Grade Appeal Request
Students are responsible for meeting the standards for academic performance established for each course in which they are enrolled. The establishment of the criteria for grades and the consistent evaluation of student academic performance are the responsibilities of the instructor. This grade appeal procedure is available only for the review of allegedly capricious grading, and not for review of the instructor’s evaluation of the student’s academic performance.
Capricious grading, as the term is used here, consists only of any of the following:
- The assignment of a grade to a particular student on some basis other than documented performance in the course;
- The assignment of a grade to a particular student by applying more exacting or demanding standards than were applied to other students in the course;
- The assignment of a grade by a substantial departure from the instructor’s previously announced standards.
A student who wishes to appeal a course grade must notify the Vice President for Academic Affairs’ (VPAA) office within 30 working days of the date on which the grade was posted. The VPAA's office outlines the allowable criteria for appealing a grade and, if appropriate, provides the student with the grade appeal form and assists in contacting the instructor to begin the process.
Allowable Criteria:
The student meets with the instructor to review assignment grades, attendance, and any other factors that affected the final grade. The instructor should check all calculations and ensure that any assignments accepted for credit have been posted and included.
This meeting must take place within 30 working days of the end of the term for which the grade was posted. The result of the meeting will be to leave the grade as posted or raise the grade.
The instructor will notify the VPAA’s office of the result of the meeting. If a grade change is necessary, the instructor submits a grade change request to the Registrar with a copy to the VPAA’s office. The VPAA’s office will notify the student of the decision via email.
If the student is unsatisfied with the decision from step 2 and wishes to file a formal grade appeal, the student must notify the Vice President for Academic Affairs within 10 working days of the decision.
The student and the instructor will receive an email from the VPAA requesting all documentation pertinent to the grade appeal. This will include copies of assignments, documentation of absences due to college events, tests, and any other material that is relevant. These materials must be received by the VPAA’s office within 10 working days of the date of the request.
The VPAA (or designee) reviews all materials from the student and instructor. Within 10 working days, emailed notification is sent to student and instructor of the decision to uphold the grade as posted or change the grade. If a grade change is necessary, the VPAA submits a request to the registrar.
If the student chooses to appeal the Step 4 decision, he or she must notify the VPAA within 10 working days of the notification. A 3-panel review committee, composed of two instructors and an academic advisor/regional director, is convened to review the appeal.
This committee may decide to uphold the grade as posted or raise the grade; the committee must send its decision to the VPAA within 15 working days of being convened. The decision is emailed by the VPAA’s office to the student, instructor, and registrar (if a grade change is required).
The decision of the committee is final and may not be appealed.