Grade Appeal
The administration, following legal and academic freedom precedents, may not overrule an academic evaluation by a member of the PAU instructional faculty so long as that evaluation has
been given within the scope of the course, in good faith, and done so on a rational basis. In sum, only grades apparently based upon non-academic criteria or a violation of university, department, and or Program standards and expectations may be overturned by administration. If a student believes that non-academic criteria have been used in determining their grade, or that the instructor has otherwise breached PAU policy in assigning the contested grade, the student may appeal using the process detailed below.
Informal Procedure:
Step 1: Communicate or meet with the instructor for clarification and review of the grade within five (5) days of when final grades are posted in the course. The instructor has ten (10) business days of receipt of the appeal to communicate the decision in writing to the student, copying the Department Chair. If no resolution is reached, students may continue with the next step in the informal process.
Step 2: Contact the Department Chair in writing within ten (10) business days of an attempt at an informal resolution with the instructor, and if the decision of the Department Chair is not satisfactory to the student, then the student may begin the formal process. The Department Chair has fifteen (15) business days of receipt of the appeal to communicate the decision in writing to the student.
Formal Procedure:
The student has ten (10) business days from the decision of the Department Chair to appeal the decision to the Provost using the Grade Appeal Form. Upon receiving the appeal, the Provost will have forty-five (45) business days to respond.
The Provost's initial responsibility is to determine whether there is sufficient information to form the Institutional Grievance and Appeal Committee (IGAC) and proceed with an appeal hearing. If the Provost decides that the appeal warrants further review, they will convene the IGAC.
The IGAC will consist of three faculty and/or staff members. The committee will review the case, considering all relevant documentation and evidence provided by the student and instructor. This may include, but is not limited to, course syllabi, assignments, grading rubrics, and correspondence between the involved parties.
After thoroughly examining the case, the IGAC will make a recommendation to the Provost regarding the appeal.
The Provost will review the IGAC's recommendation and make a final decision on the grade appeal. The Provost's decision will be communicated to the student, instructor, Department Chair, and Registrar in writing fourteen (14) business days after receiving the IGAC's recommendation.
The Provost's decision on the grade appeal is final and cannot be further appealed within the institution. Only grades apparently based upon non-academic criteria or a violation of PAU policy may be overturned by any of the adjudicating groups (Department Chair or Provost). The written decision of each adjudicating body should be explicit and clear in their outcome regarding overturning or upholding the course grade.
The student’s written appeal at each step of the appeals process must specify the nature of the disagreement and include copies of all documents supporting the grievance. The student bears the
burden of showing that non-academic criteria were used or that PAU’s university, department and or Program standards and expectations were otherwise breached. The instructor will be consulted by each body of the appeals process (Department Chair and IGAC) for additional information and will be given an opportunity to respond. All documents will be shared equally with both the student and the instructor. In addition, all materials related to the formal appeals process will be stored in the student’s file and with the Office of the Provost. After reading the grade appeal policy students may use the embedded link to access the
Grade Appeal Form.