Grade Appeals Process
Student Grade Appeal Process (AP2:1.10.24)
Cascadia Community College believes in the right of all students to receive a
fair and equitable review process when a complaint arises. Therefore, the
following procedures will govern all grade review requests. These procedures
will ensure that the grade awarded was not an arbitrary or capricious evaluation
of the student's mastery of the subject.
Students who believe they received an improper final grade shall have until
the end of the subsequent quarter to appeal. For example, if the final grade was
given in fall quarter, it must be appealed no later than the end of winter
quarter. However, if the grade was given in spring quarter the complaint may be
appealed through the last day of the next fall quarter. Students are responsible
for retaining all papers, tests, and projects from the class in question.
Note: The Appeal Process is not available to a student in a case where the
grade has been given as a result of disciplinary action.
Informal Process - Resolution Between Student and Faculty
The student initiates the grade appeal process initially by speaking to the
appropriate instructor. This process should facilitate good faith efforts on the
part of both the student and faculty member (1) to resolve the matter.
(1) In the event that the instructor is no longer employed by the college, or
is away from the campus for an extended period of time, the Dean for Student
Learning will appoint two faculty members to review the student's work and the
grade which is under appeal. The grade can only be changed upon the
recommendation of both faculty members. If there is no agreement, the grade
shall remain as awarded.
Formal Process with the Dean for Student Learning
If the informal resolution with the instructor is not reached, the student
can initiate a formal grade appeal process by contacting the Dean for Student
Learning in written form (e-mail acceptable). Once the Dean for Student Learning
has received the written appeal, he/she has ten (10) days in which to discuss
the situation with the instructor and the student. The student must make him or
herself reasonably available to meet with the Dean for Student Learning. The
Dean for Student Learning has another ten (10) days following his/her
discussion(s) with the instructor and student within which to make a written
recommendation to the student which may include:
- To deny the request for a change of grade.
- To move forward with grade appeal and convene the Hearing Committee.
If the Dean for Student Learning convenes the Hearing Committee, the decision
of the Hearing Committee shall be final.
Appeal of the Dean for Student Learning's Decision to Deny the Grade Change
If the student wishes to appeal the Dean for Student Learning's decision to
deny the grade change, it should be done within five (5) days of receipt of the
Dean for Student Learning's decision. The written appeal should be submitted to
the Vice President for Student Learning and should stipulate the reasons for the
appeal. The Vice President for Student Learning has ten (10) days following his
or her receipt of the appeal to review the documents and meet with the student.
The Vice President for Student Learning has another ten (10) days following his
or her meeting with the student to make a written recommendation to the student
which may include:
- To uphold the decision of the Dean for Student Learning and deny the
request for a change of grade which will end the appeal process.
- To move forward with grade appeal and request the Dean for Student
Learning convene a Hearing Committee.
If the recommendation is to have the Grade Appeal Hearing Committee convene,
the Vice President for Student Learning will review the procedures of the
Hearing Committee with the student.
Composition of the Grade Appeal Hearing Committee
The Grade Appeal Hearing Committee will be drawn from a pool of twelve (12)
volunteer faculty members (approved in advance, by the Vice President for
Student Learning) who serve on-call for a one year term.
From the pool of twelve (12) names, only six (6) will be chosen randomly by
the Dean for Student Learning (with the student and the instructor of record
present). The student will then remove two of the six (6) names. The remaining
four (4) faculty members will make up the Hearing Committee. Chosen faculty may
abstain from any Hearing Committee if they stipulate that serving poses a
conflict of interest. In that case another member would be selected randomly
from the pool by the Vice President for Student Learning.
The Dean for Student Learning or designee will serve as facilitator and an
ex-officio member of the Grade Appeal Hearing Committee.
Grade Appeal Hearing Committee Process
The Dean for Student Learning will contact the Grade Appeal Hearing Committee
within ten (10) days of the request by the Vice President for Student Learning.
The Hearing Committee will set a date for the hearing, review all
documentation and may interview all parties, including other students who may
serve as student and/or faculty advocates.
The instructor and the student will have a maximum of 30-minutes each in
which to present their case. The Hearing Committee may vote to extend the
30-minute limit to an additional amount of time and provide the same number of
minutes to both the student and instructor.
The Hearing Committee will render their decision within ten (10) business
days of the hearing. The decision of the Committee is final and the appeals
process ends.
If there is a tie vote by the Hearing Committee the Vice President for
Student Learning shall review the record of the hearing committee and render a
decision. The decision of the Vice President for Student Learning shall be
final.
Copies of the decision will go to the Vice President for Student Learning,
the student, and the instructor; and a copy also will be placed in the student's
file.
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