The seminar grade is based partly on the seminar oral examination but principally on the quality of the student’s contribution to seminar class discussions. Students are expected to not merely demonstrate that they have read and understood the books, but to help other participants discover problems and possibilities that might not emerge from solitary reading. This is accomplished when students ask good questions as well as when they propose answers to questions already asked. The tutorial grade is based primarily on the quality of the student’s tutorial class participation, but the brief tutorial papers are also taken into account. Tutors will make clear to their classes what they look for in a tutorial paper. In the preceptorial, the student’s long essay is a major factor in determining the grade. The quality of the student’s participation in preceptorial class discussion is also weighed heavily.
Each student enrolled in a seminar engages in a 30-minute oral examination, which is scheduled and conducted by the seminar tutor. The oral examination is meant to give students the opportunity to think through an issue of the sort that might arise in seminar, while assuming more responsibility for the course of the discussion as a whole. At its best, an oral examination is an intimate seminar between tutor and student in which new questions and understandings emerge. Seminar oral examinations are scheduled during the fall and spring semesters in the twelfth through fourteenth weeks and during the summer term in the sixth and seventh weeks. No later than two days before the oral examination, each student must submit to the seminar tutor the equivalent of one type-written page of reflections (two to three paragraphs) on the question the student plans to discuss in the oral examination. It ought to focus on readings that will have been discussed in seminar prior to the examination. While this assignment is short, it should be thoughtful and thorough. Hastily written comments or unfocused questions are unacceptable. This paper is meant to serve as a starting point for the discussion and is a requirement in order for the oral examination to be held.
The graduate student conference is a formal occasion during which the student meets privately with the tutors of the classes in which they are currently enrolled. The aim of the conference is to enable all the participants to gain a sense of the student’s work as a whole. Conferences are required for all students currently enrolled in their first or second semester and for students experiencing some sort of academic difficulty. Students who wish to have a formal opportunity to speak with their tutors may request a conference and tutors may request a conference for any student. At the conference, each tutor reports on the achievements of the student with respect to preparation and understanding of the texts being read, participation in class conversations, and writing that has been submitted for the class. The tutors also offer suggestions about how the student might improve. The student is invited to comment on each of the tutor reports and to suggest how the tutors might provide additional help or how courses might be more rewarding. The Graduate Institute Office is responsible for scheduling conferences and will reach out to students via email to inquire about availability. Written reports of the conferences are placed in the student’s official academic records and may be read by the student, upon request.
At the end of the semester, tutors complete comment sheets for students who were enrolled in their classes. These brief reports usually contain a summary of the student’s progress and, in the case of the preceptorial, an evaluation of the preceptorial paper. They are kept in the student’s official academic records in the Registrar’s Office, and may be read by the student, upon request.
Classes are graded according to the following scale: A-excellent; B-good; C-passing but unsatisfactory; F-failure. There is no grade of D. Plusses and minuses may be given, except that C- does not exist. Only grades of B or better are considered to be fully satisfactory for graduate-level work, although a C grade may be credited toward the degree. Classes for which the grade is F receive no credit. The Master’s Essay and Master’s Essay Oral Examination are graded according to the following scale: Master’s Essay – Pass or Fail; Master’s Essay Oral Examination – Honors, Pass, or Fail. St. John’s College does not routinely report grades to students; therefore, students who want to see grades may obtain a transcript from the Registrar’s Office upon request.
The grade of Incomplete is approved rarely and only for extraordinary reasons. When a grade of Incomplete is approved, the tutor is asked to submit written comments to the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, including a reason why it is deemed appropriate, a note of the work to be completed, the deadline for making up the work, and the grade that is to be entered permanently if the work is not completed by the new deadline. It is expected that a continuing student will finish any outstanding work by the beginning of the next semester. The Associate Dean for Graduate Programs will notify the student in writing of all particulars relating to incomplete work. A grade of Incomplete must be removed no later than the end of the next semester when the student is enrolled. If the Incomplete was for failure to turn in a preceptorial essay, the Incomplete becomes an F if the preceptorial essay is not submitted before the end of the following semester. No credit is earned for a failed preceptorial. A student may be denied enrollment in the following semester.
As noted above, for graduate level work, grades of B- or better are considered to be fully satisfactory. However, since St. John’s College does not consider grades to be the most important means of evaluation, the college does not have a precise grade formula for excluding a student whose work has not been satisfactory. A student who receives a C will be notified by the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and will not be in good standing in the semester following the C. Good academic standing is re-established by satisfactory work in all classes in the next semester. As noted above (see Grades), an “F” is not merely an unsatisfactory grade: it signifies zero academic credits. A student who receives an “F” must petition the Associate Dean and Graduate Institute Committee in order to continue as a student. If the petition is granted, the student will be required to retake failed classes and receive a grade of “B-” or better in those classes in order to complete the requirements for the degree. A second unsatisfactory grade (any grade below a “B-”) may bar a student from earning the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts degree. The Associate Dean will consult the Graduate Institute Committee in such cases. A student showing a pattern of unsatisfactory work may be asked to withdraw from the program. All students will receive a letter of standing from the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs after each semester.
A specially-selected Essay Evaluation Committee will be comprised of three tutors, one of which will be appointed to be Chair. The Chair is appointed by the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in the fall semester and by the Assistant Dean in the spring semester. Note that the student’s Master’s Essay-writing advisor is not included in the Essay Evaluation Committee. The grading scale for the Master’s Essay is P-Pass or F-Fail. Careful screening of applicants through the proposal process is designed to ensure that failing grades would be extremely rare. Students whose Master’s Essays are not considered passing are not eligible for the oral examination. Instead, they are given the opportunity to rewrite the essay. Students whose rewritten Master’s Essays still fail to meet minimum expectations will receive no credits for the work. Instead, “Master’s Essay Work” (i.e., a course with no credits in the essay-writing semester) will be recorded on the student’s official transcript. Students whose Master’s Essays are considered passing are examined orally. The Master’s Essay Oral Examination is an hour-long, public oral examination on the Master’s Essay which is graded as H-Honors, P-Pass, or F-Fail. Students whose oral examinations fail to meet minimum expectations will receive no credits for the work. Instead, “Master’s Essay Work” (i.e., a course with no credits in the essay-writing semester) will be recorded on the student’s official transcript. If both the Master’s Essay and the oral examination are considered passing the grades and essay title will be recorded on the student’s official transcript.
The Alumni Association of St. John’s College funds a prize for a distinguished graduate-level preceptorial paper, to be awarded at spring commencement. A prize committee, composed of tutors, will consider papers submitted by tutors of preceptorials in the previous spring semester, summer term, and fall semester for this award. The prize for the best summer tutorial essay, also offered by the Alumni Association, is awarded at the summer Associate Dean’s Reception for the best summer tutorial essay. An ad hoc committee of tutors teaching in the summer term will consider papers submitted by summer tutorial tutors. Award-winning essays are kept in the Greenfield Library.
