Under the following conditions, a student may decide to grieve a grade either on a specific assignment or for a course as a whole:
- The grade assigned may reflect discrimination of some sort on the part of the professor.
- The grade assigned reflects a computational error.
- The grade assigned is related to an allegation of academic misconduct which is proceeding through the Academic Judicial Board system. (If an instance of alleged academic misconduct has been handled informally, and the student wants to appeal, that appeal must proceed through the Academic Judicial Board system.)
The procedure for filing a grade grievance or other related academic complaint is as follows:
- A student with a complaint should, where appropriate, first try to reach agreement with the faculty member. Informal conversation about the assignment and grade in question between the student and the professor is the first step in the grade grievance process.
- If the student is not satisfied with the result of the conversation, or if the faculty member does not respond to requests for such an informal conversation, the student then submits a written statement expressing concern about the grade to the chair of the faculty member’s department, with a copy to the professor. In the case of individual assignments, such statements must be made within 10 business days of receipt of the grade. In the case of overall course grades, such statements must be made by the end of the fourth week of the following semester. The department chair will attempt to mediate the complaint as outlined in C below. **(See note.)
- Within 10 business days of receipt of the student’s letter, the chair will solicit the faculty member’s point of view, in writing, about the grade and the criteria on which it was based. The chair may decide to render a decision based on the written communications or may call the student and faculty member together for a meeting to discuss the issues, after which the chair will render a decision to both the student and faculty member in writing.
- If either the student or faculty member is dissatisfied with the chair’s decision, the dissatisfied party can make a request, in writing, within 10 days of receipt of the chair’s decision, with a copy to the other party, and to the associate dean of faculty, who will seek counsel from the Academic Policy Committee. The Academic Policy Committee members will consult all parties concerned and then vote either for or against the recommendation of the department chair and will inform the associate dean of faculty, in writing, of their advice and the reasons for it, after which the associate dean of faculty will render a decision to the parties in question.
- Final authority rests with the vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty of the College in the event that either the student or faculty member is not satisfied with the response given by the associate dean of faculty in consultation with the Academic Policy Committee. A written appeal to the vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, which must be copied to the other parties involved, must be made within 10 business days following receipt of the associate dean’s decision, and the vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty will render final judgment within 10 business days of receipt of the appeal, in writing, to all concerned individuals.
- Parents, family members, and attorneys are not permitted to attend any grade appeal conferences.
- If a grade appeal involves alleged academic misconduct, the grade appeal should be heard after the Academic Judicial Board has reached a decision about the alleged infraction.
**Note: In the event that the faculty member in question is the department chair, the associate dean of faculty will substitute for the chair in step C.