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Grade Changes & Appeals

Grade Changes

Grades may be changed due to clerical or calculation error on the part of the instructor or the Registrar’s Office ONLY, not for work submitted after the end of the term (unless the previous grade was an incomplete) Requests for change of grade are to be made by the instructor on the student’s behalf to the provost (undergraduate) or dean of the appropriate graduate or doctorate program. Grade change requests must be made within 1 calendar year of the grade due date (as published in the Academic Calendar) of the term in which the coursework was taken. However, grade changes will not be accepted more than 45 days after the conferral of a degree, at which time the Registrar’s Office officially closes the student’s degree record. Exception: transcript remains open if there is pending grade appeal. This applies to grads and undergrads.

Appeals

Grade Appeals

The instructor of a course is responsible for the evaluation of a student’s work in the classroom. If students believe that they can objectively demonstrate that a course grade is in error, or that some documented extenuating circumstance was not taken into consideration, they may pursue a Grade Appeal.  Please note that the only permissible reason for a Grade Appeal is the unfair evaluation of academic work, and that only final course grades are subject to appeal.  Course grades assigned as a result of academic dishonesty are overseen by the Board on Academic Standards and should not be appealed using the procedure here; see the section on Academic Dishonesty. 

• Before bringing an appeal, students should consider the following questions:

- Does the calculation of final numerical grades match the percentages stated in the instructor’s syllabus?

- What was your true attendance record?

- Have all course requirements been met, as stated in the syllabus? Does your submitted work satisfy the requirements for each assignment?

• If, after answering these questions, the student believes that a grade appeal is needed, he/she must first make every effort to contact the course instructor and attempt to resolve the situation. If the instructor is difficult to reach or unresponsive, the student should request that the department contact the instructor.
• If the student is unable to reach a resolution after consulting the instructor, or if the instructor cannot be contacted, the student may then file a Grade Appeal with the chair of the relevant academic department.  (If the instructor and the department chair are one and the same, the appeal should be made to the Provost's Office, for undergraduates, or the relevant Dean, for graduate students.) A student’s appeal should demonstrate an objective discrepancy between the way in which s/he was evaluated and the grading standards outlined in the syllabus.
• Grade appeals must be made in writing and must be filed within 45 days of the grade award date. By submitting a grade appeal, the student acknowledges that the final grade resulting from the process may be the same as the original, higher, or even lower.
• The student’s appeal will be considered by an ad hoc departmental or divisional committee. After considering the student's appeal and consulting with the instructor, the department will notify the student of its decision in writing.  This notification will be no later than the end of the semester following the one in which the grade was given.
• If the student believes that the departmental appeal process failed to consider important evidence, or was procedurally incorrect, s/he may further appeal the grade to the Grade Appeals Committee by filing a second Grade Appeal within 14 days of the department's decision.  Such an appeal will only be considered on the basis of new evidence or a lack of due process. The Grade Appeals Committee is convened by the Provost (for undergraduates) or the relevant Dean (for graduate students) and consists of faculty members with relevant academic expertise.  The decision of the Grade Appeals Committee is final.

Grading and Evaluations

The College maintains the following letter grading system:

A. (4.0), for work of exceptional quality that demonstrates deep insight into the material of the course and mastery of the discipline’s method of inquiry. It may also connote outstanding creativity and originality of thought.

B. (3.0), for work of good quality that demonstrates a thorough grasp of the material of the course and the discipline’s method of inquiry.

C. (2.0), for work that is satisfactory in quantity and demonstrates an acceptable acquaintance with the material and the method.

D. (1.0), for work that only minimally meets the standards of the course.

F. (0.0), for work that is unsatisfactory and/or incomplete, showing little or no mastery of the material or method of inquiry. F is also used when a student withdraws from a course after the withdrawal deadline.

P. (no grade point value), for satisfactory work in a course taken on a Pass/Fail basis. (A maximum of four Pass/Fail credits may be taken in any one semester.)

W. for a course from which the student has withdrawn, with the approval of the instructor and advisor, or Provost or relevant Dean, before the withdrawal deadline.

Incomplete (GD) is given only for extraordinary reasons and means that an instructor granted an extension for a period established by the Provost or relevant Dean. Only students may request incompletes. Cannot be awarded using online grading. Incomplete requests must be finalized by the last day of classes for the semester within which they apply. Incompletes must be finished by the following dates:

Fall Semester - February 1st

Wintersession - March 1st

Spring Semester - July 1st

Summer Session - October 1st

School of Graduate & Professional Studies Module Terms

Fall 2M Module - January 15th

Winter Module - April 1st

Spring 2M Module - July 1st

Summer Module - October 1st

Until then, no grade is entered on the transcript. If the work is not completed by the stipulated deadline, the student receives a grade of F.

Other Grades

Z. (no grade point value), used as a temporary placeholder for coursework that extends beyond the end date of the course's term. Used in rare cases for doctoral dissertations, certain internships and one-year courses. It is still assigned a conversion date, similar to the incomplete (GD) grade as listed above. Cannot be awarded using online grading.

In addition, the instructor has the option of awarding grades of A - (3.75), B + (3.25), and B - (2.75), and C + (2.25), and C - (1.75).

Pass/Fail Option

Students (except those on probation) may choose to take up to 4 credits a semester on a Pass/Fail rather than a letter grade basis. However, this grading option must be indicated on the registration form and can only be changed up to the end of the Add/Drop period. Thereafter the decision cannot be changed.

Note: All coursework to be counted toward the major and minor must be taken for a letter grade, and must receive a grade of C- or better, unless an individual department stipulates otherwise. The single exception to this is the internship taken on a pass/fail basis. Students who wish to fulfill a major or minor requirement with an internship on a pass/fail basis, must have approval from the department chair.

Grade Changes & Appeals

Grade Changes

Grades may be changed due to clerical or calculation error on the part of the instructor or the Registrar’s Office ONLY, not for work submitted after the end of the term (unless the previous grade was an incomplete) Requests for change of grade are to be made by the instructor on the student’s behalf to the provost (undergraduate) or dean of the appropriate graduate or doctorate program. Grade change requests must be made within 1 calendar year of the grade due date (as published in the Academic Calendar) of the term in which the coursework was taken. However, grade changes will not be accepted more than 45 days after the conferral of a degree, at which time the Registrar’s Office officially closes the student’s degree record.

Grade Appeals

The instructor of a course is responsible for the evaluation of a student’s work in the classroom. If students believe that they can objectively demonstrate that a course grade is in error, or that some documented extenuating circumstance was not taken into consideration, they may pursue a Grade Appeal.  Please note that the only permissible reason for a Grade Appeal is the unfair evaluation of academic work, and that only final course grades are subject to appeal.  Course grades assigned as a result of academic dishonesty are overseen by the Board on Academic Standards and should not be appealed using the procedure here; see the section on Academic Dishonesty.

• Before bringing an appeal, students should consider the following questions:

- Does the calculation of final numerical grades match the percentages stated in the instructor’s syllabus?

- What was your true attendance record?

- Have all course requirements been met, as stated in the syllabus? Does your submitted work satisfy the requirements for each assignment?

• If, after answering these questions, the student believes that a grade appeal is needed, he/she must first make every effort to contact the course instructor and attempt to resolve the situation. If the instructor is difficult to reach or unresponsive, the student should request that the department contact the instructor.
• If the student is unable to reach a resolution after consulting the instructor, or if the instructor cannot be contacted, the student may then file a Grade Appeal with the chair of the relevant academic department.  (If the instructor and the department chair are one and the same, the appeal should be made to the Provost's Office, for undergraduates, or the relevant Dean, for graduate students.) A student’s appeal should demonstrate an objective discrepancy between the way in which s/he was evaluated and the grading standards outlined in the syllabus.
• Grade appeals must be made in writing and must be filed within 45 days of the grade award date. By submitting a grade appeal, the student acknowledges that the final grade resulting from the process may be the same as the original, higher, or even lower.
• The student’s appeal will be considered by an ad hoc departmental or divisional committee. After considering the student's appeal and consulting with the instructor, the department will notify the student of its decision in writing.  This notification will be no later than the end of the semester following the one in which the grade was given.
• If the student believes that the departmental appeal process failed to consider important evidence, or was procedurally incorrect, s/he may further appeal the grade to the Grade Appeals Committee by filing a second Grade Appeal within 14 days of the department's decision.  Such an appeal will only be considered on the basis of new evidence or a lack of due process. The Grade Appeals Committee is convened by the Provost (for undergraduates) or the relevant Dean (for graduate students) and consists of faculty members with relevant academic expertise.  The decision of the Grade Appeals Committee is final.

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