Attendance

EMBA students are expected to attend all classes, be on time, and be prepared to contribute. Students who receive one or more unexcused absences may, at the discretion of the faculty, receive a final course grade of Pass or Fail. We recognize that there are times when circumstances may cause a student to occasionally miss class. Excused absences include: religious observance, unplanned hospitalization, or an illness that directly affects the student or an immediate family member. Students with excused absences should tend to the reason for the absence, watch class recordings available immediately after class, and be in communication with faculty.

Unexcused absences include but are not limited to work-related matters, travel, lack of childcare or eldercare, personal events or celebrations, mild illness, recruiting activity, case competitions, conferences, and any other avoidable conflicts.

In the case of an extended medical absence due to illness, the student must provide the program director with written confirmation of the disabling condition from a healthcare professional providing treatment. Depending on the length of absence, a leave of absence may be necessary.

Whenever students are unable to attend class, they are required to notify a program administrator and the course instructors. If the circumstances make advance notice impossible, an email as soon as possible after the missed class is the next best alternative. At the discretion of the faculty, absence can negatively impact academic performance if a student misses more than one class session of a course, regardless of whether the absence is excused or unexcused. Several absences, regardless of whether the absence is excused or unexcused, can lead to a failing grade.

Examinations

Students are expected to take all examinations at the scheduled time and submit all take-home exams on the assigned due date. Exams may be rescheduled only in exceptional circumstances such as a religious observance, incapacitating illness, or serious family emergency. Work-related matters, travel, mild illness, lack of childcare or eldercare, personal events or celebrations, recruiting activity, case competitions, conferences, and any other avoidable conflicts are not acceptable reasons to change an exam time or miss a deadline.

If there is a need to change the date or time of an exam, written approval must be obtained from the instructor prior to the date and time of the exam, unless the nature of the emergency is such that advance notice is impossible. In the case of delay due to illness, the student must provide a program director with written confirmation of the disabling condition from a healthcare professional providing treatment.

Deadlines for Deliverables

Students are expected to adhere to all deadlines set by faculty. A student who is not able to meet a deadline for an assignment or exam must request an extension from the instructor in advance. If an extension is granted, the student will submit the assignment by the extension date or risk receiving a grade of Fail for the assignment/exam. The instructor will determine if a late assignment/exam will affect a student’s grade. If a student fails to meet a deadline without notifying the instructor, the student will be in jeopardy of receiving a failing grade for that particular assignment/exam.

Incomplete CourseWork

Students are expected to complete all assignments by the deadlines established by the instructor. Marks of Incomplete are rarely approved, and only in cases where incapacitating illness or serious family emergency prevents the student from completing class work on time. A student who anticipates a problem should contact the instructor and the program director as soon as possible and before the last day of class. If the Incomplete is approved, the mark must be converted to a grade no later than sixty days after the date on which grades for the class are due. If no grade has been received by that date, a grade of Fail will be recorded automatically. Grades of Incomplete in the second year of the program may delay the awarding of a student’s degree.

Grades

There are five grades at Yale SOM: High Honors, Honors, Proficient, Pass, and Fail. The grade distribution that instructors use and the policy with respect to the reporting of grades on official transcripts are described below.

• HH: High Honors Up to top 10 percent of class. Reported on transcript.
• H: Honors Next 25 percent. Reported on transcript.
• PR: Proficient Next 55 percent. Not reported on transcript.
• P: Pass Lowest 10 percent in core courses; guideline of 5 percent in electives. Not reported on transcript.
• F: Fail An absolute standard; no minimum requirement. To the extent it is used, the F grade counts toward the 10 or 5 percent Pass category. Not reported on transcript.¹

Once grades are officially recorded, they may not be changed except in cases in which a mathematical error has been made in computing the grade or a clerical error has been made in recording it. Students seeking correction to a grading error must contact the instructor within two weeks (ten working days) from the receipt of the grade.

If a student takes a course in another school at Yale, the SOM registrar will ask the instructor to submit the grade according to the SOM grade scale.

1

F grades in core courses require remediation. The failed core course is not reflected on the official transcript until remediated. Elective courses with F grades are not reflected on the official transcript. Students must replace failed electives with other electives to meet total credit requirements for graduation.

Academic STANDING NOTICE

Students will receive an academic standing notice if 50 percent or more of their completed credits are graded as Pass or Fail. Students with an academic standing notice will be required to meet with an EMBA program team member to develop an academic action plan. To support academic success, students will be required to attend all classes in person to maximize learning outcomes; the Extended Classroom will not be permitted. In addition, students will not be permitted to enroll in coursework outside of the EMBA program, and in some cases may be required to take an academic leave.

Academic Grounds for Dismissal

Failure to meet the quality standard results in dismissal from the program. The quality standard is described under Quality Standard in the EMBA Program Degree Requirements section. The decision of dismissal is subject to appeal before the Faculty Review Board. A student who has been dismissed and has exhausted the appeal process cannot be readmitted except through the normal admission process. A full description of the appeal process can be found in the chapter Rights and Responsibilities of Students.

Designation OF SPECIALIZATION

The EMBA program combines the rigor of our integrated core curriculum with the option for advanced study in chosen areas at the nexus of business and society: asset management, healthcare, sustainability, or general management. Students choose their specialization at the end of their first year. To receive that designation on one’s transcript, a student must complete all requirements of the specialization.

Auditing

After the first term, students may, with the permission of the instructor, audit Yale SOM elective courses or courses at another Yale school. The expectation is for auditors to attend all class meetings in person; instructors may set additional conditions. Audited classes will appear on the transcript only if the instructor certifies that the conditions for auditing have been met. Auditing of SOM core courses is not permitted. No student may take for credit a course that the student has previously audited. EMBA courses do not permit external auditors.

Course Evaluations

At the end of each course, students are asked to evaluate the course and instructor. Course evaluation dates are chosen by the instructor and must close prior to the release of the course’s exam per SOM policy. The course evaluation results are given to the instructor, relevant department chairs, assistant dean for EMBA, deputy dean, and dean of the school, and the aggregate results are available for review on the SOM internal website after the grades have been submitted.

Extended Classroom

The Extended Classroom is a privilege which allows students to attend some class weekends remotely to participate in classes. While the Extended Classroom provides some degree of flexibility, students should not expect the learning experience to be the same as being in person. Do expect that at times technical difficulties may occur; the media services team works to resolve them as quickly as possible. At the request of faculty, some class weekends are not available for the Extended Classroom. These dates will be shared as soon as they are identified.

Students who are not registered or have not received a confirmation of their Extended Classroom approval must attend in person. Students who have received an academic standing notice are required to attend all classes in person.

Students should familiarize themselves with the Extended Classroom guidelines and requirements before signing up for the Extended Classroom and must adhere to the outlined requirements, including but not limited to being present on camera at all times, using the designated EMBA Zoom background, and not exceeding the permitted allowances. Abuse of the Extended Classroom privileges can result in access being revoked. Detailed information is available on Campus Groups. Questions may also be directed to the EMBA program office, emba@yale.edu.