Grade Appeal Process

8.4.6

Normal Practice for Course Grade Appeals The following set of general statements represents normal practice at Syracuse University* for a student seeking resolution to a grievance of a course grade.

1. The assignment of grades at Syracuse University is the responsibility of the faculty; once assigned by a member of the faculty, a grade cannot be changed without their consent, except by due process as detailed below. In cases where the section instructor is not a member of the faculty, the faculty member charged with oversight of that instructor is ultimately responsible for the assignment of grades.

2. A course grade is based upon the instructor’s professional assessment of the academic quality of the student’s performance on a body of work. Such assessments are non-negotiable, and disputes about them do not constitute valid grounds for an appeal. Valid grounds can arise, e.g., when an instructor fails to provide or implement uniform and consistent standards or bases an assessment on criteria other than academic performance.*

3. Unless there are issues of a personal nature, the appeal process for a grade dispute begins with the section instructor. Failure to comply with this may be grounds for denial of subsequent appeals. Any appeal beyond the section instructor must be initiated in writing to the program director before the last day of classes of the academic year semester immediately following the one in which the aggrieved grade was received by the Registrar. This written appeal should describe the basis for the grievance, the informal steps taken to resolve the dispute, and the remedies sought.

4. If satisfaction is not obtained at this or any subsequent level, the appeal always moves to the next level of authority. The levels in succession are: the section instructor, faculty member serving as Professor of Record (POR) of the course, the program director, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Dean of the school/college.

5. At each level of appeal, a fair and thorough hearing of all views is sought before a decision is made. This may, but need not, require a face-to-face meeting of the parties directly involved in the dispute. A decision may be reached if both student and instructor agree. If such a decision cannot be reached, a panel designed by the college for this purpose shall hear the case. Details of the operation and manner of selection of this panel may vary by school or college**, but shall conform to the following guidelines:
   a. The panel shall have a quorum of at least three.
   b. All voting members of the panel shall be tenured faculty.
   c. No member of the panel shall hear a case who has been involved in a previous stage of the appeal.
   d. Membership of the panel shall be fixed and made public in a given academic year, though replacements may be made in the event of resignations.
   e. Membership of the panel shall be approved by the faculty of the school or college, or by a representative group of the faculty, in each academic year.
   f. The Senate Committee on Curriculum and Instruction shall approve the manner of selection and charge of a school or college’s panel before its first case. The committee shall also approve any subsequent changes in the manner of selection or charge of each college or school’s panel. The panel may, at its discretion, meet with the aggrieved parties either separately or together. The decision of this panel, either to deny the student’s original appeal or to authorize the Registrar to change the grade, shall be final. The panel shall inform both the student and the instructor of its decision in writing. The panel shall also summarize the case and its outcome in a written report to the Senate Committee on Curriculum and Instruction. Said committee may include summary statistics on grade disputes in its final report to the Senate.

6. The only grounds for any further appeal shall be irregularities in the above procedures.

7. In such cases, either party may appeal the final decision of the faculty panel to the Senate Committee on Curriculum and Instruction. The Senate Committee on Curriculum and Instruction may either deny the appeal or insist that the procedure begin anew at the point the irregularity occurred.

8. All stages of the appeal process shall be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

• For further guidance, consult the bylaws of the individual school or college.

** These procedures do not apply for students in the College of Law or students on Syracuse Abroad World Partner programs. Students participating in Syracuse Abroad World Partner programs should refer to and follow their individual World Partner program’s grade appeal process.

University policy provided online at: https://courses.syracuse.edu/content.php?catoid=38&navoid=4794&redirect#8-4-grades