Academic Catalog - New England Culinary Institute

The Grading System
NECI has a standards-based evaluation system that
departs from traditional A-B-C grades. The goal of this
system is to ensure that students possess the skills and
knowledge needed to be successful in attaining their
career goals. When students finish a course of
instruction, they receive an evaluation from their
instructor indicating their progress toward meeting the
associated course standards along with their course
grade. Grades of Meets Standards or Exceeds
Standards are considered complete grades. If, at the
end of a block of instruction, students have not met the
required standards, they are graded Incomplete and are
provided an education plan outlining what they must
do achieve a complete grade. See Policy Relating to
Make-up Work for more information. If the instructor
feels that make up work will not be sufficient for the
student to demonstrate mastery of the standards, the
instructor may grade the student as a Retake. Students
with Retake grades must reschedule the entire class at a
later date through the Academic Advising Office and
are subject to additional tuition fees, as well as room
and board fees when appropriate. No course credit or
clock hours are awarded for Incomplete or Retake
grades; once the student has achieved a Meets or
Exceeds Standards grade for the course, credit or clock
hours will be awarded.
In academic classes, evaluations cover class
participation, test results, results of class projects,
reports, special assignments, and class notebooks. In
lab-based classes, the evaluations cover assimilation of
textbook materials and demonstration of the skills and
professional behavior required by the course standards.
Because of the rigorous academic nature of the upper
level bachelor’s degree programs, and the Food and
Beverage Business Management programs, an
alternative grading system is used. Grades include A,
B, C, and Incomplete. This grading system is still
standards based and requires that students meet all
required standards associated with each course.
Students must receive a C grade or above or they are
considered Incomplete in the class. See Policy Relating
to Make-up Work for more information. Retake grades
have the same meaning as outlined above; students will
not receive credit for Incomplete or Retake grades.
Transcript Requests
Official transcripts are available to all students upon
request and in accordance with the school’s policy.
Written requests should be directed to the Registrar’s
Office via US mail or fax, or can be scanned and
emailed to registrar@neci.edu via NECI student email.
A transcript request form may be downloaded from
NECI.edu. Transcript requests must contain a signature
and will be subject to a processing fee. Please see the
Student Handbook for detailed information.
Transcripts will not be issued for alumni with unpaid
student accounts or for any student on financial
probation or hold.
Policy Relating to Make-Up Work
If, at the end of a block of instruction, a student has not
met all standards for the class, he or she is graded
Incomplete. In order to make up incomplete class
work, an Educational Plan (EP) is developed by the
instructor or a program administrator. This EP
identifies the steps required to become complete in the
class and the deadline date for completion. The EP
may include make-up work, tutoring, or additional
experience. When the EP is successfully completed,
the student is awarded a complete grade and the
Incomplete is removed from his/her official transcript.
Retake grades remain on the student’s official
transcript. See the Fee Schedule for possible costs
associated with make-up work. Students who are
falling behind in technical skills and academic course
work may be required to step out of class for up to
three weeks and participate in a remedial course work.
Students may then be required to extend their
residency to complete all outstanding course work or
classes. Fees may apply for housing as well as tuition.
Attendance
Because NECI offers rigorous and intensive technical
and professional training, students are expected to
report to every class on time. To mirror industry
expectations, excused absences will be granted for
medical or emergency reasons or by pre-arranged
Absence Request. Students are expected to follow
NECI’s call-in protocol as outlined in the Student
Handbook for all absences.
In the event that students do miss class, whether
excused or unexcused, they must schedule a make-up
class or alternative make-up work with the instructor to
ensure that course standards are achieved. This work
may involve completing a missed written examination,
making up missed class time, submitting a written
paper, or demonstrating improved hands-on skills.
Make-up work for time lost is scheduled at the
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