Grade Appeal Policy
The Grade Appeal Procedure is designed to assure students an orderly process for appeal and review of allegedly capricious final grades and to assure instructors their essential function of evaluation of student performance. Students, of course, are responsible for meeting the standards of academic performance established for each course in which they are enrolled.
The Grade Appeal Procedure is available only for review of allegedly capricious grading, and not for review of the judgment of instructors in assessing the quality of students' work. The procedure must be initiated within four (4) weeks after the start of the next regular Fall or Spring semester.
Capricious grading, as that term is used here, consists only of the following:
- The assignment of a grade to a particular student on some basis other than performance in the course;
- The assignment of a grade to a particular student by resorting to more exacting or demanding standards than were applied to other students in the course; or
- The assignment of a grade by substantial departure from the instructor's previously announced standards.
In general, students are encouraged to discuss any academic matter informally with their instructors or, if necessary, with the appropriate Instructional Dean before initiating the procedure. Resorting to the student grievance procedure should be made only when students believe the course grade was capriciously assigned and the results of informal consultation are unsatisfactory.
Students seeking additional information on the policies and procedures for grade appeals should contact the Dean of Student Services.
Step 1: |
Students should first discuss a course grade that they consider capricious with the course instructor. If anyone other than that instructor is first approached, the student should be referred to that instructor, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary. In the latter instance, the student should be referred to the Dean of that division. If a grade appeal is made against a Dean, then the most senior member of the division would assume the role of the Dean for the purpose of the appeal. |
Step 2: |
If the matter cannot be resolved by consultation with the instructor, the student should confer with the appropriate Dean and present in writing all facts and allegations on which the student is prepared to rely thereafter. This has to be done within 10 college days of the student/instructor consultation. In turn and also within 10 college days, the instructor must prepare a written explanation of the disputed grade for the Dean. |
Step 3: |
The Dean will arrange a meeting with the instructor and student within 10 college days of receiving the written facts and allegations. |
Step 4: |
If the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of both the instructor and the student, the Dean will establish an ad hoc departmental committee for that purpose. The committee will consist of 3-5 members of that department. Should a department not have 3-5 members, the Dean will appoint 3-5 members from other departments within that same division. The departmental committee may recommend:
- That the grade stands.
- That the instructor reevaluate the evidence of the student's performance.
- Other remedies which, under the circumstances of the particular case, seem more likely to produce an equitable resolution.
Committee recommendations will be communicated both to the student and to the instructor within 10 college days of the meeting. If the recommendation is either b or c above, and the instructor declines to comply with the recommendation, the Dean may then require the instructor to make an appropriate grade change. If, in this instance, the instructor continues to refuse to comply, the Dean may recommend to the Provost that the Registrar be asked to alter the course grade on the student's permanent record. In this case, the instructor will be advised of his right to appeal to the Provost. |
Step 5: |
If the result of the departmental review is a recommendation that the original grade stand, the student may appeal to the Provost. The Provost may:
- Accept the results of the departmental review and confirm that the grade be allowed to stand.
- Ask the department to reconsider the case citing errors, inconsistencies, omissions, etc., which may have influenced the departmental recommendation.
- Take personal responsibility as academic head of the college for asking the Registrar to alter the course grade on the student's permanent record.
The decision of the Provost will be communicated to the student, the instructor, and the department.
|