Skip to main content
Santa Clara University
Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President

Appendix E

  1. Home
  2. Office of the Provost and EVP
  3. Faculty Affairs
  4. Faculty Handbook
  5. Appendices
  6. Appendix E
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ON STUDENT APPEALS OF GRADES

On November 15, 1978, the Faculty Senate approved the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Student Appeals of Grades. In light of the report by the Ad Hoc Committee and the Faculty Senate's vote, the following policies and procedures on student appeals of grades are in effect:

  1. Policy Guidelines
    1. Grades are not negotiable. There should be no questioning of a faculty member's academic judgment on a grade. In registering for a class, students implicitly agree to allow the faculty member to make a qualitative judgment of their command of the subject matter, which will be expressed as a letter grade. Any questioning or appeal of a grade should therefore be limited to procedure, e.g., to computational errors or failures to follow grading policies set forth in the syllabi.
    2. Any system of grade-appeal should protect the rights of faculty members as well as the rights of students.
    3. The results of any system of grade-appeal should not be binding upon the faculty member. Any decision to initiate a change of grade should remain the faculty member's.
    4. Any procedural complaint regarding a change of grade must be initiated within four weeks of the beginning of the next scheduled term, not including the summer session.
  2. Procedure Guidelines
    1. A student with a complaint must first discuss the matter with the faculty member.
    2. If the matter is not resolved at this level, the student may then take the matter to the chairperson of the department involved. The chairperson will discuss the case with the faculty member and may recommend that the faculty member review the grade. Upon request of the student, the dean will proceed in similar fashion. Should the student request it, the dean will pass the matter on to the Provost.
    3. This process of review gives the chairperson, dean, and Provost the right to discuss the matter with the faculty member, and if they think it appropriate, request that the faculty member review the grade. Any recommendations made will not be binding upon the faculty member against whom the complaint is lodged. The decision to change a grade remains with the faculty member.

Back to top