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Grade Change Procedure

Considerable care is taken to ensure that all grades entered on a student’s permanent record are accurate. Records are considered to be correct if a student does not report errors within one year of the completion of the course. Any student who suspects an error in a semester’s final grade should follow this procedure to appeal:

The appeal must be brought within thirty days of the panel’s decision. The burden of the proof for the appeal rests with the individual bringing the appeal.

1. The student first contacts the course instructor to discuss the grade in question within six weeks of the start of the semester (regular academic session) immediately following that in which the grade was awarded. If the instructor agrees that the grade in question was inaccurate, a grade change is processed by the instructor.
2. If the student and the instructor cannot agree on the appropriateness of the grade in question, the student may contact the Department Chair of the instructor’s department, with a specific reason, in writing, within ten working days after the meeting with the instructor. If a mutually-agreeable decision is made through mediation conducted by the Department Chair, the instructor will submit the agreed-upon grade and the process is completed. If there is no outcome that is mutually acceptable to the student and the instructor, the process may continue. If the instructor is also the Department Chair, then Step 2 is omitted and the process goes to Step 3.
3. The student may appeal the decision to the Office of the Provost in writing within ten working days after the mediation process is complete. The Provost shall collect written views and other pertinent material from the involved instructor, student, and Department Chair, and consult with any other individuals deemed necessary. The Provost shall convene a panel of faculty who have not been involved in the process described above. The panel must be formed within ten days of receipt of the written request by the Provost.
4. A three-member panel will be selected as follows: The Provost, the faculty member, and the student involved will each select one member of the panel from the designated faculty.
5. The panel will review all appropriate material and make a written determination about the grade. This review must be completed within thirty days of the formation of the panel. The panel has the authority to assign a grade for the course in question. That grade may be the same grade as assigned by the instructor, or a higher, or a lower grade, according to the panel’s judgment. The student and the instructor will be informed of the panel’s decision and, when applicable, the authorized grade change will be submitted to the Registrar.
6. The decision of the panel may be appealed by the original instructor, or the student, to the Provost only in the following extraordinary circumstances:
   • The grade change procedure was not followed
   •  Prejudice was manifested against either the student or the instructor
   • New, relevant information was introduced
   • The appeal must be brought within thirty days of the panel’s decision. The burden of the proof for the appeal rests with the individual bringing the appeal.
7. If the Provost believes that the decision of the panel should be reviewed, a three-member appeal panel will be appointed from the pool of faculty as described in paragraph 3 above. The Provost, the faculty member, and the student involved will each select one member.
   
   No member of the original panel may serve on the appeal panel. The appeal panel will follow the procedure in paragraph 5 above, including completion of its task within thirty days of the formation of the panel. The written decision of the appeal panel is final.