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Ordinarily these policies and procedures apply to course grade appeals; however, these basic procedures will be used for most other academic appeals in The Graduate School.
Policy
The University respects the professional competence and the jurisdiction of its faculty to determine grades and respects the rights of administrators to make academic decisions regarding admission, retention, and academic dismissal. It also respects the rights of the student to appeal academic decisions, including grades that the student believes to be in error. The only basis for an appeal is whether the academic decision, including grades, has been determined fairly within the established university academic policies and procedures or within the grading system adopted by the individual faculty member.
Thus, every student has the right to know the university policy regarding academic decisions and, at the beginning of any semester, to know how the final grade for an individual course will be determined. For grades, this means students should know the percentage of the final grade each component (tests, quizzes, papers, class participation, etc.) will count. Each faculty member, therefore, has the obligation to present such information to the student at the beginning of the semester as part of the course syllabus. Once the semester begins, faculty should not make substantial changes in the grading system and should inform the students of even minor changes. If a faculty member does not provide such information, the student has the right to seek redress.
Procedure
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Step 1. The student who wishes to contest an academic decision should first make an effort to discuss the matter with the faculty member or administrator involved and attempt to resolve the disputed grade or decision. (In a grade appeal, if the faculty member is away from the University during the grade appeal, the student may proceed directly to the department chair.) |
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Step 2. If there is no satisfactory resolution at this level and the student wishes to pursue the matter further, the student must initiate a formal appeal within a specific time period. (For grades, the disputed course grade from the fall semester must be appealed by the end of the sixth week of the spring semester. A disputed course grade from the spring semester or one of the summer sessions must be appealed by the end of the sixth week of the fall semester. Appeals of other academic decisions must be made within six weeks of the student’s notification of the decision.) The appeal must be made in writing to the faculty member or administrator involved and, in the case of grade appeal, a copy must be sent to the department chair. The chair will then schedule a meeting with the student and the faculty member and attempt to resolve the dispute at that time. |
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Step 3. If the department chair cannot resolve the dispute in a manner satisfactory to the parties concerned, the chair will notify the Dean of The Graduate School in writing. The Dean will attempt to resolve the problem. |
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Step 4. |
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A. If the Dean judges that the academic appeal is without sufficient basis, the Dean can so rule and the case is closed. |
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B. If the Dean is in doubt or thinks it possible that the academic decision should be changed contrary to the wishes of the faculty member or administrator, the Dean will request the Faculty Service Committee to provide a list of the names of nine faculty members, randomly selected, from which the Dean, the involved faculty member/administrator, and the student will choose three to consider the matter. (If agreement on all three cannot be reached, the Dean will fill any remaining spots on the committee from the names on the list.) |
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C. Both the faculty member/administrator and the student will present their cases to the committee. In the case of grade appeal, the committee will make no effort to establish whether a grading system is academically sound; rather it will attempt to establish whether the faculty member’s grading practices and procedures were followed consistently, fairly, and accurately according to the standards set forth in
the syllabus and other course directives. For other appeals, the committee will attempt to establish whether University practices and procedures were followed consistently, fairly and accurately. |
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D. The committee will then decide by majority vote whether to recommend that the academic decision be changed and notify the Dean of its decision. The committee will provide the Dean with a written summary of the main reasons for their recommendation. The Dean will make the final decision after carefully considering the recommendation of the committee. If the Dean decides contrary to the recommendation of the committee, she/he should explain the reasons for her/his decision in writing to the committee. |
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Step 5. The Dean will then notify the faculty member/administrator, the department chair, and the student of the decision, ordinarily by the end of the semester during which the appeal arises. |
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