/Institutions/Middle-Georgia-State-University/json/2024-2025/Undergraduate-Catalog-local.json

/Institutions/Middle-Georgia-State-University/json/2024-2025/Undergraduate-Catalog.json

Grade Appeal Policy

In reviewing appeals relating to the receipt of grades, the process will be concerned entirely with alleged violations of institutional policy or procedure rather than with content or with matters of the instructor's judgment.

When a student believes that an instructor has not followed proper procedure in the classroom (e.g.: failure to follow stated grading policy or other procedures and objectives as outlined in the syllabus) and if the student wishes to appeal, the student should adhere to the following procedure:

1. The student must first discuss the appeal and provide the Instructor responsible for the grade assigned (or his/her designee) with a Final Course Grade Appeal Form (available in the Office of the Provost and also online) with the student section completed within 10 working days after the registrar’s office has posted final grades for the semester in which the grade was received. Once the appeal process is initiated, the burden of proof is on the student.
2. The instructor will complete the appropriate section on the Final Course Grade Appeal Form, and return to the student within ten working days.
3. If the matter is not resolved between the instructor and the student, the student will submit all appropriate documentation in appeal to the department chair, or dean if there is no department chair, within ten working days of receiving the course instructor's written response.
4. The department chair or dean will attempt to resolve the issue and will complete the appropriate section on the Final Course Grade Appeal Form and return to the student within ten working days.
5. If there is both a department chair and a dean in the academic unit and the matter is not resolved at the department level, the student will need to appeal to the dean of the School within five working days of receipt of the response of the department chair.
6. If the matter cannot be resolved at the School level, the student should submit the completed Final Course Grade Appeal Form and submit it to the Office of the Provost within ten working days after receipt of the dean or chair's response. It is the student's responsibility to provide all documentation (the student's inquiry, the instructor's response, and the dean or department chair's response) along with the Final Course Grade Appeal Form.
7. The Office of the Provost will appoint a three-member panel selected from the various academic departments (excluding representatives from the academic unit from which the appeal originated).
8. The panel will collect information concerning the appeal by research and interview. All information so gathered will remain completely confidential.
9. The panel will make a written recommendation to the Office of the Provost, which is then submitted to the Provost with all supporting documentation.
10. The Provost may approve or deny the appeal.
11. The instructor, the dean or department chair, and the student will be informed in writing of the result of the appeal.
12. If the student seeks further appeal, the student may appeal to the President of the University. The student must submit all documentation (the student's inquiry, the instructor's response, the dean or department chair's response, and the Provost's response), to the office of the President of the University. The President will make the final decision. There is no further appeal.