Appeals Policy
A graduate student who believes that a course grade, a professional disposition decision, the result of a learning experience (e.g., academic dishonesty allegation or penalty, comprehensive examination, fieldwork, etc.), or an admission decision has been assigned in an arbitrary and capricious manner by the instructor or program may pursue a resolution of the dispute by submitting an appeal. The time limit for filing this appeal shall be within 60 days of the end of the academic semester in which the evaluation occurred or within 60 days of the admission decision. The student should carefully consider their own performance or application prior to submitting an appeal. The process is designed to resolve disputes at the lowest possible level, and attempting to resolve the dispute with the instructor or program is the first necessary step before further action can be initiated.
The Appeals process has not been designed to produce changes which are the result of a reevaluation of an instructor's or program's professional judgment about academic performance, admission criteria, or the substantive content of assignments completed by a student. In other words, the focus of the appeal is procedural due process (e.g., course management, errors in application of the course grading arrangements, review of professional dispositions, admission procedures, etc.), and not about the rightness or wrongness of the faculty member's or admission committee's content expertise, admission criteria, judgments about the relevancy of assigned readings, choice of materials, etc.
When a student feels that an assigned grade, result, or admission decision has been applied with arbitrary or capricious standards or procedures, and when the initial informal student-instructor or program level consultations have failed to resolve the situation, the following steps and procedures will be utilized:
The student will submit the approved Graduate School Appeals Form to the Department Chair with attachments to support their case. The Department Chair will investigate the issue by interviewing all parties involved. Although legal counsel is not considered appropriate or necessary for such proceedings, the appellant may request the presence of an advisor, staff member, faculty member, or advocate. The purpose of the inquiry is fact-finding. The Department Chair will then communicate their recommendation to the student in writing within ten (10) working days of receipt of the appeals form. This documentation will be attached to the Graduate School Appeals Form and become part of the record of the appeal. This written communication shall be sent by electronic mail to the e-mail address provided by the student on the appeal form.
If the student wishes to continue the appeal process, they may proceed to step two below, but must do so within ten (10) working days of receipt of the Department Chair’s recommendation.
Note: In the case of MLS, MPS, & MBA appeals, a course appeal will be reviewed by the department chair in the department offering the course. A program appeal will be given to the Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences for the MLS, the Dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences for the MPS, and, in the case of the MBA program, the Dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship with advisory copies routed to the academic department chairs involved. Other programs that may not clearly be assigned to an academic department shall be clarified by the graduate dean.
The Department Chair will forward the record of the appeal to the Graduate Dean. The Graduate Dean shall investigate the appeal by establishing a three-member hearing committee consisting of university graduate faculty. The graduate dean shall convene the committee, issue a charge, and then withdraw from the proceedings.
Although legal counsel is not considered appropriate or necessary for such proceedings, the appellant may request the presence of an advisor, staff member, faculty member, or advocate. The purpose of the inquiry is fact-finding. The appeal committee will make a recommendation to the graduate dean. In response, the graduate dean shall issue their recommendation to the provost with copies to all involved parties and the appropriate college dean within ten (10) working days. This documentation will be attached to the Graduate School Appeals Form and become part of the record of the appeal. This written communication shall be sent by electronic mail to the e-mail address provided by the student on the appeal form.
If the student wishes to continue the appeal process, they may proceed to step three below, but must do so within ten (10) working days of receipt of the Graduate Dean’s recommendation.
The Provost shall consider the record of the appeal, and the recommendations of the department chair, the hearing appeal committee, and Graduate Dean to render a written decision. Copies of this document will be sent to all parties involved in the appeal, including the student, instructors, Department Chair, and Graduate Dean. The decision shall embody one of the following:
- Agreement with the instructor, program, or committee's original assignment of grade, sanction, result, or admission decision.
- A change of the original assigned grade, sanction, or result. A change of grade will be noted on the grading record as an administrative grade change by the Provost.
- If possible, a retake of the course with another instructor.
- Other remedy determined by the Provost to be reasonable in light of the circumstances of the appeal.