Courses and programs at JIBC all employ some type of grading system. This can be a multi-level grading such as letter grades or percentages, or a course might simply be pass/fail or complete/incomplete. In any case, course designers must have a rationale for the type of grading that has been chosen for a given course. This is usually a decision for a program into which fit a collection of courses rather than designing a grading system on a course-by-course basis. So, your system may be determined for you already, but it is important nonetheless to understand how grading needs to be an accurate reflection of the evaluation of any assessment.
Grading, as the mechanism for interpreting and communicating assessment outcomes, must align with the learning outcomes and the real-world competencies required in the field. Choosing a grading approach—whether criterion-referenced, pass/fail, or competency-based—is a critical design decision because it influences how students engage with the material, how instructors provide feedback, and how performance is ultimately judged.
An effective grading strategy ensures that assessments are fair, transparent, and supportive of both learning and accountability while maintaining a focus on learning as opposed to the achievement of a particular letter or number. At the very least, a final grade should attempt to demonstrate an achievement of the learning outcomes.