Mid-Semester Grades

UC Merced’s Mid-Semester Grade Policy requires that professors submit grades in lower division classes (001-099) around the eight week of the semester. Mid-semester grades are not permanent – they are not recorded on your transcript and do not affect your GPA. They are a “progress report” from instructors to help you know how you are doing at the mid-point of the semester. For Spring 2024, grades should be visible on CatCourses late in the day on March 12, 2024.

If you are passing all your courses - Congratulations! Use your mid-semester grades to think about how to maintain strong grades (or raise them) during the last half of the semester. You can see if you qualify for the Dean's Honor List or Chancellor's Honors List based on your GPA (click here). You might also consider how undergraduate research (click here), study abroad (click here) and internships (click here) fit into your UC Merced experience.

If you are not passing one or more courses (D+, F or NP), now is the time to take action! All students with non-passing grades in a lower division class will receive an email from their academic advisor around March 15, 2024 with information on resources to support your success. Depending on your mid-semester grades, you may also be required to meet with your academic advisor or program staff (Fiat Lux, STEP, Guardian Scholars) to talk about ways to improve your grades in the second half of the semester. Appointments must be completed no later than April 5, 2024 - check your email or this website for more information.

(Re) Strategizing for Academic Success

Make Resources a Routine

Research shows that for every hour spent in class, students should spend three (3) hours outside of class participating in activities that support their learning – completing assignments and reading, studying (alone and with others), and using campus learning support services. Successful students use on-campus resources throughout their academic career, even before they experience an academic challenge. Review resources avaliable to support your success on the UC Merced Success Anywhere website (click here).

Connect with your Instructor

If you haven't already, connect with your instructor or TA - they provide the most direct link to the course content you’re studying and can help you strategize your efforts in the course for the rest of the semester.

Meeting with your instructor can be an opportunity to:

Get clarification on class content, readings or a recent grade
Provide an opportunity to get to know your instructor or teaching better, which in turn increased your confidence
Get study ideas – including specific strategies that may work especially well for that class or assignment
Prepare for an upcoming assignment
Review a recent assignment for areas of improvement
Work through practice problems – your instructor can help you go step-by-step through problems and verify correct answers. Can’t get the right answer? Your instructor can help identify errors

Connect with Campus Resources that Support YOUR Success

Tutoring is free! UC Merced’s Tutoring Centers (click here) offers peer-based academic support in a variety of subjects. Tutors don’t provide answers or complete your homework, but can review course concepts and strategies, provide sample problems and identify relevant study/test taking strategies.The STEM Tutoring Hub (click here) and PLUS Center (click here) host group study sessions in a variety of subjects.
University Library (library.ucmerced.edu.) Start with the Virtual Tour, which will give you an overview of services to support your research papers and projects, including 24/7 chat support. Librarians provide research help as you develop research questions, search for sources, and evaluate information. The “Start Here” page provides additional support, including:
Start Your Paper, which includes brief DIY tutorials on locating databases and using common search tools like Melvyl and Academic Search Complete.
Get it Online, which outlines the essentials of accessing online information with two short DIY tutorials on e-books, and UCeLinks.
Not sure where to start? Visit the Library’s FAQ page: https://libanswers.ucmerced.edu/ or Ask a Librarian (https://library.ucmerced.edu/about/contact/ask)
Bright Success Center, which offers online and learning tools, learning consultations and other resources to support your academic success.
Academic Advising (https://advising.ucmerced.edu). In addition to degree planning, academic advisors can help you develop a plan to meet your academic goals. Find out how to connect with your academic advisor here: http://advising.ucmerced.edu/who-my-advisor. Students with three or more non-passing mid-semester grades in lower division courses will be required to meet with their academic advisor or program staff in order to register for Spring - please check your email around October 20, 2023 for more information.

Mid-Semester Grades