CHAPTER 7 ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND CURRICULUM

SECTION 5: GRADE REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE

(To see who has authority to approve changes to this section, please see the Approval of Changes page).

MEMBERSHIP

1. The subcommittee shall consist of the following voting members:

a. Three faculty members representing three distinct academic departments, with the Chairperson appointed by the Academic Affairs Committee, one member elected by the Student Government Association, and one temporary member for each case, appointed by the chairperson of the department of the instructor whose grade is under review.

b. An alternate faculty member shall be appointed by the Executive Committee of the Common Council to serve whenever it is necessary to maintain the condition of three faculty members representing three distinct academic departments, but in no case shall there be more than one member from the department of the instructor whose grade is under appeal.

c. Two student members shall be selected by the Student Government Association. (Two graduate students will be selected by the Student Government Association for appeals brought by graduate students.)

2. The term of office, except for the temporary member, shall be one year. Members shall take office at the beginning of the fall semester. The Chairperson of the Grade Review Subcommittee shall expedite the formulation of the committee, which shall be complete no later than the third week of the fall semester.

3. The Office of the Provost/Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs shall designate a Coordinator to review grade appeals and assure continuity and consistency in the screening of grade appeals. The Coordinator will work with the Chairperson of the Grade Review subcommittee throughout the appeal process.

GROUNDS FOR APPEAL

Grounds for a grade appeal shall ordinarily be as follows:

1. The alleged failure of the instructor to provide to the students, not later than the end of the second week of classes, a written statement of how grades will be determined.

2. The alleged failure of the instructor to assign grades according to the manner described.

PROCEDURES

1. Before a student may initiate an appeal of a grade, the student is required to consult with the instructor concerned. However, if the Coordinator for Grade Review determines that such consultation would place undue burden or stress on the student or the instructor or both, the Coordinator shall have the authority to waive this consultation requirement. If the Coordinator waives this consultation requirement, the Coordinator shall inform both the student and the instructor of this action.

After the student and the instructor have consulted, or after a waiver of the consultation requirement has been authorized, if the student wishes to initiate an appeal, he/she must present, in writing, a request to the Coordinator for Grade Review in the Academic and Career Advising Center no later than the end of the fourth week of classes of the subsequent regular academic year semester.

2. The Coordinator for Grade Review shall, upon receipt of a written request for grade review, take the following steps:

a. Meet with the student and discuss the grounds for appeal, the appeal process, and the options available to the Grade Review Subcommittee if the appeal is sustained.

b. Provide a copy of the student’s allegations or grievances to the instructor concerned and solicit a written statement of explanation from the instructor.

c. The instructor shall have twenty working days to respond. Once the Coordinator has received the written response from the professor, he/she has up to five working days to send a copy of this response to the student.

d. After receiving the response, or at the end of the twenty working days, if no response is received, the Coordinator shall evaluate the allegations and make a determination as to the validity of the appeal.

e. If the Coordinator, on the basis of preliminary evaluation and investigation, concludes that any kind of grade change may possibly be warranted, or if the instructor has failed to respond in writing, s/he shall forward all relevant data to the Subcommittee for Grade Review, with a directive that the allegations be investigated and a determination as to its validity made.

f. If the student wishes to appeal the decision of the Coordinator, a second appeal may be made to the Chairperson of the Grade Review Subcommittee. The Coordinator shall notify the professor of this action. If further investigation is warranted, the Chairperson will act accordingly. A rejection of an appeal by the Chairperson is final and may not be further appealed within the Faculty governance system. If the Chairperson has a personal conflict with a case the Chairperson of the Academic Affairs Committee will appoint an acting Chairperson.

3. Under ordinary circumstances (i.e., with all parties on campus), the Grade Review Subcommittee shall adhere to a deadline of the end of the semester in which the appeal was initiated to complete its deliberations and decide on the appeal.

4. If the Subcommittee for Grade Review determines that a valid evaluation of grievance requires special academic expertise, or at the request of the instructor concerned, the Subcommittee shall solicit an independent evaluation in writing from a body of three impartial experts appointed by the Chairperson of the instructor’s department, in consultation with the instructor and the Subcommittee Chairperson. The Subcommittee for Grade Review shall accept the evaluation and recommendations of the impartial body of experts on matters of academic content when such evaluation and recommendation are solicited.

After its investigation, the Subcommittee for Grade Review shall inform both the student and the instructor of its decision in writing. In the event that the Subcommittee finds that a change of grade is warranted, it shall in addition recommend to the instructor the appropriate grade change. If the instructor refuses to make the recommended grade change within ten school days of the Subcommittee notification, the Subcommittee shall take one or more of the following steps to protect the student’s interest:

a. attach to the student’s transcript a statement of the recommended change of grade and the reasons for not changing the grade;

b. exempt the challenged grade from any calculation in the student’s grade point average, unless the student wishes the grade to be included;

c. authorize the student’s graduation minus the credit hours represented by the challenged grade in the event that the original grade was an F.

5. Decisions made by the Grade Review Subcommittee may not be appealed further in the faculty governance system.