Basis for Graduate Student Grade Appeals
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The student may not base a grade appeal on disagreement with the grading policy as established and published by the course instructor.
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Only the final grade submitted by the course instructor at the conclusion of the course can be appealed. Grades on individual course assignments cannot be appealed separately in this process although demonstration of instructor’s error on the grades for individual assignments may serve as the primary evidence for a successful appeal of the final course grade.
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The student may base a grade appeal on the instructors’ (a) failure to follow a published grading policy in calculating grades for the course as a whole or in calculating the grade for the complainant and/or (b) erroneous or unfair application of the published grading policy or standards in determining the complainant’s grade in the course.
Guidance Regarding Documentation
The burden of proof in the grade appeal is always on the student. Therefore, the student must substantiate the grievance. Retention of all documentation from a course, including but not limited to the syllabus, tests, papers, and any other graded evaluations is strongly recommended.
Graduate Grade Appeals Process
Graduate grade appeals follow the processes detailed in the Graduate Academic Appeals Process.
