appeals Tag Archive

What could have been a bloody nightmare has finally completed and in record time. At this point, I have spoken with my program liaison, who also happen to be the Online Coordinator for the Business Programs (this was new to me, it just happened!) and was able to discuss everything in the email sent. I sent it to her first, before forwarding to the Dean, to ensure that it was written appropriately and substantiated the grade given. In short, after about an hour, it was discussed and she agreed it was good.  She would forward this to the Dean and we began our wait.

Today, only a day later, the Dean sent his letter… he agreed with the Online Coordinator and myself that the grade given was indeed earned. Now, if you are not in education, you may think this is normal. Believe me it is not. It could have gone several ways, and in many cases, could have dragged on further. In today’s budget-poor climate, many administrators might side with the student for fear of that student leaving, taking with them their tuition dollars. I could have been “asked” to change the grade, give more time to accept another attempt, re-grade the papers, and who knows what else.

Now that it is over, I need to inform the student (who never informed me!) of the Dean’s decision of denying the appeal. I’m interested to see what the student may say, but that’s for another day. For now, I’ll be happy that it is mostly over.

Well, the initial email sent has now been replied to. Amazingly, it only took an hour and a half to two hours of my life, mind you, time I am not paid for. Additionally, the Appeal process should have been completed six weeks after the end of the semester which means it should have been completed before the end of November. In other words, this should not even be “a thing” right now as the deadline for grade appeal has passed per rules and procedures. Ever wonder what the process is? Here is a basic timeline of the process:

• Within two weeks of the end of the course, the student should provide a grade appeal in writing to the faculty member who assigned the grade and attempt to resolve the issue.
• If no resolution of the grade dispute is achieved after Step 1; the student should discuss the matter with the department chairperson. In this case, the function of the chairperson will be to attempt to determine the relevant facts and mediate the disagreement.
• If no resolution is achieved at Step 2; the student or the faculty member may refer the whole matter to the Dean of the School, whose function it will be to mediate the disagreement. The Dean will confer privately with the faculty member and with the student, and may call additional witnesses if this is deemed important. Following this process, the Dean will communicate a decision to the faculty member, who will communicate that decision to the student. This step is the final step in the appeal process.
• It is expected that a final decision will generally be made within the first six weeks of the following semester or the first three weeks of the following session. The instructor and the student should resolve grading conflicts regarding individual assignments during a semester.

So far, I have now sent my initial reply to my program liaison, so that it can be reviewed, revised and then sent on to the next layer of Administration. Long story short, the work was not completed correctly when done and some not done at all. It’s a shame really. Want to add more to it?  The student through in a side comment in which I was also accused of not liking military students. I am former military, so that line was slightly humorous, but probably more “how dare you” than anything else in my mind.

There was a time when students received a grade they earned and earned the grade they received. Hopefully this will play out as I hope and there won’t be any consequences for dealing with this. Afterall, an adjunct is never guaranteed a future contract.