A student who believes that the final grade received is not justified may appeal to the Academic Review Committee.. The purposes of the final grade appeal process are to ensure fairness and academic soundness in the grading process, and to eliminate the inappropriate use of the student grievance procedure for grade disputes. A disputed grade does not constitute a violation of a student’s rights and is therefore not subject to the student grievance procedure.
Basic Assumption
Each faculty member’s grading policy is clearly stated on the course syllabus. Grading is at the discretion of the individual faculty member in accordance with the faculty member’s grading policy and applicable College policies.
The Academic Review Committee may review the grading policy of a faculty member to determine: a) if the faculty member’s grading policy is academically sound; b) if the process used by the faculty member to arrive at the student’s final grade is fair and academically sound; c) if the student’s final grade is justified. If the Committee determines, by a majority vote of those members present, and after making written findings, that the grade as originally determined by the faculty member is not justified, then the Committee may recommend to the Provost/Chief Academic Officer a change in the final grade to the grade that the majority of the Committee present determines to be appropriate. Further, the Committee may, also upon majority vote and after having made written findings, recommend reevaluation of the grading policy by the faculty member.
Academic Review Committee
The Provost/Chief Academic Officer selects a Committee of six (6) members and three (3) alternates from faculty and deans. At least one member will be a member of the Quincy Education Association. The Provost/Chief Academic Officer appoints the Chair. Appointments to the Committee shall be made not later than the start date of an academic year and shall last for one (1) academic year. No member of the Committee, except the Chair, shall serve for more than two (2) consecutive academic years. If a particular grade appeal involves a Committee member, that member must recuse themself from the Committee and its deliberations for that grade appeal only, and be replaced by an alternate member. The Chair shall ask an alternate to serve on the Committee in the absence of a Committee member.
In addition to presiding at meetings of the Committee, the Chair also shall be responsible for the Committee’s administrative functions, such as being designated as the person to initially receive all applications/requests for final grade appeals, and distributing to the Committee’s members documents pertaining to final grade appeals. The Chair shall be a non-voting member of the Committee except in the case of a tie vote of the other members of the Committee present. At its first meeting of the Academic Year, the Committee shall elect a Vice Chair.
The term of the Vice Chair shall be for one academic year, with the Vice Chair being ineligible for service as Vice Chair in the next succeeding year. The Vice-Chair shall chair Committee meetings in the absence of the Chair. The Committee will meet on the first Wednesday of each month (holidays and College closures excluded), and at other such times as determined by the Chair or, in writing, by the majority of the regular membership of the Committee. The quorum for any meeting of the Committee shall be four (4)
members, with the Chair’s presence counting toward the existence of a quorum. Following each Committee meeting, the recommendation of the Committee will be forwarded to the Provost/Chief Academic Officer not later than five (5) business days following the Committee’s meeting. The Provost/Chief Academic Officer shall review the recommendation of the Academic Review Committee and with sole discretion may adopt, modify, or decline to accept the recommendation of the Academic Review Committee. If the Provost/Chief Academic Officer modifies and/or declines to accept the recommendation of the Academic Review Committee, the Provost will so notify the Chairperson of the Academic Review Committee. After making a decision regarding an appeal, the Provost/Chief Academic Officer will notify the student, affected faculty member, Chair, and the Registrar of the decision.
Procedure
It is recommended that the student attempt to resolve the final grade dispute with the faculty member with whom the dispute exists, and the appropriate Dean before requesting a hearing by the Academic Review Committee. If the dispute is not resolved at the Dean level, a request for a hearing must be submitted to the Chair of the Committee within thirty (30) days of the last day of the class session. However, in extraordinary circumstances and at its sole discretion, the Committee or the Chair may waive the above-referenced thirty (30) day deadline.
- If the student is unable to resolve the final grade with the faculty member and/or Dean, the student may appeal to the Academic Review Committee. In order for the final grade appeal to be heard by the Academic Review Committee, the student must submit the following:
a. a letter addressed to the Chair of the Academic Review Committee which states the reason(s) why the student feels that the final grade is not justified, including any documentation that may be relevant to the appeal
b. a copy of the course syllabus outlining the grading and attendance policies;
c. a record of all test, quiz, and other assessment grades received in the course;
d. copies of all available graded assignments, laboratory assignments, or other work assigned by the faculty member during the course;
e. copies of any papers submitted during the course that affected the final grade (term papers, research papers, care plans, etc.).
- The Chair of the Academic Review Committee will request that the faculty member submit the following documents:
a. a copy of the course syllabus outlining the grading and attendance policies;
b. class, clinical and/or laboratory attendance record;
c. record of all grades earned by the student while enrolled in the class;
d. copies of any graded assignments, papers, tests, quizzes, or other assessments in the possession of the faculty member that the student completed while enrolled in the course.
- The inability of the student to provide documents, and/or of the faculty member to provide documents, shall not serve as a bar to the Committee hearing the student’s appeal and rendering a decision on the student’s
- Following the receipt of all available documents identified in steps 1 and 2 above, the Chair of the Academic Review Committee will place the student’s grade dispute on the agenda of the next regularly scheduled Academic Review Committee In the event that waiting for the next, regularly scheduled Committee meeting may jeopardize the student’s continued education at Quincy College, opportunities for transfer to a four-year institution, or employment opportunities, the Chair may schedule a meeting sufficiently prior to the next scheduled meeting to adequately accommodate those student issues. The faculty member and the student will be invited to attend and provide points of clarification. The inability of the student and/or faculty member to attend the meeting of the Academic Review Committee at which the student’s appeal is scheduled to be heard shall not serve as a bar to the Committee hearing the student’s appeal and rendering a decision on the student’s appeal.
- The Academic Review Committee will forward a written recommendation, including the basis for the decision, the names and titles of those present, a list of documents presented, and a numerical record of the Committee’s vote, to the Provost/Chief Academic Officer within five (5) business days following the Committee’s recommendation. Those Committee members who disagree with the decision of the majority of the Committee, and who vote in the minority, may submit to the Provost/Chief Academic Officer a written report indicating the basis for their disagreement.
- The Provost/Chief Academic Officer having received the recommendation of the Academic Review Committee, will review the recommendation of the Academic Review Committee and may accept, modify, or decline to accept the recommendation so presented. If the Provost/Chief Academic Officer modifies or declines to accept the recommendation of the Academic Review Committee, the Chair of the Academic Review Committee will be notified with the reason.
- The Provost/Chief Academic Officer will notify the student, affected faculty member, Chair, and the Registrar of the decision. The decision of the Provost/Chief Academic Officer is final and binding, and not subject to further
Original: October 2004
Revised: July 2018
Updated: August 2021 (titles)
Updated for Gender Inclusivity: July 2023
Updated for Procedure: July 2023