As part of the “Know Your Rights” program this semester, the ASI judiciary put together a presentation about the grade appeals process. The short, concise workshop took place in USU on Tuesday. This is the first time since 2012 that the grade appeal workshop has been offered.
The workshop, led by associate justices of the judiciary Yael Jimenez and Eduardo Vargas, covered what the criteria for a grade appeal is and what documents are needed,
The steps of the grade appeal process are as follows:
1. The first step in a grade appeal is for students to communicate with their professor that they don’t agree with a grade. Any grade that reflects prejudicial, arbitrary or capricious grading can qualify for a grade appeal. The workshop emphasized that, while either verbal or written attempts are acceptable, email communication is better. That way, if the grade issue remains unresolved after attempting to solve the problem with the professor first, students will have written evidence.
2. The next step is to make a case, and the judiciaries made it clear that the burden of proof is completely on the student. Fill out a college grade appeal request, which can be picked up at students’ specific department.
3. Along with the form, they will need to provide documents proving that the grade they received is not the grade they deserved. Recommended documents include a syllabus, rubric, emails and exams.
4. Students have 40 regular semester days to file for a grade appeal,which means if they disagree with a grade at the end of spring semester, they have 40 days from the beginning of the following fall semester to file an appeal. Once a decision has been made about the grade in question, a student can appeal the grade two more times.
The Know Your Rights campaign has another workshop about Legal Aid Services planned for March 15 and 16, and another about Renter’s Rights April 19 and 20, both in the USU, room 205.