Graduate Student Grade Appeals

This policy is published in the Graduate Catalog. Please refer to the catalog for the current academic year to find the policy appropriate for the current semester. Students with questions about this policy can email the Graduate School to request a meeting with an Associate Dean at gradschool@ecu.edu.

The goal of this grade appeal policy is to establish a clear, fair process by which graduate students can contest a course grade that they believe has been awarded in a manner inconsistent with university policies or that has resulted from calculation errors on the part of the instructor. Recognizing, however, that the evaluation of student performance is based upon the professional judgment of instructors, and not withstanding the exceptions noted at the end of this policy, appeals will not be considered unless based upon one or more of the following factors:

An error was made in grade computation.
Standards different from those established in written department, school or college policies, if specific policies exist, were used in assigning the grade.
The instructor departed substantially from previously articulated, written standards, in determining the grade, without notifying students.

Appeals Procedure

Only the final course grade may be appealed. The grade assigned by the instructor is assumed to be correct and the student appealing the grade must justify the need for a change of the grade assigned.

If, at any time during the grade appeal process, the instructor of record is unavailable, the dean of the Graduate School may appoint another faculty member to serve in lieu of the instructor of record.
The first step to resolve differences between an instructor and student concerning a grade should be an informal discussion with the instructor.
If informal resolution is not successful, formal grade appeals must be initiated by the student to the department chairperson (email will suffice) by the end of the fourteenth calendar day of the (next) semester after the grade was awarded. The written appeal must include: a) a statement indicating informal resolution was attempted but not successful; b) how the appeal meets one or more of the three criteria necessary for formal appeal; c) any relevant additional information or documents the student would like to be reviewed as part of the appeal process; d) a copy of the course syllabus and assignment descriptions.
The department chair or designee may request additional materials from the student. After receiving a copy of the appeal materials from the department chair or designee, the instructor has seven calendar days to respond in writing to the appeal. The department chair or designee will discuss this response with the faculty member and will provide the student with written notification of the outcome of this step within seven calendar days after receiving the instructor’s response.
If there is still no mutually agreed upon resolution between the student and the instructor, and the student wishes to pursue the matter further, the student has seven calendar days to submit the written appeal to the dean of the school or college where the program resides.
The dean or designee shall form a Grade Appeal Committee within seven calendar days. This committee shall include three graduate faculty members from the school or college: one selected by the student, one selected by the instructor of record, and one appointed by the dean of the school or college in which the program resides. The dean or designee shall provide to the committee the written materials pertaining to the appeal. The committee may next meet with the student and/or the instructor of record, but it is not required to do so. A majority shall prevail in the committee. The Committee shall elect its own chair. The function of the Grade Appeal Committee shall be to evaluate the appeal in terms of the stated grounds for the appeal. The Committee’s decision may be to keep the assigned grade or to raise the assigned grade. The Committee shall provide a written justification to the deans of the academic school or college and the Graduate School for its decision, including minority opinions when they exist, no later than twenty-one calendar days after the Committee’s formation. The college dean shall inform the student and the instructor of the Committee’s decision, which is final and unappealable, and provide both parties with copies of the Committee’s written justification.
In the case of a change of grade, if the instructor of record does not implement a change of grade decided upon by the Committee within seven calendar days after being informed of the Committee’s decision, the dean of the school or college shall implement the change of grade as determined by the Committee on the student’s official transcript through the change of grade procedure. This shall be the last step in the deliberation of the formal grade appeal.
The dean shall forward a written record of the results of all grade appeals to the appropriate vice chancellor and the dean of the Graduate School within fourteen calendar days. The dean of the Graduate School shall also provide an annual summary to the Graduate Council of the number of cases heard and the aggregate result of the process.

Exceptions to the Grade Appeal Policy

The Grade Appeal Policy shall constitute the sole internal administrative remedy for a change in grade, except when the grade being disputed resulted from an alleged academic integrity violation or when a grade dispute involves a discrimination complaint. If a grade dispute arises from an issue that is covered under the university’s Academic Integrity Policy, the process for resolution that has been established for appealing academic integrity violations must be followed. If a grade dispute arises from an issue that is covered under the university’s Equal Opportunity and Equity policies, the process for resolution established by the Department for People Operations, Success, and Opportunity must be completed prior to the use of the university’s grade appeal process.