Grades Change for Core Course

Thanks to an administrative flub, the universal Harvard desire for better grades materialized for at least one group of students this summer.

Miscalculations in the final grades for one of the sections in Literature and Arts C-61, “Rome of Augustus,” meant that every student in the section originally received a grade at least one level lower than they should have received. The error has been corrected by the Registrar’s Office, and the students will each enjoy a GPA boost.

“The good news is that all of you have a higher grade than was reported to the registrar,” Rian R. Thum, the section’s teaching fellow (TF), wrote to students in a June 29 e-mail. “For most of you, your grade will improve by one step, e.g. a B becomes B+. A few of you whose grades were closer to a dividing line will see a rise of two steps.”

The section was initially led by Ana Galjanic, who was forced to retire from the job mid-semester for health reasons. Thum, who was already leading two other sections in the course, taught Galjanic’s section for the remainder of the semester.

This mid-semester switch led to the grade miscalculations, according to the course’s professors, Richard J. Tarrant.

“It appears that student records were not completely transferred to the TF who took over the section, and as a result students did not receive proper credit for work done before the change of TF,” said Tarrant, who is the Pope professor of Latin language and literature.

Upon discovering the mistake, Tarrant submitted a request to change grades to the Registrar’s Office and also e-mailed each of the affected students.

Neha Gupta ’09, who originally received a lower grade than she deserved, said students were told their grades would be adjusted, but said they had not received an explanation for why the mistake was made.

According to Registrar Barry S. Kane, once a professor submits a request to change grades, the Registrar’s Office reviews the grounds for doing so.

“The reasons provided by Professor Tarrant were acceptable to me, and I have authorized the recording of the revised grades,” he said.

Kane also noted that professors submit requests for grade changes frequently to the Registrar’s Office, saying that it is a common and fairly insignificant occurrence.

“There is nothing particularly noteworthy about the process or this particular incident,” said Kane.

—Staff writer Aditi Banga can be reached at abanga@fas.harvard.edu.