Formal Academic Grievance Procedure
Notice of Appeal: If the issue cannot be resolved informally, the student may file a formal appeal in writing with the supporting evidence within seven business days of the notification by the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs with a copy to the assigning instructor and the academic Division Chair. It is the responsibility of the student to provide all supporting evidence with the formal appeal. The assigning instructor may file a statement and any supporting materials within seven business days of the filing of the appeal with the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs with a copy to the appealing student.
Review Committee Membership: The review committee will be formed within seven business days of the filing of a formal grievance of the final grade and will consist of three faculty members, to include the academic Division Chair, a faculty member from a related discipline, and a faculty member from an unrelated discipline.
The student may choose one of the three review committee members in which case the student will identify his or her request for a committee member with the filing of appeal and the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs will appoint the remaining two members and appoint one of the members as committee chair. The committee chair controls all aspects of the review committee and its work and the instructor and the appealing student are to communicate on all matters through the committee chair.
Review Committee Role and Procedures: The role of the review committee is to ensure that good academic practice and adherence to the University of Saint Mary policy was followed in the grade assignment or academic dishonesty allegation and in the review process. The role of the committee is to make judgment regarding the facts related to how the instructor applied the criteria for grading or the allegation of academic dishonesty, taking into consideration such issues as fairness, consistency, and the communication of standards.
Although the committee may meet in private to form the agenda, review the materials submitted by the student and the instructor, to deliberate, and to decide its final recommendation(s), the student and the instructor’s presence are invited for the formal presentation of the appeal and to respond to questions related to the evidence provided from the committee. At any meeting at which the student and the instructor are present, each may be accompanied by a member of the University of Saint Mary community for support and assistance; however, only the student or instructor may speak on their own behalf, including asking and answering questions of the other and interacting with the review committee.
The committee must inform in writing the appealing student, the assigning instructor, the academic Division Chair, and the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs of its findings and recommendations for any action within 20 business days after committee membership has been formalized.
For grade appeal, the committee may return the matter to the instructor for reevaluation, recommended action, or no action on the appeal, or in the case of a perceived constitutional violation, including a perceived violation of academic freedom or prohibited discrimination, submit a recommendation to the instructor and/or the administration to change the grade.
For academic honesty violation, the committee may return the matter to the instructor for reevaluation, or recommendation action, or no action on the appeal. No action essentially upholds the instructor’s decision.
The Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs will act on these findings and recommendations or return the matter to the review committee for further action and notify the appealing student and assigning instructor of his or her decision, including further appeal rights, if any. In acting on these findings and recommendations of the committee, the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs also weighs the issues of fairness, consistency, and communication of standards. The Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs will take the findings and the recommendations of the committee to the President within 10 business days from receipt of the hearing committee recommendations for final decision. The President will have 10 business days to render a decision. For grade appeal, the decision of the President is final and may not be appealed.
In the case of academic dishonesty, should the final recommendation of the instructor and the committee be dismissal from the university, the case will be reviewed by the President who consults with the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs before making a final decision regarding dismissal. The President will communicate findings within 10 business days of receipt of the Provost's recommendation.
A record of formal appeals will be kept in the Office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.