A new way of recording the grade of F (Fail), U (Unsatisfactory), and N (Non-pass) has been instituted by UI in order to better comply with federal financial aid regulations. This is a campus-wide change, starting with Fall 2019

When any UI instructor enters a grade of F, U, or N, that instructor must also select one of these 3 options to be submitted with the grade:

• The student completed the course.
• The student never attended the course.
• The student stopped attending the course.

If the student stopped attending the course, the instructor must also enter the last day of the student’s attendance.

Other UI financial aid verification procedures continue unchanged. Please watch for emails concerning these related events for each course every semester:

• All instructors after the 10^th day of the semester must verify if a student has attended class or participated in at least one academic activity. 
• Faculty are asked to verify academic activity again at midterm.

The U.S. Department of Education has defined academic activity as below for the purposes of financial aid. All instructors must use this definition to decide if a student has attended or participated in a course at least once:

Physically attended class; submitted an academic assignment; took an exam or an interactive tutorial or participated in computer assisted instruction; attended a study group assigned by the instructor; participated in an online discussion about academic matters; initiated contact with a faculty member about an academic subject studied in the course.

Likewise, the U.S. Department of Education’s definition excludes these activities:

Academic counseling or advising does not count as an academic activity for financial aid verification; likewise simply logging into a course site does not count as “academic activity.”

Thank you for your assistance.