Grade Appeal Policy and Process

STUDENT Step 7: If the department head does not act on or resolve this matter to the student's satisfaction within a two-week period, the student shall, within one week thereafter, readdress and submit the written appeal to the dean.

DEAN Step 8: The dean shall review the student's appeal and take appropriate action. If the basis of the appeal is the fundamental fairness of treatment of the student by the instructor, the dean should convene a committee to review the case. Valid reasons for convening an appeal committee include, but are not limited to: a violation of University policy, a failure to follow published course policies, a lack of consistency within the student's course section, or a dispute over the factual accuracy of graded work. The following are NOT reasons that should be brought to a committee: a disagreement with published course policies, differences in classroom policies or grading schemes in different courses or between different sections of the same course, or a grade's impact on a student's academic progress, athletic eligibility, or eligibility for veteran's benefits.

DEAN Step 9: When appropriate, the dean shall convene a committee to review the case. The committee consists of five members. Faculty representatives include one from the department of the instructor concerned, and two from closely related departments or colleges. The student council of the college provides two student representatives. Student representatives shall be full-time upper-division undergraduate students for appeals by undergraduate students or full-time graduate students for appeals by graduate students. If the college does not have an appropriate student council, the ASUA or GPSC shall appoint the student members. All student members must be in good academic standing in that college.

Appoint Appeal Committee

Within the structure provided by the dean, the committee shall design its own rules of operation and select a chair other than the faculty representative from the department concerned. The student and instructor shall represent themselves. The committee may, or may not

• meet separately with the student, the instructor, and the department head
• request each party to submit a brief written summary statement of the issues, and/or 
• interview other persons who have relevant information.

If feasible, the committee should meet with the student and the instructor together in an attempt to resolve the difference. The committee shall consider all aspects of the case before making its recommendation. The committee shall make a written report with recommendations and provide copies to the student, the instructor, the department head, and the dean.

DEAN Step 10: The dean shall make a final decision after full consideration of the committee's recommendation and within four weeks of receiving the student's appeal. The dean has the authority to change the grade to a different credit-bearing grade, which includes regular grades (A, B, C, D, E), alternative grades (S, P), or optional grades (P, F), depending on the course grading system and the system chosen by the student at registration. The registrar shall accept the dean's decision. The department head, the instructor, and the student shall be notified in writing of the dean's decision.