Grade Appeal Hearing Committee

Membership List

(Information in italics below is repeated from the Faculty Bylaws Article VIII, Section 14)

Membership

  • Every two years, seven post-probationary teaching faculty members (one from each of the three “divisions” of the College of Arts and Sciences, one from the School of Business, one from the School of Communications, one from the School of Education, and one from the School of Health Sciences) will be appointed by Academic Council to serve a two-year term.
  • Every year, one Student Government Association representative will be appointed by the student government executive president to serve a one-year term. 
  • Each year, in August, the members of the Grade Appeal Hearing Committee will elect one of the seven post-probationary teaching faculty members of the committee to serve as chair of the committee for one year. 
 

Duties


    • To serve as the final grade appeal hearing body for cases in which an undergraduate student appeals a department chair’s/program head's prior decision. 
    • To follow the grade appeal process outlined in the Procedures for Appealing a Course Grade section (X28B) of the Faculty Handbook. 
     

    Introduction

    The grade appeal system affords recourse to a student who has evidence or believes that evidence exists to show that an inappropriate grade has been assigned as a result of clerical error, personal bias, or arbitrary grading. Grades (for an entire course, assignment, or unit) given by a faculty member (or faculty members, for co-taught courses) after the student is found responsible for an Honor Code violation through the University Honor System may not be appealed.

    Keeping in mind that the appeal of a course grade should be attended to as soon as possible, the student must contact the faculty member(s) involved within the first two (2) weeks of the start of fall semester for the appeal of a spring semester or a summer term grade and within the first two (2) weeks of the spring semester for the appeal of a fall semester grade. In the case of a winter term grade, the appeal must be made no later than April 1st of the year in which the course was completed.

    In the case of a grade that would affect a senior intending to graduate or that would result in academic probation or suspension, the student should contact the faculty member(s) as soon as possible after the grade is posted, in which case the procedure may be expedited.

    If the individual faculty member who taught the course is not available (for example, is on leave or sabbatical, or no longer employed by the university), the appeal should be made to the chair of the faculty member's department.

    The language in the process attempts to address the most common instructional arrangements. The standard language refers to disciplinary courses taught by faculty in departments with a chair reporting to a dean.

    The policy also recognizes the following cases of interdisciplinary courses: for COR prefix courses, appeals should be made to the Elon Core Curriculum Director; for GBL courses, appeals should be made to the Assistant Dean of Global Education; and for other courses carrying an interdisciplinary program prefix, appeals should be made to the program coordinator. (Hereafter, the term "program head" applies in all of these cases).

    If a student is unsure to whom an appeal should be made after contacting the faculty member(s), the academic advisor or department chair/program head can offer guidance.

    For some less common instructional arrangements, the standard language in this procedure does not anticipate every consideration: for example, for co-taught courses where faculty members are in different departments or schools, or for courses taught by staff with faculty rank who do not report to a department chair or dean.

    In co-taught courses, the appropriate process may depend on whether particular work in question was graded by one or more than one of the faculty members.

    Where necessary, the Chair of the Grade Appeals Hearing Committee will determine the appropriate adaptation(s) of the process.

    Information for the Grade Appeal Hearing Committee

    The Grade Appeals Hearing Committee should refer to Grade Appeals Hearing Procedure (X28B)

     

    The grade appeal system affords recourse to a student who has evidence or believes that evidence exists to show that an inappropriate grade has been assigned as a result of clerical error, personal bias, or arbitrary grading. Grades (for an entire course, assignment, or unit) given by a faculty member (or faculty members, for co-taught courses) after the student is found responsible for an Honor Code violation through the University Honor System may not be appealed.

    Keeping in mind that the appeal of a course grade should be attended to as soon as possible, the student must contact the faculty member(s) involved within the first two (2) weeks of the start of fall semester for the appeal of a spring semester or a summer term grade and within the first two (2) weeks of the spring semester for the appeal of a fall semester grade. In the case of a winter term grade, the appeal must be made no later than April 1st of the year in which the course was completed.

    In the case of a grade that would affect a senior intending to graduate or that would result in academic probation or suspension, the student should contact the faculty member(s) as soon as possible after the grade is posted, in which case the procedure may be expedited.

    If the individual faculty member who taught the course is not available (for example, is on leave or sabbatical, or no longer employed by the university), the appeal should be made to the chair of the faculty member's department.

    The language in the process attempts to address the most common instructional arrangements. The standard language refers to disciplinary courses taught by faculty in departments with a chair reporting to a dean.

    The policy also recognizes the following cases of interdisciplinary courses: for COR prefix courses, appeals should be made to the Elon Core Curriculum Director; for GBL courses, appeals should be made to the Assistant Dean of Global Education; and for other courses carrying an interdisciplinary program prefix, appeals should be made to the program coordinator. (Hereafter, the term "program head" applies in all of these cases).

    If a student is unsure to whom an appeal should be made after contacting the faculty member(s), the academic advisor or department chair/program head can offer guidance.

    For some less common instructional arrangements, the standard language in this procedure does not anticipate every consideration: for example, for co-taught courses where faculty members are in different departments or schools, or for courses taught by staff with faculty rank who do not report to a department chair or dean.

    In co-taught courses, the appropriate process may depend on whether particular work in question was graded by one or more than one of the faculty members.

    Where necessary, the Chair of the Grade Appeals Hearing Committee will determine the appropriate adaptation(s) of the process.

    Bylaws Information

    (Information in italics below is repeated from the Faculty Bylaws Article VIII, Section 14)

    Membership

    • Every two years, seven post-probationary teaching faculty members (one from each of the three “divisions” of the College of Arts and Sciences, one from the School of Business, one from the School of Communications, one from the School of Education, and one from the School of Health Sciences) will be appointed by Academic Council to serve a two-year term.
    • Every year, one Student Government Association representative will be appointed by the student government executive president to serve a one-year term. 
    • Each year, in August, the members of the Grade Appeal Hearing Committee will elect one of the seven post-probationary teaching faculty members of the committee to serve as chair of the committee for one year. 
     

    Duties


      • To serve as the final grade appeal hearing body for cases in which an undergraduate student appeals a department chair’s/program head's prior decision. 
      • To follow the grade appeal process outlined in the Procedures for Appealing a Course Grade section (X28B) of the Faculty Handbook.