Guidelines for Nonattendance Requirement of Final Grades

All faculty are required to provide the date a student “unofficially withdrew” or stopped attending class when submitting final grades.  This requirement is a federal regulation with which all universities who grant financial aid must adhere. Since Youngstown State University does not require instructors to take attendance, federal regulations permit such universities to use “THE LAST DATE OF AN ACADEMICALLY RELATED ACTIVITY THAT THE STUDENT PARTICIPATED IN AS THE STUDENT’S UNOFFICAL WITHDRAWAL DATE.”  Examples of criteria that qualify as an unofficial withdrawal include:  first missed test, assignment, or other graded material. 

On the final grade roster, there is a grade option indicating a nonattendance F (NAF). There is a column that provides for documenting the last attended date. Any student that remains enrolled in your class, but has stopped attending, should receive the NAF grade.  Instructors should select the NAF grade and complete the "Last Attend Date" field. If the date field is left blank or any date other than the first day of class is used, then it will be assumed that the student did begin attendance at YSU and that documentation of such attendances exists.  It is not necessary to fill in dates for students that receive any grade other than the nonattendance F (NAF).  

For those students who NEVER ATTENDED/PARTICIPATED in the class, the instructor should enter the grade of NAF using the first day of classes as the date of last attendance. 

Summer 2011

1. First Six Week/ Full Term - May 23, 2011
2. Middle Six Week Term - June 20, 2011
3. Second Six-Week Term - July 5, 2011

  Fall 2011 - August 29, 2011

Spring 2012 - January 17, 2012

Summer 2012

1. First Six-Week/Full Term - May 21, 2012
2. Middle Six-Week Term - June 18, 2012
3. Second Six-Week Term - July 2, 2012

Assigning the NAF grade and entering the last date of the attendance produces the following message:  The student has not withdrawn from the class.  This means you have marked a date of last attendance, and the student is still registered for the class. This is not an error message.

For those students who completed the course, but did not successfully pass the course, assign the appropriate failing grade (i.e., F, NC or U). For transcript purposes, the grade will be converted to a letter grade of F or NC (no credit) for those courses that have a grading standard of no credit rather than an F.

Please remember that final grades are due 48-hours following the final exam.  Also, not submitting final grades according to the deadlines can cause many students delays in graduating, receiving financial aid, etc.  If you have any questions about the nonattendance F (NAF) guidelines, please contact Jeanne Herman, University Registrar at jmherman AT ysu DOT edu or ext. 2349.