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Pepperdine | Community

Grade Appeals

Policy

All grade appeals must be initiated by the student within 30 calendar days after the grade is posted by the Registrar. The Department Chair of the discipline in which the grade is being appealed will assign a review team if deemed appropriate and begin a review of the formal grade appeal within 30 days from the student's initiation. If the grade appeal is with a Department Chair, the appeal will go to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. 

Criteria

A student may appeal the grade if he/she has grounds and documentation to support one or more of the following criteria.

  • The grade is inconsistent with the performance of the work required according to the course syllabus.
  • The instructor departed substantially from what was written or previously articulated without notifying students.
  • An error was made in the grade computation.
  • Grade feedback from faculty on all graded assignments was not given.

Procedure

  • The grade appeal process must be initiated by the student by the end of 30 calendar days after the grade has been posted. The student must notify the Program Office of his/her intent.
  • The first step is for the student to contact the professor for clarification and to resolve the differences concerning a grade before the formal process begins. This can be done verbally or via email. The student and the professor have fourteen calendar days in which to discuss and resolve the issue. The Program Office will notify the Department Chair when this process commences.
  • If the student and professor cannot resolve the differences concerning a grade, the student must respond within seven calendar days with his/her petition grievance and reason. This must be submitted to the Program Office Director and include the following:
    • A statement addressing how the appeal meets one or more of the criteria necessary for a formal appeal.
    • The outcome of the informal discussion process (emails and/or description of conversations).
    • A copy of the course syllabus and the assignment descriptions.
    • Any relevant documents the student would like to be reviewed as part of the appeal process.
    • The Program Office Director may request additional materials.
  • The Program Office assembles the dispute materials and sends to the Department Chair within seven days of receiving the materials from the student
    • Petition date is logged when sent to the Department Chair
    • Deadline date is noted when petition results are required back (Department Chair has 30 days to assign faculty (three members of the faculty familiar with the course material), have materials reviewed and recommendations made for final decision.
  • The faculty review team will review the materials, make a recommendation as to whether the grade should be changed and the reason for the decision, and submits to the Chair. The Chair makes the final decision and forwards the decision, recommendations and reasons to the Program Office for processing.
    • If the review team denies the request, the Department Chair signs the petition as deny (may be done through an email).
    • If the review team approves the request to change the grade, a grade change form must be signed by the Department Chair noting the new grade.
  • The Program Office responds in writing and sends a copy of the letter and petition to the Registrar.
  • If the student thinks a further appeal is appropriate and has additional supporting material, he/she may write the Associate Dean within 30 days after the completion of the appeal, who will then review the appeal and respond to the student in writing. A copy will be filed in the student's record. This completes the process. 

Professor Contact

If the student cannot reach a professor by email or phone within the 30 days after the grade is posted, the Program Office will notify the Department Chair. If the Department Chair cannot make contact or the professor does not respond in any way within 30 days, the Program Office will request the materials from the student and proceed with the formal process.