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Grade Appeal for On Campus Students September 2018tk

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TO: The On Campus Student Appealing a Course Grade

FROM: The Office of Associate Provost for Academic Affairs

NOTE: PRIOR TO BEGINNING THIS PROCESS, the student should meet with the

instructor who awarded the grade to discuss the situation and to attempt to

resolve the problem.

Introduction

The instructor (defined as one who has the responsibility for a class, special project, or thesis) has the

authority class over all matters affecting the conduct of the class, including the assignment of grades.

Student performance should be evaluated according to academic criteria made available to all

students within the first two weeks of each semester, and grades should not be determined in an

arbitrary or capricious manner. When a student disagrees with the final grade given by an instructor,

fair play requires the opportunity for an orderly appellate procedure. A student must initiate the

appeal procedure within 20 school days (excluding Saturday, Sunday, and official student holidays)

of the beginning of the semester subsequent to the one in which the grade was awarded if enrolled

that semester (otherwise, within 20 school days of the next semester in which the student is

enrolled), or 150 calendar days after the issuance of spring semester grades, should the student not be

enrolled during either summer semester. This appellate process does not involve allegations

concerning the competence of a faculty member, the fairness of examinations, the difficulty of a

course, or matters of a purely academic nature. Rather, its purpose is to provide for the collection

and evaluation of evidence shedding light on an allegation that a grade is invalid because of arbitrary

capricious, or unethical behavior on the part of an instructor of record.

When you challenge a grade, the burden of proof lies with you. Be certain that your case for appeal

is complete and thorough. Read the following description of the grade appeal process carefully, and

follow each step. It is your responsibility to bring the original Appeal Form for Grade Review, a

copy of which is attached to this memo, to each stage in the appeal process. (If the appeal reaches

the office of the Associate Provost, you will present a copy of this form to him.) Additional

information concerning the grade review process is available in the Student Handbook. It should be

noted that if the chair and/or dean finds for the student, the faculty member has the same right of

appeal as the student.

Grade Appeal for On Campus Students September 2018tk

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Procedure Checklist:

[ ] 1. You should have obtained these papers from a chair in a department office, from a

dean in a college office, or from a representative of the Office of the Associate

Provost, 310 Wayne A. Reaud Building. If you have any questions, your department

chair, your dean, or the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs (880-8400) will be

happy to explain the entire process, in addition to your rights and obligations.

[ ] 2. The first step in the grade review process is a discussion between the student and the

instructor who awarded the grade. If you have not already had such a discussion, you

must do so immediately.

[ ] 3. Fill in the information that is requested at the top of the Appeal Form for Grade

Review, which is attached.

[ ] 4. On a separate paper (8.5" x 11") to be attached to the Appeal Form for Grade

Review, summarize your reasons for believing that you deserve a change of grade in

the course. You must include a summary of the discussion with your instructor,

emphasizing why you believe that the instructor acted in an arbitrary and/or a

capricious manner.

[ ] 5. Give the instructor a copy of your summary, and ask him or her to sign the Appeal

Form for Grade Review and return it to you. If the instructor refuses to sign the form,

proceed to the next step.

[ ] 6. Make an appointment with the chair of the department in which the course was

taught. Explain to the chair the problem with your grade, and give him/her the

Appeal Form for Grade Review (with attachment). The chair will schedule a meeting

with you and the instructor, either separately or together. If no agreement is reached

at this meeting, the department chair will sign the Appeal Form for Grade Review

and return it to you, and will write his/her own assessment of the grade dispute. A

copy will be given to you as well as included in the materials forwarded to the

college level. You should give the chair copies of all materials that you have that

were relevant to the calculation of your grade. The instructor will do the same.

Proceed to Step 7. (If the department chair is also the instructor, skip Step 6 and

proceed to Step 7.)

[ ] 7. Make an appointment with the academic dean of the college in which the instructor

teaches. Explain to the dean the problem with your grade, and give him/her the

Appeal Form for Grade Review (with attachment). The dean may convene the

college’s Student-Faculty Relations Committee to review the materials related to the

grade appeal (given to him/her by the department chair), after which the Committee

will make a recommendation to the dean. Based upon the dean’s analysis of the

situation, perhaps informed by a recommendation from the Student-Faculty Relations

Committee, the dean will try to resolve the problem. If no solution is reached and

you wish to continue your appeal, the dean will sign the Appeal Form for Grade

Review and give you a copy. (If the dean is also the instructor, skip Step 7 and

proceed to Step 8.)

Grade Appeal for On Campus Students September 2018tk

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[ ] 8. Within one week of the dean’s decision, you must bring to the Office of the

Associate Provost (Room 310, Wayne A. Reaud Building; 880-8400) the copy of

your Appeal Form for Grade Review and a written letter of appeal of his/her

decision, summarizing your reason(s) for it. These items will constitute your appeal

to the Associate Provost. He will then contact the dean and obtain the original

Appeal Form for Grade Review and all materials relevant to your appeal.

[ ] 9. When the complete appeal package is received by the Associate Provost, a University

Grade Review (UGR) Committee will be appointed from among the members of the

five college Student-Faculty Relations Committees. The committee will be

comprised of four faculty from colleges other than the one in which the appeal

originated and three students, one of whom shall be a graduate student and all of

whom shall be majors in departments other than the department in which the appeal

originated. The committee chair will contact you at either the telephone number or

the e-mail address you provided in the heading on the Appeal Form for Grade

Review. You will be provided a list of the members and alternates of the UGR

Committee (one of which you may challenge for cause) and an academic records

waiver form. The UGR Committee will review all materials related to the appeal and

will make a recommendation to the Associate Provost, who will make the final

decision. If the University Grade Review Committee decides to talk with you in

person, you will be notified of the date and time.

Grade Appeal for On Campus Students September 2018tk

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APPEAL FORM FOR GRADE REVIEW – ON CAMPUS STUDENTS

NAME: _____________________________________________ DATE: ___________________

TELEPHONE: ____________________________ E-MAIL: _____________________________

LOCAL ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________________

CLASS: [ ] Freshman [ ] Sophomore [ ] Junior [ ] Senior [ ] Graduate Student

MAJOR: _______________________________ ADVISOR: ____________________________

NOTE: Notify the Office of the Associate Provost if any of the above data changes

(Phone: 409-880-8400, Email: AcademicAffairs@lamar.edu).

COURSE:

(Course Prefix, Section, Title)

SEMESTER IN WHICH DISPUTED GRADE WAS AWARDED: __________________________

(Semester / Year)

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR: _________________________________________________________

GRADE RECEIVED: _________________ GRADE EXPECTED: _________________

********************

To the Instructor: Because you and the student were unable to resolve the grade dispute to your

mutual satisfaction, the appeal is being carried to the departmental level. You should sign this

Appeal Form for Grade Review in the space provided below, indicating only that the conference

described took place, and return it to the student. Your department chair will request a meeting with

you and the student, either separately or together. You should take with you to this conference all

materials used in the calculation of the student's grade. At this time you may wish to provide your

department chair with a response to the student's statement. “University Procedures in Reference to

Student Academic Grievances,” in which the grade appeal process is described, is included in

Appendix H in the Faculty Handbook. If your chair and/or the dean finds in favor of the student, you

have the same right of appeal to the next higher authority as the student.

_________________________________ ___________________________

Signature of the Instructor Date

********************

Grade Appeal for On Campus Students September 2018tk

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To the Department Chair: You must schedule a meeting with the student and the instructor, either

separately or together, and attempt to resolve the grade dispute. In the event you are unable to do so,

you must:

(1) sign the Appeal Form for Grade Review and return it to the student; and

(2) furnish copies of all materials relevant to the calculation of the student's grade to the

dean of your college:

a. a copy of page(s) from the course grade book with names (but not the grades)

of other students in the class deleted;

b. all tests, quizzes, reports, exams, or other materials which were used in

determining the grade (student should supply copies of those which were

returned);

c. a description of the procedure utilized to calculate the course grade, as well as

the grading criteria actually given to the students, in writing, at the beginning

of the course.

(3) In addition, you should obtain and forward to your dean whatever else either party

deems pertinent as part of the appeal package (e.g., handouts, class notes, letters of

support), and include a written summary of your own assessment of the grade

dispute.

______________________________ ___________________________

Signature of the Department Chair Date

********************

To the Dean: You should convene the college’s Student-Faculty Relations Committee and/or

attempt to reconcile the problem concerning the disputed grade. If this proves impossible (i.e., you

decide to deny the appeal based upon the Committee’s recommendation and/or your own

actions/analysis), within two weeks following your original receipt of the appeal you must schedule a

meeting with the student and inform him/her of your decision. Then, ask if the student wishes to

continue the appeal. If not, the process has been concluded, and you should retain all the materials

relevant to the appeal in your files for at least three years. If so (or if the student is unsure),

(1) inform the student both orally and in writing that he/she must present the required

appeal documents to the Associate Provost within seven days of your meeting;

(2) sign the original Appeal Form for Grade Review (which the student has), give a copy

to the student with guidance that it must be given to the Associate Provost, in person,

along with the required letter of appeal describing his/her reasons for doing so;

(3) notify the Associate Provost, in writing, of the potential appeal;

(4) retain the signed, original Appeal Form for Grade Review and all materials relevant

to the appeal for transmittal to the Provost if requested within the one-week appeal

period.

Grade Appeal for On Campus Students September 2018tk

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Check One: ___ Student-Faculty Relations Committee Convened

(attach recommendation)

___ Student-Faculty Relations Committee Not Convened

________________________________ ___________________________

Signature of the Dean Date

*******************************

To the Office of the Associate Provost: Included with this form are all materials pertinent to a grade

appeal which has progressed from the instructor level through the decanal level. Please sign and date

this Appeal Form for Grade Review and indicate the action to be taken.

______________________________ ___________________________

Signature of the Associate Provost Date

[ ] Referred to University Grade Review Committee

[ ] Student contacted on _____________________________

Date/Time

[ ] Other (describe below)

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