Grade Appeals Process

It is the policy of Robeson Community College that students shall have the right to appeal a grade whether derived from singular course event or the final grade issued for the course. Grades for individual class assignments as well as final grades are to be determined by the course instructor of record in accordance with the grading guidelines distributed in the course syllabus at the beginning of a course.

Individual Course Assignment

A student may appeal a grade derived from a singular course event as outlined below:
1. Any student who has an issue with a grade resulting from an individual course event (i.e. test, pop quiz, term paper, etc.) must attempt to resolve the matter with the faculty member who assigned the grade. Appeals must be made within three working days from the date the graded process is returned or made known to the student.
2. In the event the matter cannot be resolved, the student may appeal the grade following the outline below:
  1. The student shall present the appeal to include rationale for appeal in writing to the Department Chair/Program Director/Program Coordinator of the area in which the contested grade was awarded within three working days of the faculty member’s response.
  2. The Department Chair/Program Director/Program Coordinator shall confer with the student and the instructor to seek a resolution of the appeal within three working days of receipt of appeal. If the instructor happens to also be the Department Chair/Program Director/Program Coordinator, then the appeal should be submitted to the appropriate Assistant Vice President providing administrative supervision for the course.
  3. Should the Department Chair/Program Director/Program Coordinator and student fail to reach a satisfactory resolution, the Department Chair/Program Director shall forward the appeal to the appropriate Assistant Vice President providing administrative supervision for the course within three working days.
  4. The decision of the Assistant Vice President providing administrative supervision for the course shall be made within three working days and the decision shall be considered final.

Final Course Grade

Students may appeal a final course grade as outlined below:
1. Any student who has an issue with the final course grade should attempt to resolve the matter with the faculty member who assigned the grade. Appeals must be made within three working days from the on-line posting of the final grade.
2. A student cannot appeal a final course grade based upon a previously appealed individual course assignment.
3. In the event the matter cannot be resolved, the student may appeal the grade following the procedure outlined below:
  1. The student shall present the grade appeal to include rationale for appeal in writing to the Department Chair/Program Director of the area within which the contested grade was awarded. Appeals must be made within three (3) working days of the decision reached by the faculty member.
  2. The Department Chair/Program Director shall confer with the student and instructor to seek a resolution of the appeal within three working days of the receipt of the appeal. If the instructor happens to also be the Department Chair/ Program Director, then the appeal should be submitted to the appropriate Assistant Vice President providing administrative supervision for the course.
  3. Should the Department Chair/Program Director and student fail to reach a satisfactory resolution, the Department Chair/Program Director shall forward the appeal to the appropriate Assistant Vice President providing administrative supervision for the course for review within three working days.
  4. The Assistant Vice President providing administrative supervision for the course shall convene a hearing before the Academic Appeals Committee within three working days. The Assistant Vice President shall serve as the committee chair. The Committee shall consist of four faculty members randomly selected from the Academic Appeals Committee membership. The Committee shall meet to discuss the grade appeal and may hear from the student, the instructor, and any other individuals that the Committee deems appropriate.
    If the Committee finds the grade received was inappropriate, the Committee shall determine a method by which the grade will be re-evaluated. The resulting grade, if different, must be submitted within College guidelines and may not be appealed further. Should the Committee find the grade received by the student as appropriate, the Committee shall direct that no action be taken to change the final grade and the findings shall be submitted to the Vice President for Instruction and Support Services within 24 hours. The Vice President shall notify the student of the committee’s findings within three working days.
  5. In cases where the Academic Appeals Committee finds that the grade received by the student was appropriate, the student may submit a written appeal to the Vice President for Instruction and Support Services within three working days. The Vice President shall review all evidence related to the appeal, conduct any interviews deemed appropriate, and render a decision within three working days. The decision rendered by the Vice President for Instruction and Support Services will be considered final.
Failure of a student to pursue a grade appeal in accordance with the provisions of this policy or any publications derived there from shall be deemed unacceptable and the grade assigned will be the grade of record.
This policy shall apply to all credit courses and Adult High School courses offered by the College regardless of length, credit awarded, method of delivery, time of delivery, or other similar factors.