Mathematics Department Policy on Grade Appeals
Passed by the Executive Committee 1/29/97
(See also Article V, Grade Appeals, of the Bylaws of the Franklin
College of Arts and Sciences.)
I. Grounds for appeal
The responsibility to assign a grade to each
student in a course rests with the instructor of the course. It
is expected that in assigning grades, the instructor will uniformly
apply objective academic standards. If a student feels that academic
standards were not applied fairly in his or her case, or that the
information used by the instructor to determine the grade was erroneous,
then the student may seek to have the grade changed, in accordance
with the procedure outlined below.
A student's grade in a course must reflect his or her performance
in the course. The grading standards in a course are the responsibility
of the instructor; the standards set by the instructor are not proper
grounds for a grade appeal. Moreover, it is the responsibility of
the instructor to decide whether to allow a student to make up exams
or homework which were missed or affected by the student's personal
circumstances; such decisions are not proper grounds for a grade
appeal.
II. The responsibility of the student
1) The student must first discuss the grade with the instructor.
2) If the instructor determines that the grade should not be changed,
but the student believes that he or she has a grievance, then the
student may file a written appeal with the Head of the Mathematics
Department. The letter of appeal must be filed within one year from
the end of the course. The letter must clearly state the grounds
for the appeal.
III. The appeals process
1) Upon receiving the letter of appeal, the Department Head will
appoint a three-member committee of faculty of the Mathematics Department,
excluding the instructor, to investigate the appeal. This committee
must be acceptable both to the student filing the appeal and to
the instructor. (If the student and the instructor cannot agree
on the membership of the committee, then the committee will be chosen
as follows. The student will select the first member of the committee,
the instructor will select the second member, and the first two
committee members will select the third member.)
2) The committee will give the instructor ample opportunity to explain
the original grade. The committee may also interview the student
and review the grade records of the course.
If the committee finds that there is insufficient evidence to support
the appeal, then the student's grade will remain unchanged.
If the committee finds that there is sufficient evidence to support
the appeal, then the committee will determine whether the student's
grade should be changed. The committee will recommend a grade change
only if such a change increases the accuracy of the assessment of
the student's performance in the course.
3) The committee will write a report explaining its decision. If
the committee rules that a grade change is warranted, the report
must explain in what way the original grade was arrived at inappropriately,
and explain why the new grade more accurately reflects the student's
performance. Copies of the report will be provided to the student,
the instructor, and the Department Head. The committee's report
will be submitted no later than one month after the appointment
of the committee.
4) If the committee decides that a change of grade is warranted,
the Department Head will submit the appropriate form to the Dean's
office, signed by the Department Head and countersigned by at least
two of the members of the committee.
IV. Right of further appeal
If either the instructor or the student disagrees with the decision
of the committee, he or she has the right to appeal the decision
to the Committee on Academic Standards of the Franklin College of
Arts and Sciences.
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