The grievance of a grade only pertains to the final course grade awarded in a course.

1. Grades issued by members of the College faculty can be appealed only if the grade is alleged to be arbitrary and capricious. Arbitrary and capricious grading is defined as the following:
   1. The assignment of a course grade to a student on some basis other than performance in the course.
   2. The assignment of a course grade to a student by resorting to unreasonable standards which are different from those that were applied to other students in that same course.
   3. The assignment of a course grade by a substantial, unreasonable, and unannounced departure from the faculty member’s standards as published on the course syllabus.
2. The appeal of a grade must be made to the faculty member who issued the grade no later than 10 business days after the start of the subsequent fall or spring semester following the semester in which the grade was given. This policy applies only to the final course grade. If the faculty member who issued the grade is no longer at the College, the appeal may be made to the instructor’s supervisor. The instructor or instructor’s supervisor must respond to the student regarding the appeal decision within 10 business days of receiving the appeal.

Grade Grievance Timeline

Semester Grade Was Issued	Deadline for Appeal to Instructor
Fall	10th business day of following spring semester
Spring1	10 business day of following semester
Summer	10th business day of following fall semester

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Students may start the final grade grievance process for a spring grade during the summer semester, but faculty may not be available until the fall semester.

3. If the student is not satisfied with the disposition of the complaint after dealing with the faculty member, the student may continue the appeal process as indicated in the Grade Grievance Flow Chart below. At each level of appeal, the academic administrator must respond to the student regarding the appeal decision within 10 business days of receiving the appeal. The final decision rests with the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Grade Grievance Flow Chart

Grade Grievance Flow Chart

Appeal	Action
Student appeals to instructor	Within 10 business days of receipt, instructor gives decision
Student appeals to instructor’s supervisor	Within 10 business days of receipt, instructor’s supervisor gives decision
Student appeals to appropriate Academic Dean	Within 10 business days of receipt, Dean gives decision
Student appeals to the Vice President of Academic Affairs	Within 10 business days of receipt, Vice President of Academic Affairs gives decision. Decision is final.