Occasionally it may be necessary to institute a petition for a waiver of established policies and procedures, or an appeal for a redress of grievances. Written appeals of policy are processed through the Records Office. Academic appeals fall into two general categories: appeals of grades or petitions regarding the application of specific policies.

Grade Appeals

Resolution of grade appeals is handled at the lowest possible level. The student must discuss the situation with the professor involved. Should discussion with the professor not resolve the issue and the student decide to appeal further, the following procedure must be followed:

1. A written statement describing the situation is submitted to the appropriate Division Dean.
2. The Division Dean will meet with both the student and the professor to resolve the issue. Should the issue not be resolved at this level and the student or the professor wishes to appeal further, step 3 is followed.
3. The student or the professor files a grade appeal with the Vice President for Academic Administration (VPAA). The VPAA will request pertinent information from all parties involved and make a recommendation for resolution. Should the issue remain unresolved, the student or the professor may appeal to the Academic Policies Committee (step 4).
4. A petition in writing is submitted by the student or professor to the Academic Policies Committee. The petition will describe the issue involved and the steps taken toward resolution. The Committee will request appropriate documents from the parties involved in steps 1-3. The Committee will hold a hearing on the petition. Parties to the dispute will be granted an opportunity to present their cases and to questioning. After receiving such evidence, the Committee will render a decision. The decision of the Committee is final. No further avenue of appeal is available. The decision of the Committee will be in writing and will remain on file in the office of the VPAA and in the student’s academic file.’

Petitions Regarding Application of Academic Policy

Petitions relating to academic concerns must be in writing, using the Petition to the Academic Policy Committee Form. All petitions must include the completed petition form (including the signature of the student’s advisor) and a typed explanation. The completed petition should be submitted to the Registrar, who will forward the petition to the committee for review.