Grade Appeal/Grade Change

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Any appeal of a grade must be initiated by the student with the instructor before an ensuing semester has elapsed. Students should be advised that in most instances a grade may be changed only by the instructor. The Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs (VPASA), the only other individual on campus empowered to change a student’s grade, may alter a student’s grade only in a case of obvious computational error or blatant abuse of the grading prerogative.

Students who believe they have a valid ground for a grade appeal will use the following process to resolve the issue:

  1. Meet with the instructor. The student shall contact the faculty member and schedule a meeting to discuss the grade appeal and attempt to resolve the conflict. The faculty member and student shall meet within the next five (5) work days.
  2. Meet with the Program Coordinator/Department Chair. If the issue was not resolved in Step 1, the student has three (3) workdays from the date of the faculty member’s decision to file a written appeal with the faculty member’s Program or Department Chair, or with the VPASA if the faculty member is also the Department Chair or Program Coordinator. Within three (3) work days the Department Chair (or VPASA) will mediate the dispute either through discussion with the instructor, or with the student in the company of the faculty member. If no resolution is reached, proceed to step 3.
  3. File a written appeal with the VPASA or designee. If the issue is not resolved in Step 1 or Step 2, the student has three (3) work days to file a written appeal with the VPASA or designee. The letter of appeal must include the student’s name and contact information, the course name and number, the semester in which the course was taken, the student’s grade, the name of the instructor issuing the grade, and specific evidence of obvious computational error and/or blatant abuse of the grading prerogative. The VPASA or designee will have ten (10) business days from receipt of the written appeal to render a decision. The decision of the VPASA or designee is final.