Classes and Homework
When classes are canceled:
Ditch Day, which is held sometime in Spring Quarter. Administration will send you an e-mail on Ditch Day to alert you of this Institute Holiday.
When classes should not be scheduled:
During lunch or between 4 and 6 pm, which is kept free to allow student participation in athletics
Monday evenings, which are kept free for student participation in music and performing arts clubs
- During the Student-Faculty Conference, held every other year for all students and faculty. The conference date will be announced in advance, and typically happens in April of odd-numbered years.
When homework should not be assigned:
During midterms if you are giving midterms.
- During Rotation, the first week of Fall Term.
Caltech Specific Teaching
The Academic Calendar can give you more information about important dates.
Absence Reports: Although class attendance records are not required, faculty members are requested to report to the Dean of Students any continued absence on the part of students in their classes.
Auditing Classes: With the consent of the instructor in charge of the course and the Division Chair, persons not regularly enrolled in the Institute may sit in on course lectures.
Field Trips: Instructors in charge of field trips should notify the Registrar's Office at least five days in advance of the dates of such trips. The Registrar's Office will, in turn, notify the instructors whose classes will be affected by the absence of students. In the case of small groups, students should notify their instructors.
Overloading of Students: The faculty has gone on record as definitely opposing overloading of students, which is known as the requirement of more time in class, laboratory, or outside preparation than is allowed by the number of units to a course.
Problem Sets, Tests, and Extra-credit quizzes: Please see the template Policies on Use of Resources and on Collaboration. Many faculty customize this document and combine it with their syllabus for the Registrar and for their students.
Scholastic Grades and Grading: For detailed information on grading at Caltech, see the Course Catalog under “Grades and Grading.”
- All permanent grades for freshmen during the first and second terms they are enrolled will be either P, indicating passed, or F, indicating failed. The temporary grade of I (Incomplete) may also be used for freshmen as it is for other students. The temporary grade of E may be given to freshmen.
- For all students beyond the first and second terms of their freshman year, graduate and undergraduate, letter grades will ordinarily be used to indicate the character of the student’s work:
- A = excellent; B = good; C = satisfactory; D = poor; E = conditional; F = failed; and I = incomplete.
- P may also be used for Pass/Fail grading.
- Better or worse performance may be demonstrated with "+" or "-".
Summer Research: Undergraduate and graduate students in residence may be permitted, with the recommendation of their Division, to register for and carry on research during the summer vacation period without additional tuition payment .