The following steps must be followed by any student seeking to appeal a final course grade.
This process does not address academic integrity allegations, faculty misconduct or discrimination.
Final course grade appeals must be processed in the regular semester immediately following the issuance of the grade in dispute (by commencement for fall or spring), regardless of whether the student is enrolled at the university.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences grade appeal procedures are based on the university’s policy that can be found here.
Informal Process
Consultation with instructor: The student questioning a course grade must first confer with the instructor, state the evidence, if any, and reasons for questioning that the grade received was not given in good faith. The instructor must review the matter, explain the grading procedure used and show how the final course grade in question was determined. If the instructor is a graduate assistant and this consultation does not resolve the difficulty, the student may then take the dispute to the faculty member in charge of the course.
Review by department leadership: If the grading dispute is not resolved after consultation with the instructor, the student may appeal to the department chair, director or other appropriate faculty within the department or school that offered the course. That member of the faculty may confer with the instructor to review the dispute. In most instances, the grievance procedure can be resolved after consultation with the instructor or review by department leadership and does not go beyond this level.
Meeting request with The College Dean’s Office: If the matter remains unresolved, the student may then request a meeting with a representative in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s office. In order to request a meeting, the student must complete this form. Do not submit this form until after consultation with the instructor and review by the department leadership.
After meeting with the student, the Dean’s representative will send an e-mail outlining their assessment of the grievance. The Dean’s representative will determine if the final course grade will stand as issued or if further review of the issued grade is warranted.
Questions about this process can be directed to: TheCollegeDean@asu.edu
Typically, final course grades appeals are only considered when one or more of the following criteria are met. Appeals requested for areas outside these parameters are not eligible for formal hearings and will not be heard.
- Error in calculating the final course grade for the course.
- The criteria for determining the final course grade was changed from what was specified in the syllabus.
- The evaluation system was not consistently and fairly applied to all students.
Formal Process
Step 1: If directed to do so by the Dean’s representative, the student may, no later than 10 business days after receiving the request from the Dean’s representative, provide a written statement outlining the evidence, if any, and reasons for questioning that the grade was not issued in good faith. Supporting materials should be attached as exhibits to the statement. The statement should be scanned, signed and submitted with all attachments as a single .pdf file. Please review the Guideline for Statements of Academic Grievance.
The student’s written statement must provide evidence that one or more of the circumstances occurred as part of the issuance of the final course grade.
- Error in calculating the final course grade for the course.
- The criteria for determining the final course grade was changed from what was specified in the syllabus.
- The evaluation system was not consistently and fairly applied to all students.
Step 2: The Dean’s office will provide the student’s statement with any exhibits to the instructor and request that the instructor provide the Dean’s office with a formal written response within 10 business days.
Step 3: When the written response is received from the instructor, the Dean’s representative will contact the student, who can then schedule an appointment to review the instructor’s response.
After reviewing the instructor’s response, the student may submit a written request for a hearing before The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Student Affairs and Grievance Committee. The Dean’s representative will determine if the final course grade will stand as issued or if the grade appeal will be heard by the committee.
The committee is a regular committee and meets weekly during the fall and spring term when school is in session. The Dean’s representative serves as a non-voting, ex officio member of the committee.
Step 4: The committee shall meet with the student and the instructor in an attempt to resolve the differences. In order to preserve the confidential nature of the final course grade grievance process and to protect the privacy interest of those involved, the hearing will be closed to the public. The committee chair will preside at the hearing and will rule upon all procedural matters. A student who fails to appear or refuses to participate at the hearing will be deemed to have abandoned the request for a hearing, unless the student can demonstrate that extraordinary circumstances prevented his/her appearance or participation.
Step 5: After all parties have been heard, they will be excused and the committee will deliberate in closed session. Once the committee has reached consensus the committee chair will submit their written recommendation to the either the graduate or undergraduate Associate Dean in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. At that time, the respective associate Dean will take final action after fully considering the committee’s recommendation. The associate Dean shall inform the student, instructor, department chair or school director (if any), registrar (if appropriate) and grievance committee of any action taken. The decision of the Dean is final.
It is university policy that students filing grievances and those who are witnesses are protected from retaliation. Students who believe that they are victims of retaliation should contact the Office of University Rights and Responsibilities at https://urr.asu.edu/.
For the purposes of this process, business days are defined as days the university is open.