**'''What happens if I fail a class?''' Incompletes and extensions are only granted in cases of extreme eternal problems such as serious illness or family emergencies. When you fail a class you do not get credit for it and forfeit the tuition. If it is a required class you will need to repeat it.

**'''Who will this effect?''' This effects all ITP students who began the program in or after the Summer of 2008. Students who started at ITP prior to Summer 2008 will continue to receive letter grades, as will non-ITP students. Faculty please note: you will have to fill out two types of grades sheets if your course has non-program (or longer-tenured ITP) students who receive letter grades as well as current ITP students enrolled in it.

**'''Who will this effect?''' This effects all ITP students who began the program in or after the Summer of 2008. Students who started at ITP prior to Summer 2008 will continue to receive letter grades, as will non-ITP students. Faculty please note: you will have to fill out two types of grades sheets if your course has non-program (or long-term ITP) students who receive letter grades as well as current ITP students enrolled in it.

The ITP faculty, after a great deal of thought, decided to move ITP to a Pass/Fail grading system beginning in the Fall 2008 semester.

**'''Who will this effect?''' This effects all ITP students who began the program in or after the Summer of 2008. Students who started at ITP prior to Summer 2008 will continue to receive letter grades, as will non-ITP students. (Faculty please note: you will have to fill out two types of grades sheets if your course has non-program--or long-term ITP-- students who receive letter grades as well as ITP students enrolled in it.)

**'''Who will this effect?''' This only effects students starting in the Summer or Fall of 2008. Students who started at ITP prior to Summer 2008 will continue to receive letter grades, as will non-ITP students. (Faculty please note: you will have to fill out two types of grades sheets if your course has non-program--or long-term ITP-- students who receive letter grades as well as ITP students enrolled in it.)

The ITP faculty, after a great deal of thought, has decided to move ITP towards a Pass/Fail grading system.

**'''Who will this effect?''' This only effects students starting in the Summer or Fall of 2008. Students who started at ITP getting letter grades will continue under that system. (This means that in classes with both first and second year students, the professors will have to fill out two types of grades sheets during the 08-09 academic year.)

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. As in the world you get fired or you don't, but people find many ways of distinguishing themselves beyond staying employed. Even for class assignments, our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better incentive than a single professor's opinion. We will look for more ways to exchange feedback in a narrative form from both professors and peers.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. As in the world you get fired or you don't, but people find many ways of distinguishing themselves beyond staying employed. Even for class assignments, our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better incentive than a single professor's opinion. We will emphasize more narrative feedback from both professors and peers.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' Because we encourage you to risk failure by stretching to make bridges outside your known interests and aptitudes we cannot, in general, hold you to any absolute level of achievement in any area. Instead you are graded on the efforts you make to '''progress''' in the quality of your work. There are some objective measures of your effort for instance missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing two interim assignments or presentations or one large assignment like the final project or a complete lack of in class participation might be clear indicators of a failure in effort. Classes are structured differently so professors will provide a syllabus indicating the requirements and their relative importance. Ultimately the progress in the quality of your efforts is usually a subjective judgment by the professor but students will be given notice when the quality of their work is marginal or failing.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' Because we encourage you to risk failure by stretching to make bridges outside your known interests and aptitudes we cannot, in general, hold you to any absolute level of achievement in any area. Instead you are graded on the efforts you make to '''progress''' in the quality of your work. There are some objective measures of your effort for instance missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing two interim assignments or presentations or one large assignment like the final project or a complete lack of in class participation might be clear indicators of a failure in effort. Ultimately the progress in the quality of your efforts is usually a subjective judgment by the professor but students will be given notice when the quality of their work is marginal or failing. Classes are structured differently so professors will provide a syllabus indicating the requirements and their relative importance.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' Because we encourage you to risk failure by stretching to make bridges outside your known interests and aptitudes we cannot, in general, hold you to any absolute level of achievement in any area. Instead you are graded on the efforts you make to '''progress''' in the quality of your work. (Your thesis might be an exception because presumably you chose to work in an area of strength.) Classes are structured differently so professors will provide a syllabus indicating the requirements and their relative importance. There are some objective measures of your effort for instance missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing two interim assignments or presentations or one large assignment like the final project or a complete lack of in class participation might be clear indicators of a failure in effort. Ultimately the progress in the quality of your efforts is usually a subjective judgment by the professor but students will be given notice when the quality of their work is marginal or failing.

**'''Why did you have to change it?''' In the non competitive environment of ITP we found that the actual variation in grading was not much more than is more clearly expressed in pass/fail. For the collaborative, project based work at ITP it is difficult to very precisely quantify those small variations and with such a diverse faculty we found it difficult to maintain consistency between classes. A-F system is often used to "grading on a curve" but at ITP we grade against your individual progress. We found that the letter grading was misleading and distracting without adding much value. For the students that did find motivation and affirmation in grades, we want them to find better sources of it. This decision was made after a great deal of thought among the full-time and adjunct faculty, many ITP alumni among them.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' Because we encourage you to stretch to make bridges outside your known interests and aptitudes we cannot, in general, hold you to any absolute level of achievement in any area. Instead you are graded on the efforts you make to '''progress''' in the quality of your work. (Your thesis might be an exception because presumably you chose to work in an area of strength.) Classes are structured differently so professors will provide a syllabus indicating the requirements and their relative importance. There are some objective measures of your effort for instance missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing two interim assignments or presentations or one large assignment like the final project or a complete lack of in class participation might be clear indicators of a failure in effort. Ultimately the progress in the quality of your efforts is usually a subjective judgment by the professor but students will be given notice when the quality of their work is marginal or failing.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. As in the world you get fired or you don't, but people find many ways of distinguishing themselves beyond staying employed. Even for class assignments, our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better incentive than a single professor's opinion.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. As in the world you get fired or you don't, but people find many ways of distinguishing themselves beyond staying employed. Even for class assignments, our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better incentive than a single professor's opinion. In truly exceptional circumstances the student may receive a separate Letter of Distinction from the professor.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' Because we encourage you to stretch to make bridges outside your known interests and aptitudes we cannot, in general, hold you to any absolute level of achievement in any area. Instead you you are graded on the efforts you make to '''progress''' in the quality of your work. (Your thesis might be an exception because presumably you chose to work in an area of strength.) Classes are structured differently so professors will provide a syllabus indicating the requirements and relative importance. There are some objective measures of your effort for instance missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing two interim assignments or presentations or one large assignment like the final project or a complete lack of in class participation might be clear indicators of a failure in effort. Ultimately the progress in the quality of your efforts is usually a subjective judgment by the professor but students will be given notice when the quality of their work is marginal or failing.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' Because we encourage you to stretch to make bridges outside your known interests and aptitudes we cannot, in general, hold you to any absolute level of achievement in any area. Instead you you are graded on the efforts you make to '''progress''' in the quality of your work. (Your thesis might be an exception because presumably you chose to work in an area of strength.) There are some objective measures of your effort and although it will vary between classes, missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing two interim assignments or presentations or one large assignment like the final project or a complete lack of in class participation might clear indicators of a failure in effort. Ultimately the progress in the quality of your efforts is usually a subjective judgment by the professor but students will be given notice when the quality of their work is marginal or failing.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. As in the world you get fired or you don't, but people find many ways of distinguishing themselves beyond staying employed. Even for class assignments our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better incentive than a single professor's opinion. In truly exceptional circumstances the student may receive a separate Letter of Distinction from the professor.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' Because we encourage you to stretch to make bridges outside your known interests and aptitudes we cannot, in general, hold you to any absolute level of achievement in any area. Instead you you are graded on the efforts you make to '''progress''' in the quality of your work. (Your thesis might be an exception because presumably you chose a domain in an area of strength.) There are some objective measures of your effort and although it will vary between classes, in general missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing two interim assignments or presentations or one large assignment like the final project or a complete lack of in class participation might clear indicators of a failure in effort. Ultimately the progress in the quality of your efforts is usually a subjective judgment by the professor but students will be given notice when the quality of their interim work is marginal or failing.

**'''Who will this effect?''' This only effects students starting in the Summer or Fall of 2008. Students who started at ITP getting letter grades will continue under that system. (This means that in classes with first and second year student professors will have to fill out two types of grades sheets during the 08-09 academic year.)

The ITP faculty, after a great deal of thought, has decided to move ITP towards a Pass/Fail grading system. The plan is to have existing students be grandfathered in to the old A-F system. The change is still being worked out at an administrative level so the details and timing are still in question, but in the interest of calming anxiety about the issue we prepared some responses to frequently asked questions.




**'''Who will this effect?''' This only effects students starting in the Summer or Fall of 2008. Students who started at ITP getting letter grades will continue under that system.

**'''Why did you have to change it?''' In the non competitive environment of ITP we found that the actual variation in grading was not much more than is more clearly expressed in pass/fail. For the collaborative, project based work at ITP it is difficult to very precisely quantify those small variations and with such a diverse faculty we found it difficult to maintain consistency between classes. We found that the letter grading was misleading and distracting without adding much value. For the students that did find motivation and affirmation in grades, we want them to find better sources of it. This decision was made after a great deal of thought among the full-time and adjunct faculty, many ITP alumni among them.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. As in the world you get fired or you don't, but people find many ways of distinguishing themselves beyond staying employed. Even for class assignments our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better incentive than a single professor's opinion.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' This will depend on the structure of each class. In general missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing more than two small assignments or one large assignment like the final project would be clear cases. Poor effort and quality in all the required areas of the class, for example participation, assignments, final projects is also a reason for failure. Ultimately the quality of your efforts may be a subjective judgment by the professor but usually with plenty of advanced warning.

**'''What happens if I fail a class?''' You do not get credit for it and forfeit the tuition. If it is a required class you will need to repeat it.

The ITP faculty, after a great deal of thought, has decided to move ITP towards a Pass/Fail grading system. The plan is to have existing students be grandfathered in to the old A-F system. The change is still being worked out at an administrative level so the details and timing are still in question, but in the interest of calming anxiety about the issue we some responses to frequently asked questions.

**'''Who will this effect?''' This only effects students starting in he Fall of 2008. Students who started at ITP getting letter grades will continue under that system.

**'''How will my transcript look?''' We seldom have any request for employers to look at your grades. For further study other institutions are unimpressed with straight A's from a graduate school (unlike undergrad grades) and very used to Pass/Fail. Your portfolio and recommendations are what they look at.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. As in the world you get fired or you don't, but people find many ways of distinguishing themselves beyond staying employed. Even for class assignments our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better reward or extraordinary work than a single professor's opinion.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. As in the world you get fired or you don't, but people find many ways of distinguishing themselves staying employed. Even for class assignments our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better reward or extraordinary work than a single professor's opinion.

**'''Why did you have to change it?''' In the non competitive environment of ITP we found that the actual variation in grading was not much more than is more clearly expressed in pass/fail. For the collaborative, project based work at ITP it is difficult to very precisely quantify those small variations and with such a diverse faculty we found it difficult to maintain consistency between classes. We found that the letter grading was misleading and distracting without adding much value. For the students that did find motivation and affirmation in grades, we want them to find better sources of it. This decision was made after a great deal of thought among the faculty, full time and adjunct, many ITP alumni among them.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. Even for class assignments our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better reward or extraordinary work than a single professor's opinion. As in the world you get fired or you don't, the trick is distinguishing yourself beyond remaining employed.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. Even for class assignments our students quite often find the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users a better reward or extraordinary work than a single professor's opinion.

**'''Why did you have to change it?''' In the non competitive environment of ITP we found that the actual variation in grading was not much more than is more clearly expressed in pass/fail. For the collaborative, project based work at ITP it is difficult to very precisely quantify those small variations and with such a diverse faculty we found it difficult to maintain consistency between classes. We found that the letter grading was misleading and distracting without adding much value. For the students that did find motivation and affirmation in grades, we want them to find better sources of it.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. Even for class assignments our students quite often find more real rewards for extra effort from the feedback and appreciation of audiences and users beyond a single professor's opinion.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. Even for class assignments our students quite often find audiences (users) beyond itp that will show appreciation for your extraordinary efforts.

**'''Why did you have to change it?''' In the non competitive environment of ITP we found that the actual variation in grading was not much more than is more clearly expressed in pass/fail. For the collaborative, project based work at ITP made it difficult to very precisely quantify those small variations and with such a diverse faculty we found it difficult to maintain consistency between classes. We found that the letter grading was misleading and distracting without adding much value. For the students that did find motivation and affirmation in grades, we want them to find better sources of it.

**'''Okay so then what got me a C in the old system?''' This will depend on the structure of each class. In general missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing more than two small assignments or one large assignement like the final project would be clear cases. Poor effort and quality in all the required areas of the class, for example participation, assignments, final projects is also a reason for failure. Ultimately the quality of your efforts may be a subjective judgement by the professor but usually with plenty of advanced warning.

**'''How will I be rewarded for doing extra work?''' The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. Even for class assignments our students quite find audiences (users) beyond itp that will show appreciation for your extraordinary efforts.

The ITP faculty after a great deal of though has decided to move ITP towards a Pass/Fail grading system. The plan is to have existing students be grandfathered in to the old A-F system. The change is still being worked out at an administrative level so the details and timing are still in question, but in the interest of calming anxiety about the issue we some responses to frequently asked questions.

The ITP faculty after a great deal of though has decided to move ITP towards a Pass/Fail grading system. The plan is to have existing students be grandfathered in to the old A-F system. The change is still being worked out at an administrative level so it is not certain whether it will take effect for new students for Fall08. Below are some responses to frequently asked questions.

*Pass/Fail FAQ[[#PassFail]]

The ITP faculty after a great deal of though has decided to move ITP towards a Pass/Fail grading system. The plan is to have existing students be grandfathered in to the old A-F system. The change is still being worked out at an administrative level so it is not certain whether it will take effect for new students for Fall08.

Pass/Fail FAQ

* How will I be rewarded for doing extra work? The intrinsic value of the work should motivate you. We found that our best students seemed unconcerned with grades. Even for class assignments our students quite find audiences (users) beyond itp that will show appreciation for your extraordinary efforts.
* What is the threshold for failing? Earning a C grade in the previous system would be a failure in the new system. In the prior system we said that you had to maintain a B average to stay in the program. This system is a bit more strict in that you have to get a B in the class to get credit for it.
* Okay so then what got me a C in the old system? This will depend on the structure of each class. In general missing more than two classes or being chronically late, missing more than two small assignments or one large assignement like the final project would be clear cases. Poor effort and quality in all the required areas of the class, for example participation, assignments, final projects is also a reason for failure. Ultimately the quality of your efforts may be a subjective judgement by the professor but usually with plenty of advanced warning.
* What happens if I fail a class? You do not get credit for it and forfeit the tuition. If it is a required class you will need to repeat it.
* Why did you have to change it? In the non competitive environment of ITP we found that the actual variation in grading was not much more than is more clearly expressed in pass/fail. For the collaborative, project based work at ITP made it difficult to very precisely quantify those small variations and with such a diverse faculty we found it difficult to maintain consistency between classes. We found that the letter grading was misleading and distracting without adding much value. For the students that did find motivation and affirmation in grades, we want them to find better sources of it.
* How will my transcript look? We seldom have any request for employers to look at your grades. For further study other institutions are unimpressed with straight A's from a graduate school (unlike undergrad grades) and very used to Pass/Fail. Your portfolio and recommendations are what they look at.