Academic Grievance

Grade Disputes
Students who believe that they have received an incorrect grade should initiate the following process within one month of receiving the grade. Student who have issues about a grade should follow the process below beginning as soon as the issue arises:

Informal Process
Initially, the student should schedule an appointment with the faculty member concerned and discuss the problem. this does not resolve the situation, the Graduate Program Director should be consulted.

If this does not result in satisfactory resolution, the student may appeal to the Chair of the department where the issue occurred.

If a satisfactory resolution is not achieved, the student may confer with the Dean of the School. The Dean determines if the student's grade dispute should be brought to the Grievance Committee.

Graduate Grievance Review Process

Introduction
These procedures are intended to support a fair hearing of any student academic grievance issue by the Graduate Grievance Committee. When convened to hear a students academic grievance, the Committee will consist of four members, the Director of Graduate Studies, who will chair the committee, a department chair from a non-involved academic department appointed by the Chief Academic Officer, the Registrar and a faculty member appointed by the Chief Academic Officer of the College.

Students who believe they have been unfairly and/or improperly treated, or have any other complaints regarding academic matters should report their issues to the Office of Graduate Studies, which will begin the grievance review process.

Any students who believe they have a grievance should first follow the informal process listed below.

Informal Process

1. Initially, the aggrieved student should schedule an appointment with the faculty member concerned and discuss the problem.
2. If this does not resolve the situation, the Graduate Program Director should be consulted.
3. If this does not result in satisfactory resolution, the student may appeal the Chair of the department where the issue is occurred.
4. If a satisfactory resolution is not achieved, the student may confer with the Director of Graduate Studies.

If the grievance has not been successfully cleared at this time, the student may request the matter be referred to the Grievance Committee. This should be done within ten days after the informal process is ended.

Timing for Reviews
Students must meet with the Director of Graduate Studies to discuss the formal process within one month of the incident(s). If the informal process does not resolve the issue for the student, she/he should immediately begin the following process:

Formal Process:

• Students who feel they have not been heard in the informal process may request a formal hearing by the Grievance Committee.
• The student must submit all documentation she/he has surrounding the claim within seven days of filing grievance.
• The Grievance Committee will meet in a timely fashion and examine all relevant material. The Committee reserves the right to contact or solicit information from any person who the committee feels would be helpful to the process. The Committee's findings will be submitted to the student, faculty members, and other involved parties.
• Specified time limitations refer to the academic year of September through June. Time limits are suspended for official University holidays or other closures. "Days" refers to days the College is open for business.