School of Education & Human Sciences Grade Dispute Procedures
Approved by CAPC on April 10, 2013
University Senate Rules and Regulations outlines the circumstance under which grade appeals may be made and outlines the procedures for such appeals. These details may be found in the following locations within USRR:
- Article 2, Section 3: Change of Grade, specifically 2.3.5
- Article 6, Section 4: Jurisdiction, specifically 6.4.4: Disputes involving allegedly improper application of grading procedure
School of Education and Human Sciences procedure for appeal of a final course grade as required by USRR 2.3.5.1:
University Senate Rules and Regulations limit the grounds for appeal of a final course grade to “improper application of the grading procedure announced for the course by the instructor.” (U.S.R.R. 2.3.5) A student may appeal the final grade for the semester, but not the grade on a particular examination, quiz, essay, research paper, or other assignment. Appeals of a final grade must be submitted before Stop Day in the following semester (e.g., before Stop Day in the Spring term for classes in the previous Fall term).
Procedure for appealing a grade:
- Before initiating a grade appeal, the student must communicate with the instructor of record to make sure there has been no error in calculating or recording the grade, and to request clarification about the reason for assigning the grade.
- If, after communicating with the instructor, the student still believes an improper application of the grading procedure announced for the course (see above) has occurred, the student may initiate a grade appeal by submitting the following to the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Research or the Associate Dean for Teacher Education and Undergraduate Programs:
- A copy of the course syllabus and any other written explanations of grading procedure
- A written statement explaining his/her reasons for believing the announced grading procedure has been improperly applied
- Copies of all available graded work for the course and/or a list of grades received on assignments
- The Associate Dean will discuss the situation and advise the student of his or her options. The Associate Dean will document the meeting and the information shared.
- If a student has evidence that his or her grade is a result of “improper application of the grading procedure announced for the course”, he or she may submit a written request for a hearing before the SOE Grievance Committee.