Appeals received by the Registrar’s Office within the accepted time frame shall be reviewed by the appropriate grade appeals committee. Appeals will be heard by the grade appeals committee of the department that staffs the course. If the appeal is from a course offered by a non-departmental program, including graduate programs, the appeal will be heard by the grade appeals committee of the program if one exists. If the program does not have a grade appeals committee, the appeal will be heard by the grade appeals committee of the faculty member’s home department. Hereafter, “department” refers to the relevant departmental or program grade appeals committee.
The department committee has 30 calendar days to review the appeal. If the Registrar’s Office sends the appeal before the beginning of the fall or spring semester, the department grade appeals committee has 30 days from the first day of the semester. If the Registrar’s Office sends the appeal after a semester has started, the department grade appeals committee shall have 30 days from the date the appeal is sent. If the Registrar’s Office sends the appeal and 30 days are not remaining in the semester, that appeal will be deferred to the start of the following semester. The Department Chair/Program Director is responsible for ensuring that the committee makes a timely decision. The department grade appeals committee shall review all material submitted with the appeal. The department grade appeals committee may request additional information from the student, professor, or other parties as appropriate. A grade change cannot be recommended unless the professor has had an opportunity to address the student’s appeal before the committee. At the conclusion of review, the department committee shall inform the Department Chair/Program Director whether it does or does not support a change of grade. If the committee supports a change of final grade, this will be recommended to the faculty member.