Grade Appeal Policy and Process

The instructor of record assigns a course grade. If the instructor of record is not a member of the faculty, the faculty member responsible for the course will be responsible for assigning a course grade.

A course grade is based upon the instructor’s professional assessment of the academic quality of the student’s presented work. Such assessments are not negotiable, and disputes about them do not constitute valid grounds for an appeal.

If a student disputes a grade:

1. The appeal process for a grade dispute begins with the instructor of record. The student will provide a written appeal, which will include the grounds for which the appeal is being made. If a resolution of the grade appeal is not obtained, the appeal moves to the next level of authority. Valid grounds for further appeal are only on procedural grounds. The level of authority in order is: instructor of record, faculty member responsible for the course, the chair of the department of the faculty member, the dean of the School of Education (or his or her designee), School of Education appeals panel.

2. If the student wishes to appeal the decision of the dean, a sub-committee of the School of Education’s Committee on Policies and Standards will serve as the appeal panel. The School of Education By-Laws, endorsed by the faculty, assigns the Committee on Policies and Standards the responsibility for handling “all appeals by students regarding course evaluations or standing in their programs.” The Committee members chosen by the Chair of the Policy and Standards Committee to serve on the panel must be tenured and cannot have had any involvement in the appeal process leading up to this level of appeal. The appeal panel shall have a quorum of at least three.

3. The panel will have the right to meet with the student and the instructor involved in the grade appeal either separately or together and will have the right to request a written statement from one or both parties, at their discretion. The decision to deny the students grade appeal or to authorize the Registrar to change the grade will be final. The panel will inform the student and the instructor of record of the decision in writing.

4. The panel will summarize the appeal case and the decision of the appeal in writing to the Senate Committee on Instruction. The only grounds for further appeal are irregularities in the School’s appeal procedures. If such a case occurs, either party may appeal the final decision of the faculty panel to the Senate Committee on Instruction. The Senate Committee on Instruction may either deny the appeal or maintain that the procedure begins again at the point the irregularity occurred in the appeal process.

Approved by the School of Education Assembly on October 18, 2005.