College Grade Appeal Policy

Grade Appeal Procedure

Summary

The College of Arts and Sciences establishes the following procedures for review of grade appeal cases for all Arts & Sciences courses. In keeping with The University of Nebraska Board of Regents Bylaws and Policies, the College provides an appeals procedure for students who believe that evaluation of their academic progress has been prejudiced or capricious. If all attempts at informal resolution fail, a student may file a formal written grade appeal with the appropriate department chair or program administrator within the first four weeks of the next regular semester.[1] If either a student or an instructor wishes to appeal a department or program grade appeal decision, the student or instructor may file a formal appeal with the college. The college appeal is the final level of grade appeal.

I. Department or Program-level Procedure

1. A student wishing to contest a grade should first consult the instructor for the course to make certain that the disputed grade is not the result of simple error or misunderstanding. It is recommended that the student contact the instructor immediately after the final course grade is posted. If the instructor is unavailable, the student should contact the department chair or program administrator.

2. If the student and instructor are unable to resolve the conflict informally, the student should contact the department chair or program administrator who may attempt informal mediation. It is recommended that all informal consultations be concluded within the first two to three weeks of the next regular semester. Timeline

3. If attempts at informal resolution fail, a student may file a formal written appeal with the department chair or program administrator within the first four weeks of the next regular semester. The written appeal must include explanation and evidence of prejudice or caprice in grading and an explicit statement regarding the outcome the student seeks. Evidence should include pertinent course materials, such as the course outline or syllabus, written instructions for assignments, and graded student work. The chair or administrator will form a grade appeal committee and provide a copy of the written appeal to the instructor.

4. Following receipt of the written appeal, the instructor has up to one week to provide a written response to the appeal to the department or program committee.

5. The department or program appeal committee must conclude appeal deliberations and communicate a decision to the student and instructor within two weeks of receipt of the instructor’s response. The appeal committee must be composed of at least three faculty and at least one student. If the committee finds that prejudice or caprice affected the final grade, the department chair or program administrator will change the student’s grade.

6. The department or program committee must submit a report to the associate dean of Arts & Sciences within one week of its final decision. The report must include the following:

   • the student appeal
   • the instructor response
   • a list of all grade appeal committee members
   • copies of any documents consulted in developing the final grade appeal decision
   • a statement from the chair, administrator, or grade appeal committee chair including an explanation of how the department’s procedures were followed, a timeline of the appeals process, a rationale for the final decision, and an explanation of how the final course grade was calculated.

[1] Regular semesters are fall and spring semesters. To appeal a grade from a fall course, the student must file a written appeal within the first four weeks of the next spring semester. To appeal a grade from a spring course, the student must file a written appeal within the first four weeks of the next fall semester. To appeal a grade from a summer course, the student must file a written appeal within the first four weeks of the next fall semester.

II. College-level Procedure

A. UNO Graduate Studies (graduate courses) Students and faculty wishing to file an appeal of a department or program grade appeal decision for a graduate course should contact the Graduate Studies Office at UNO for information on Graduate College procedure. The following College of Arts and Sciences procedure does not apply.

B. College of Arts and Sciences (undergraduate courses)

2. Any student or instructor wishing to file an appeal of a department or program appeal committee decision must submit a written appeal to one of two associate deans of Arts & Sciences within one week after that decision. Appeals from departments and programs from the humanities and social sciences should be sent to Dr. Randall Adkins. Appeals from departments and programs from the natural sciences and mathematics should be sent to Dr. Jodi Kreiling. Such appeals should include the following:
   • an account of the facts surrounding the awarding of the disputed grade;
   • a complete account of steps taken at the department or program level to resolve the dispute;
   • copies of documents relevant to the grade appeal, including a copy of the course syllabus;
   • an explanation of how the relevant grades were calculated/miscalculated.
     
     
3. Upon receiving the written appeal, the appropriate associate dean will notify the chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Educational Policy Committee (EPC) of the need to convene an appeal committee and will forward the department’s report as well as the written appeal to the EPC chair. That associate dean will also notify the dean of the need to appoint two student committee members.
   
   
4. The College appeal committee will include all members of the EPC who are not members of the department in question and at least two student members who are appointed by the dean. A final decision on the appeal by this committee will be due two weeks after the EPC chair receives the written appeal and the department or program report.
   
   
5. In ruling on grade appeals, the College committee will not attempt to resolve disputes about a student’s knowledge of a particular subject matter. The committee’s responsibilities do extend, however, to matters of both substance and process. Regarding substance, the committee will determine whether evaluation of a student has been prejudiced or capricious. Regarding process, the committee will determine whether or not grade appeal procedures have been followed.
   
   
6. In response to an appeal of department or program process, the committee will determine whether grade appeal procedures have been completed in a reasonable manner. If procedures are not complete, the committee may require the department or program appeal committee to reconvene.
   
   
7. In response to an appeal based on charges of caprice or prejudice in grading, the committee may determine that it concurs with the judgment of the department or program appeal committee and will adopt the original recommendation on the matter as its own.

OR

The committee may determine that an academic evaluation by an instructor has been improper, or that the instructor’s evaluation was wrongly held to be improper as the result of the original grade appeal, and it will advise the dean that the student’s grade should be changed accordingly.

Recommended Timetable:

Grade Appeal Policies

1. The College of Arts and Sciences will set grade appeal policies and procedures that operate within the University of Nebraska Board of Regents Bylaws and Policies
   

   Bylaws of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents Chapter V--(January 25, 2018) 5.3 Academic Evaluation.
   “Each College or school shall provide for a faculty-student appeals committee for students who believe that evaluation of their academic progress has been prejudiced or capricious. Such procedure shall provide for changing a student’s evaluation upon the committee’s finding that an academic evaluation by a member of a faculty has been improper.”

   University of Nebraska Board of Regents Policies Chapter 5.-- (October 3, 2018) Instructional and Grading Procedures 2b.
   “….The faculty of each department, school, or equivalent unit shall provide a committee to consider the appeal of those cases in which a student feels the performance evaluation was unfair. Colleges shall provide standing committees to consider cases in which the student or faculty member chooses to appeal the initial decision. Any of these committees shall have the authority to direct changes in the grade based upon its findings.”

2. The College of Arts & Sciences will maintain department and program grade appeal policies and procedures that operate within the University of Nebraska at Omaha Graduate Office grade appeal policies and procedures so that, at the department/program level, there is one procedure for both undergraduate and graduate appeals.

   Graduate Catalog

   “Students who believe their evaluation in a course has been prejudiced or capricious must first attempt to resolve the matter with the course instructor and then the department through which the course was offered. The initiation of the appeal in writing by the student must be filed within six weeks following receipt of the grade from the Office of the Registrar.”

3. The College of Arts and Sciences will operate within the parameters set by the Board of Regents and the Graduate Office but will set additional requirements and deadlines.

4. The College of Arts and Sciences will set deadlines and procedures for grade appeals that will allow resolution of both the department/program appeal and the undergraduate college appeal within the first ten weeks of regular semesters, allowing students filing appeals to make informed decisions for early registration and to move forward with their academic careers.

5. Departments and programs within the College of Arts and Sciences will maintain grade appeal policies and procedures that operate within the College of Arts and Sciences Grade Appeal Policies and Procedures for Departments and Programs.