Students who are enrolled in a College of Integrative Sciences and Arts course and believe they have been unfairly or improperly graded may be assured of just treatment and fair consideration through the processes described below. Any such grievance must be started within the regular semester immediately following the course at issue, whether the student is enrolled in the university or not.
Please be aware that Grade Appeals are for the final grade received in a course. We cannot do appeals for individual assignments/exams. Grade appeals can only be requested at the end of the semester and can only progress for one of the following three reasons:
- There was an error in calculating the final grade (arithmetic error).
- The criteria for determining the final grade were changed from what was specified in the syllabus (i.e. four quizzes given instead of five).
- The evaluation system was not consistently and fairly applied to all students
Informal process
Grade Appeals have two processes, informal and formal. The informal needs to be completed first before the formal one. Most Grade Appeals are resolved in the informal process. It is university policy that students filing grievances and those who are witnesses are protected from retaliation. Students who believe they are victims of retaliation should immediately contact the dean of the college or school in which the course is offered.
Step 1:
The student should communicate with their instructor and discuss the problem openly.
Step 2:
If this discussion does not result in a satisfactory resolution, the student may appeal in writing with documentation to the faculty lead of the instructor’s area. If you do not know who the faculty lead of the department in question is, please contact cisa@asu.edu for help identifying them. If, after consulting with the faculty lead, there is still no satisfactory resolution, the student may move on to the Formal Process.
If the student is not satisfied with the resolution after discussing the situation with the instructor and faculty lead, they may now submit a formal grade appeal following the procedures outlined below. They will have the opportunity to present their case to a hearing panel of three faculty members from the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. All hearings are held over Zoom.
Formal process
Step 1:
Download the Grade Appeal Form and fill it out.
Please ensure you include any documentation you have to support your appeal. You must also include your availability for a hearing. Hearings are scheduled Monday through Friday from 9 am - 4 pm. Please include several options for the hearing using these time frames, so coordinating a hearing is more feasible for all parties involved.
Step 2:
Once the Grade Appeal Representative has received the above from the student, we will work to get the instructor’s and the committee members' availability for a hearing that matches the student’s.
Step 3:
When we have everyone’s availability, the Grade Appeal representative will send out a Zoom link for the hearing.
Step 4:
The Grade Appeal representative will prepare a packet consisting of the student's statement and documentation and the instructor's statement and any documentation they submit. This packet will be given to the hearing panel members prior to the hearing so they may review it.
The hearing
The hearing panel will consist of 3 faculty members, which shall be conducted by the panel chair and shall be closed. Participants may be accompanied by an advisor of their choice. Advisors may confer with their advisee. Advisors may not directly address the committee or other participants. The Academic Integrity Office will digitally record the hearing, and the digital file will be maintained by the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts for two years after the decision on the grievance is made. The student and/or instructor may record the meeting at their own expense and with their own equipment.
At the hearing, the student will present their position first within 10 minutes, including the presentation of witness testimony and documentation. The same process will be followed with the presentation of the instructor’s statement. The hearing panel may ask questions of either the student or the instructor. All questions should be related to the specific allegations of the grievance or statements in the response, and the chair has final authority to judge relevancy.
After the grievant and instructor have concluded their presentations, each will be excused while the panel deliberates. The chair of the panel shall prepare a written report with the recommendations of the majority of the panel for the dean. The dean will have the final say on the outcome of the hearing. Once the dean has made their decision, the parties involved will be emailed the verdict. The dean’s decision is final, and no other appeals can be submitted.
