Median Grades

In Fall 2023, Faculty Senate passed a resolution to discontinue posting median grades on student transcripts. Median grades will not be calculated/posted for the Fall 2023 semester, as well as future terms. Median grades will not be removed from student transcripts retroactively.

Important notes:

• Median grades and total enrollment were posted on official transcripts for all undergraduates who have matriculated from fall 2008 to spring 2023. 
• Median grades were not displayed in that timeframe on the transcripts for transfers who entered Cornell before the spring 2009 semester.
• Median grades for Spring 2020 were not calculated.
• Median grade reports are not calculated or made publicly available.

Calculation: 

• The median grade is the grade below and above which there is an equal number of grades for all offerings of said course. 
• Total enrollment indicates the total number of students who took the course for a letter grade. 
• For cross-listed courses, the enrollment indicates the aggregate number of students. 
• Median grades are not reported for courses with an enrollment fewer than 10.
• Letter grades for all students enrolled in a course, not just undergraduates, are used in calculating the median grade. 
• If there is a tie, the median grade is rounded down to the lower grade. 
• The median grade is not recalculated to take into account grade changes or resolution of incompletes.