Columnist Ananya Shah discusses the need to address issues around final grade deadlines.
Credit: Dana BahngWalking out of your last final feels like stepping into a world that’s suddenly brighter, freer, and full of possibilities. The grass looks greener, the sky seems bluer, and for a fleeting moment, everything feels at ease. But then reality creeps back in, and with it, a sinking realization: No matter how far you try to run from it, the dreadful exam you just took will catch up with you when your grades drop.
You try to reassure yourself: Surely it won’t take that long for grades to be posted … right? But the waiting begins. Hours turn into days, and days stretch into weeks. You begin to study the stock image behind the Path@Penn menu, noticing new people every time. Just when you think you’ve reached your limit, endlessly refreshing Path@Penn, you find yourself doing it again. And again. And again.
This past fall semester, the waiting reached a breaking point. For many students, grades seemed to take an eternity to appear. From talking with others after returning back to campus, I realized that some students did not have grades posted until as late as Jan. 15. On top of that, confusion abounded regarding the official deadline for professors to submit final grades. Was it Jan. 2? Jan. 15? Nobody seemed to know for sure.
Officially, the deadline for final grades is the first university business day after winter break by 5 p.m. However, the University did not do much to publicize this policy to the students or if their professors have requested extensions.
This kind of uncertainty is not just frustrating — it’s unacceptable. The University should have done more to communicate clear, consistent grading deadline policies to both students and faculty.
Instead of enjoying a stress-free break, most, if not all, Penn students underwent their winter vacation with the looming uncertainty of fall semester grades. After a grueling semester, students deserve a chance to relax and recharge over winter break. Instead, they spent it in limbo, haunted by the uncertainty of how their grades might affect their academic standing, internships, or scholarship eligibility. For many, this worry overshadows what should be a rare period of rest. The University has an obligation to mitigate this anxiety, not exacerbate it.
With their time on break, many students choose to apply to internships and fellowships over the summer. However, there’s one thing many of those applications have in common: a copy of your transcript with the most recent semester’s grades on it. Considering that Penn is one of the most preprofessional universities in the nation, the lengthy wait for grades — which likely delays some internship applications — feels particularly ironic.
Now, some might argue in defense of professors. After all, it’s unreasonable to expect them to grade 60 finals with a rapid turnaround during what’s also supposed to be their break as well. And on this point, I wholeheartedly agree. Professors deserve the same respect for their time that students do. However, my sympathy starts to wane when we’re talking about midterm grades from October still missing in late December.
As Penn students, we are held to incredibly rigorous standards. Deadlines, exams, and countless responsibilities demand our best, often at the expense of our well-being. It’s not unreasonable to expect professors to be held to similarly high standards. If students can be penalized for late work, why shouldn’t professors be held accountable for timely grading? If professors aren’t transparent with their students about when their work will be graded, why should students have to be held to that 11:59 p.m. deadline?
If it is expected that students should cut professors some slack as they swim in a sea of assignments, why shouldn’t professors be expected to demonstrate the same leniency to students?
Beyond this, Penn is lagging behind other universities. I remember recounting to my friends at the University of Georgia on New Year’s Day how I still hadn’t received three final grades, and they were shocked. They had known their grades since Dec. 17, with their final exam period being from Dec. 5 to Dec. 11 — over a week ahead of Penn’s. At UGA, professors adhere to strict grading deadlines with complete transparency and no confusion. The stark contrast between their timely grading and our extended wait was hard for me to ignore, highlighting the clear need for improvement in Penn’s grading timeline.
The University must step in to address this issue. Clear policies, reasonable grading deadlines, and better communication are the bare minimum. After all, no student should have to start a new semester still waiting on grades from the last one.
ANANYA SHAH is a College first year studying philosophy, politics, and economics from Bonaire, Ga. Her email is aoshah@sas.upenn.edu.
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