This process is designed as a mechanism of appeal for a student who believes that a grade has been unjustly rendered, such as a failing grade, a grade that results in being dismissed from a program, or a grade that requires retaking a course. Student grade appeals must follow all procedures.
The student must first meet with the professor for the course. If a satisfactory resolution does not occur, the student may next meet with the Chair of the department which offers the course. If there is no satisfaction at this level, then the student may meet with the Dean of the School in which the course resides.
If the student believes that he/she has received no satisfaction at this point, the following steps may be taken.
Section A
Notice of a desire to initiate an appeals process (hereafter referred to as a petition) must be submitted in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of the School affected by the appeal, Department Chair in which the course resides, and the professor for the course in question, no later than the end of the second week immediately following the course end in which the appealed grade was posted. Students working in a clinical rotation or field experience must initiate the petition by the tenth working day after notification of the failing grade.
Section B
The petitioner must prepare a written statement indicating why the grade or professional judgment received is not acceptable to him/her. The petitioner may include some or all of the following academic factors in the written statement:
- Attendance
- Class participation
- Written and oral assignments
- Quiz, test, and exam grades
- Clinical, professional laboratory experience, studio performance, or field work in teaching environment.
- Professional performance
- Grading explanations found in the Felician University Student Handbook and the Felician University Catalog.
This written statement shall be submitted to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean of the affected School, the Department Chair/Program Director in which the course resides, and the professor. After receiving notification of the grade appeal, the professor has the responsibility to prepare a written statement regarding how his/her students are graded, and why the student in question received the grade at issue. The professor’s statement shall be submitted to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean of the affected School, and the Department Chair/Program Director in which the course resides, and the petitioner.
Section C
The Vice President for Academic Affairs, after receiving the petition, as well as any relevant documents and exhibits, notifies the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee. Within a timely manner of the receipt of the petition, but no more than a month from when the petition is received, the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee will convene a meeting of the sub-committee to hear the appeal. (The sub-committee is defined as a quorum of the Graduate Studies Committee.) Before this meeting, all those members of the sub-committee shall examine written statements of the student’s and professor’s positions, along with any relevant documents and exhibits in support of both. All involved parties will be given written notice of the time and place of the meeting. The meeting will be open only to the student, professor, and the sub-committee members.
Section D
The following procedure will be used by the sub-committee:
- The student will first present his/her case.
- The sub-committee members may ask relevant questions concerning the student’s case.
- The faculty member will present his/her case.
- The sub-committee members may ask relevant questions concerning the professor’s case.
- The sub-committee will deliberate in private. (All parties not on the sub-committee will be asked to leave.)
- The Chair of the sub-committee will take a vote by secret ballot.
- The Chair of the sub-committee will make a recommendation to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, whose decision shall be final.
Section E
The majority of the sub-committee vote shall rule. The student and the professor will be informed of the decision by the Vice President for Academic Affairs immediately following the meeting. The formal decision of the committee will be announced by letter from the Vice President of Academic Affairs to the student, the professor, the affected Dean, the affected Department Chair/Program Director, the Dean of the School in which the student is matriculated, and the Registrar (if the permanent record is involved.)
Section F
If during the appeals process there is indication of ethical misconduct on the part of the student, the sub-committee may make recommendations to the Honor Council to impose sanctions beyond the grade decision.