Unfit grading might merit appeal
Gwen Cook Critic Staff
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: News
Students at LSC might not be happy with the grade they received for a class but not know how to go about the appealing process.
Deb Hale, Registrar at Lyndon State College said that there are three steps to appeal a grade. The first step for appealing a grade would be to talk directly to the teacher of the class. The second step would be to talk to the department chair about any issue you might be having. If both the teacher and the head of the department weren't able to fix the problem, a formal letter to the assistant academic dean would be the final step.
There is an informal as well as a formal appeal process. As stated in the handbook, "in the informal appeal process students discuss their concerns with the instructor and/or the assistant academic dean, who is available as a neutral facilitator to aid in the clarifying issues and resolving differences. Experience has shown the informal process to be a successful approach to resolving many concerns. Students are encouraged to use the informal process before filing a formal appeal."
In the LSC handbook, under academic policies and procedures it lists how to go about writing the appeal and what it must contain. According to the handbook, an appeal must be written to the assistant academic dean, with a copy sent to the instructor of the class by the end of the semester with which the appeal has taken place. This letter must contain the reason for the appeal and proof that it has been appealed.
In 10 working days, which are days that the college offices are open for business, the appeal will either be resolved or will move farther up the chain of command to the dean of academic and student affairs. From there, if the appeal cannot be resolved, it will move on to the Academic Standards Committee who will have 10 working days to decline or to hear the case and move on to a closed hearing. An open hearing may be conducted with a written request from the student.
If a decision is made at any point up the line of command, the student will have 10 days to appeal if he/she believes there was an error in the resolution.
Hale did stress that most issues with grading are either a misunderstandings or simply an error in the scoring for the class. Rarely do cases even go beyond the department chair.
Deb Hale, Registrar at Lyndon State College said that there are three steps to appeal a grade. The first step for appealing a grade would be to talk directly to the teacher of the class. The second step would be to talk to the department chair about any issue you might be having. If both the teacher and the head of the department weren't able to fix the problem, a formal letter to the assistant academic dean would be the final step.
There is an informal as well as a formal appeal process. As stated in the handbook, "in the informal appeal process students discuss their concerns with the instructor and/or the assistant academic dean, who is available as a neutral facilitator to aid in the clarifying issues and resolving differences. Experience has shown the informal process to be a successful approach to resolving many concerns. Students are encouraged to use the informal process before filing a formal appeal."
In the LSC handbook, under academic policies and procedures it lists how to go about writing the appeal and what it must contain. According to the handbook, an appeal must be written to the assistant academic dean, with a copy sent to the instructor of the class by the end of the semester with which the appeal has taken place. This letter must contain the reason for the appeal and proof that it has been appealed.
In 10 working days, which are days that the college offices are open for business, the appeal will either be resolved or will move farther up the chain of command to the dean of academic and student affairs. From there, if the appeal cannot be resolved, it will move on to the Academic Standards Committee who will have 10 working days to decline or to hear the case and move on to a closed hearing. An open hearing may be conducted with a written request from the student.
If a decision is made at any point up the line of command, the student will have 10 days to appeal if he/she believes there was an error in the resolution.
Hale did stress that most issues with grading are either a misunderstandings or simply an error in the scoring for the class. Rarely do cases even go beyond the department chair.
Be the first to comment on this story