said. “I know so many people who went to class once or twice and thought they dropped it long before the withdrawal date only to find out they didn’t and received an ‘Incomplete’ or ‘F’ on their transcript.”

George said both of the notations will be posted online using myBama. The “NA” can be assigned throughout the semester, but the “DO” will only appear prior to and including the last day to drop with a “W.”

“UA is not the first University to implement this protocol,” George said. “Similar grading notations have already been adopted by many, many other higher education institutions.”

Gary Khandjian, a senior majoring in business, said he agrees with the new notations.

“It sounds like they are really trying to crack down on federal funding,” Khandjian said. “The ‘NA’ and ‘DO’ will help a lot because they aren’t so specific. They can apply to different cases and when there are special circumstances.”

George added that this change does not replace a student’s responsibility to attend classes or letting the University know that he or she has withdrawn.

“Though the option is available for an instructor to submit an ‘NA/DO’ grade, as appropriate, it does not guarantee that a student who simply stops attending without officially withdrawing may not receive an ‘F’ grade,” George said.

Patty Vaughan contributed to this report.