4.15 Grade Review Process
Any student may request a faculty member to review and re-evaluate a grade previously given to the student by that faculty member. Students may also seek assistance or intervention from the Department Chair or other appropriate academic administrator in obtaining a grade review by a faculty member. Ordinarily only the responsible faculty member may submit a change in a final course grade which has been previously submitted to the Registrar, except through the formal process outlined below. This process is to be available in cases where a student wishes to appeal a grade assigned by a faculty member when the student contends that the grade assigned was the product of malicious, biased, arbitrary, or negligent determination or impermissible discrimination. No challenge to grading standards shall be pursued on any grounds other than these. This process may not be used to adjudicate cases of suspected student misconduct, plagiarism, or collusion. Formal grade appeals must be officially filed with the Student Grievance Committee of the Faculty Senate no later than one year after the official grade has been released to the student; for a student who has graduated, the filing deadline is three months following the semester in which the degree was awarded.
4.15.1 Any student who wishes to appeal a grade should talk first with the faculty member who assigned the grade. If agreement cannot be reached, the student may consult with and/or file a grade grievance with the Chair of the Student Grievance Committee of the Faculty Senate.
4.15.1.1 In order to file a grade grievance the student must complete the Student Grievance Committee Initial Complaint Form and provide documentation of having attempted to resolve the challenge directly with the faculty member who assigned the grade.
4.15.1.2 The Initial Complaint Form and all supporting material must be submitted in accordance with the procedures established by the Student Grievance Committee. Students should contact the Dean of Students Office for specific information or download a copy of the Initial Complaint Form and instructions on the Grade Grievance web page.
4.15.2 The Chair of the Student Grievance Committee will then appoint a conciliator or a three-member conciliation committee selected from appropriate faculty sources. If the grade challenge is in a graduate course, the conciliator must be a member of the graduate faculty; in the case of a committee, at least two of the members must be members of the graduate faculty.
4.15.3 Upon assignment of the conciliator, the Chair of the Student Grievance Committee will notify the appropriate faculty member, his/her immediate supervisor.
4.15.4 The conciliator/conciliation committee will meet with the student to investigate the validity of the charges and to ensure that they are based on the grounds given in 4.15 above. The faculty member issuing the grade must be contacted at this stage of the proceedings and given the opportunity to provide information and clarification.
4.15.5 The conciliator(s) shall make a recommendation to the Student Grievance Committee for its consideration in a timely fashion. This recommendation shall normally be made within six (6) weeks of the date of appointment of the conciliator(s), counting only weeks of the long semester in which the grievance was filed and the subsequent long semester (not including intersession or summer periods). If the conciliation process results in resolution of the issue, the Chair of the Student Grievance Committee will so notify the student, the faculty member, the President of the Faculty Senate and the Provost. Should conciliation fail, the Student Grievance Committee may continue the conciliation effort with another conciliator or conciliation committee, reject the complaint, or appoint a hearing committee.
4.15.6 If the Student Grievance Committee determines that a hearing committee should be formed to resolve the issue, the Chair of the Student Grievance Committee shall appoint a committee after consultation with the parties involved. The Hearing Committee shall consist of an appointed chair of the Hearing Committee and two members of the general faculty outside the department concerned. No person involved with the conciliation effort may serve on the hearing committee.
In a case involving graduate credit, the Hearing Committee Chair and a majority of its members must be members of the graduate faculty. Immediately on formation of a Hearing Committee, the Chair of that Hearing Committee shall give written notice to the student and the faculty member involved. The student and faculty member must be given at least one week's notice prior to the first meeting of the Hearing Committee. Procedures for the conduct of the hearing are available from the Chair of the Student Grievance Committee and Dean of Students Office.
4.15.6.1 Decision of the Hearing Committee. The Hearing Committee shall make its decision to either dismiss the challenge or affirm the challenge with subsequent determination of the new grade. The decision of the Hearing Committee is final. The matter is not subject to review/approval by the full Student Grievance Committee.
4.15.6.2 Determination of New Grade. The determination of a new grade shall be made as a separate proceeding by the Hearing Committee, who may solicit advice from the pertinent academic department.
4.15.6.3 Report of Hearing Committee and Implementation. The Hearing Committee shall report its conclusions to the full Student Grievance Committee. The Chair of the Student Grievance Committee shall be responsible for notifying the student, the faculty member, his/her supervisor, his/her College/School Dean, the Provost, and the President of the Faculty Senate. The Chair of the Student Grievance Committee shall also inform the Registrar of any grade change.
4.15.7 The Chair of the Student Grievance Committee will maintain a database of open grade grievance cases, and report their status and outcomes monthly to the President of the Faculty Senate and the Provost.
4.15.8 All decisions by the Student Grievance Committee and its appointed Hearing Committees are final and are not subject to appeal. Should, within the term established in section 4.15 above, new information come to light, the student may begin the process anew by resubmitting the challenge as modified by the additional information.