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- Grievances seeking a grade change should first be taken to the instructor of the class. If a student feels he or she needs to take the matter further, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs should be consulted.
- After a professor has submitted grades to the Registrar’s office, the grades are final and may not be changed except with permission from the Academic Standards Committee, or, for changes arising from a mathematical, administrative or clerical error, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. All decisions of the Academic Standards Committee with respect to requests for grade changes shall be final.
- Requests for changes to grades must be made no later than:
- forty-five (45) days after the date set by the official Academic Calendar for the end of that semester’s final exams; or
- three (3) weeks after the contested grades are posted, whichever is later.
- To qualify, a requested grade change must allege facts indicating a basis for the change that falls within one of three categories set forth below and in accordance with the policies detailed below:
- Mathematical, Administrative, or Clerical Error
- Upon a showing that a grade was recorded in error due to a mathematical error, administrative error, or clerical error, a grade change will be presented to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
- A mathematical error is an error based upon an incorrect calculation of a student’s score on an exam or in a class, such as an error in addition, subtraction, or other formulaic error.
- An administrative error is a non-mathematical error made by a faculty member in reading a student’s exam, such as unintentionally overlooking a portion of a student’s exam answer.
- A clerical error is an error, other than those addressed above, such as a transcription error. Clerical errors are not limited to errors made by faculty and include errors made by a staff member after a faculty member has turned in his or her grades.
- Challenges to grades based on any of the above grounds first shall be addressed directly with the faculty member responsible for the grade. If the faculty member agrees that a mathematical error, administrative error, or clerical error has been made, the faculty member shall submit the request for a grade change to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
- If the faculty member does not agree that a mathematical error, administrative error, or clerical error has been made, the student may submit a written request for the change to the Academic Standards Committee. The committee shall allow the faculty member to provide a written response and shall conduct any investigation it deems necessary. If the faculty member involved is a member of the Committee, the faculty member shall be recused from participating in the deliberations.
- Bias
- A grade challenge made on the basis of bias would include an allegation by a student that his or her grade was unfairly awarded based upon a particular faculty member’s bias with regard to (and presumably against) that student.
- To allege bias, a student must allege specific facts indicating professorial prejudice (either against a group of students or against the student making the allegation). To qualify for consideration, the challenge must allege that the prejudice stems from a source other than the student’s performance in class discussions, on the course’s webpage, on assignments, or on papers, quizzes, and examinations. Allegations of bias must be made under oath.
- Challenges based on bias shall be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs who shall forward the challenge directly to the Academic Standards Committee. The Committee shall allow the faculty member involved to provide a written response and shall conduct any investigation it deems necessary. If the faculty member involved is a member of the Committee, the faculty member shall be recused from participating in the deliberations.
- Arbitrary and Capricious Grading
- A grade challenge made on the basis of an allegation of arbitrary and capricious grading must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs who shall forward the challenge directly to the Academic Standards Committee.
- The Committee shall allow the faculty member involved to provide a written response and shall conduct any investigation it deems necessary. If the faculty member involved is a member of the Committee, the faculty member shall be recused from participating in the deliberations.
