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.
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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
colleges 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 deans 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.)
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[ ] 8. Within one week of the deans 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.
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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
********************
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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 colleges 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 Committees 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.
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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)