Student Appeals Policy and Process

Academic Grade Appeal Policy

Under certain limited circumstances, a student may appeal a grade awarded by a faculty member in a course. Because the faculty member who issued the grade is in the best position to evaluate the performance of students enrolled in his or her course, the faculty member’s academic judgment and academic evaluation of a student’s work shall not be reviewable.

However, a student may appeal a grade if he or she can demonstrate that the faculty member: (1) failed to follow published evaluation criteria for the course; (2) disregarded published academic policy; or (3) used non-academic criteria to evaluate the student’s work in an unfair or discriminatory way. A student with a grievance of this sort against a faculty member may appeal following procedures outlined below.

1. The student must file a written complaint with the faculty member. The written complaint should be submitted within ten days from the day the grade is posted. It should detail the reason for the appeal and should provide any available supporting evidence. The student should also submit a copy of the complaint to the Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education, or the Associate Provost and Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Rehabilitation if the instructor involved in the appeal is the Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education.
2. If the Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education (or Associate Provost and Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Rehabilitation, if appropriate) does not receive written notification from either the faculty member or the student of resolution of the issue within ten business days, the Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education (or Associate Provost and Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Rehabilitation) will schedule a hearing with those involved. The Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education (or Associate Provost and Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Rehabilitation) must provide a written record of the hearing and submit a recommendation in writing to those involved.
3. If, after five academic days following the hearing with the Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education, the matter remains unresolved, the student, the faculty member, or both may appeal to a Graduate Council hearing panel. This panel shall consist of three members chosen by lot from the Faculty Senate, excluding members from the same division as the faculty member being grieved.
4. The appeal to the Faculty Senate must be in writing and accompanied by all previous written material concerning the matter.
5. The Senate panel shall call a hearing at which the student and the faculty member will be invited to appear. The Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education may attend at the request of the student, the faculty member or the hearing panel.
6. The Senate panel shall act as arbiter of the grievance before it, and its decision regarding the issue before it shall be binding on all parties to the dispute. The decision of the Senate panel shall be communicated to the student and the faculty member within five days of the hearing.
7. If the Senate panel decides that the student’s grade should be changed, the faculty member must change the grade within ten academic days of receiving notification of Senate panel’s decision. If, after ten days, the faculty member has not changed the grade and there is no appeal to the Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost (VPAA) pending, the Senate panel shall refer the matter to the VPAA, who shall change the grade.
8. If either the student or the faculty member wishes to appeal the decision of the Faculty Senate panel, he or she may do so within five academic days of receiving written notification from the panel. To appeal the decision, the student or faculty member must submit a request for appeal to the VPAA. The appeal must be in writing and accompanied by all previous written materials concerning the matter.
9. The decision of the VPAA shall be communicated to the student and the faculty member in writing. This decision shall be final and binding, and all parties shall be required to adhere to it. If the VPAA decides that the grade should be changed, the faculty member must change the grade within five academic days of receiving written notification of the VPAA’s decision. If the grade has not been changed after five academic days, the VPAA shall change the grade.

Appeal Process

It is presumed that the administrative decisions regarding students and students’ records are made in an environment of mutual confidence and respect among the persons involved in the process. However, there may be a case where a student might question the decisions made. If so, the procedure for appeal is as follows:

1. The student first requests, in writing, the decision-maker to reconsider on the basis of information or insight provided by the student. A response to the appeal must be made within ten business days.
2. If dissatisfied with the response, the student may appeal to the supervisor to whom the decision-maker reports. The second appeal must be in writing. The supervisor has ten business days to respond.
3. A final appeal may be made in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost (VPAA). It is at the VPAA’s discretion whether or not the student’s appeal will be considered.
4. Exceptions to the above:
   1. Discipline cases are governed by the Conduct Code to be found in the Student Handbook or other legal documents.
   2. Parking tickets are handled by Public Safety and the local court system.
   3. Decisions relating to a professor or classroom situation (not involving grades) are appealed as follows:
      1. Professor
      2. Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education or Director of Educational Outreach
      3. Associate Provost and Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Rehabilitation
      4. Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost (VPAA)