FSD 17-17 Proposed Revisions to the Grade Appeals Policy

February 9, 2018

Purdue University Northwest Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Document 17-17

Submission Date: 2/9/2018 (Student Affairs Committee)

Senate Action and Date:

For Discussion, 2/9/2018; (meeting canceled)
For Discussion, 3/9/2018;
Grade Appeals Revisions Incorporated, 3/23/2018

Introduction:

The current grade appeals policies and procedures are given in FSD 16-06, which was approved by the PNW Senate on 9 December, 2016. Based on the intervening year’s experience with the process, the Student Affairs Committee recommends the Senate adopt the following revised version of the document. Changes to the document and the issues they resolve are given immediately below.

Add the following at the end of III.B: “In the circumstance when the Chair of the Grade Appeals Committee is named as the defendant in a grade appeals or academic integrity case, the Chair of the Student Affairs Committee of the PNW Senate shall name a substitute Chair of Grade Appeals for the purposes of that case. The substitute shall be a faculty member from a different Academic Unit than that of the Grade Appeals Chair.”
The number of members of the Grade Appeals/Academic Integrity Committee is too small: see III.C. There have been circumstances in which the Chair has found it next to impossible to form screening and hearing panels for cases, especially taking into account travel between campuses. This is a particular issue for hearings of Hammond cases, since there are more of them, and it is difficult to schedule Westville faculty to travel to hear such cases. We recommend having two Hammond faculty and one Westville faculty member elected from each Academic Unit; the current requirement is one from each, which will become simply two from each unit in the Fall of 2018.
There needs to be a Secretary appointed for each grade appeals hearing panel in FSD 16-06, III.H. This requirement would be parallel to that for Academic Integrity hearings, FSD 16-07, III.H, approved by the PNW Senate on 10 February 2017. Further, the Grade Appeals Committee Chair should preside over the hearing without vote, as in Academic Integrity hearings. This allows the Grade Appeals Chair clearer authority to enforce procedural standards for the hearing.
Once the previous revision is in place, the Secretary should send the decision of the hearing panel to the Chair of Grade Appeals in IV.L.
In IV.A, the student’s written notice of intent to appeal must be sent as an attachment via email from a .temp.pnw.edu email account.
In IV.E, again, the student’s detailed written statement of allegations, facts, and circumstances must be sent as an attachment via email from a .temp.pnw.edu email account.
In IV.F, there is currently no deadline for the faculty member to respond to the student’s detailed written statement. This should be five business days after the transmission of the student’s statement to the faculty member by the Grade Appeals Chair.
In IV.I, there needs to be a deadline for the Grade Appeal Chair to receive written documents for the hearing, in order to distribute them to the panel and the parties. This should be two days in advance of the hearing, and should cover all documents to be considered at the hearing, including but not limited to statements and written evidence.
Add to Section IV.N: “However, if the Grade Appeals Chair determines that a procedural error has occurred at the hearing, he/she shall immediately inform the parties that he/she will request the authority to have the case re-heard by a new panel. Such authority shall, however, only be granted by a vote of the Student Affairs Committee of the Senate, to whom the Grade Appeals Chair shall provide the procedural details. If the Student Affairs Committee agrees, the flawed hearing shall be disregarded, and a new hearing held. If the Student Affairs Committee disagrees, the decision of the original hearing panel shall stand.”
In the penultimate paragraph of Section V, right after the timeline, the sentence “All time spans are exclusive of university holidays or other times when the university is closed for classes” should be deleted.
Under the timeline, Section V, at the end, add the sentence “The Grade Appeals Chair shall have the power to suspend a hearing under extraordinary circumstances, such as a panel member needing to leave for a class.”

Purdue University Northwest Student Grade Appeals Policy

I. Adoption by the Faculty

The Faculty of Purdue University Northwest (PNW) hereby adopts the following procedures for student grade appeals pursuant to the authority delegated to its Faculty.

II. Preamble

In the academic community, grades are a measure of student achievement toward fulfillment of course objectives. The responsibility for assessing student achievement and assigning grades rests with the instructor and, except for unusual circumstances, the course grade given is final.
The PNW Grade Appeals Policy affords recourse to a student who has evidence or believes that evidence exists to show that he or she has been assigned an inappropriate grade. Additionally, a student may challenge the reduction of a grade for reason of alleged academic dishonesty.
A graduate student who wishes to appeal a grade received in regular course work may do so only through the Grade Appeals System of PNW. However, a case involving the decision of a graduate examination committee or integrity in research shall be handled by procedures authorized by the Graduate Council of Purdue University (See section Graduate Student Responsibilities and Rights of Policies and Procedures for Administering Graduate Student Programs published by the Graduate School, Purdue University) rather than the PNW Grade Appeals System.
In appealing a grade, the burden of proof is on the student, except in the case of alleged academic dishonesty, where the instructor must support the allegation of academic dishonesty.
PNW shall establish a Grade Appeals Committee with the authority to conduct grade appeals in accordance with the procedures described in this document.
The only University authorities empowered to initiate a grade change are the instructor of record and the Chairperson(s) of the PNW Grade Appeals Committee.

III. Organization of the University Committee for Grade Appeals

1. A University Committee for Grade Appeals shall be established by the Faculty Senate with the authority to hear grade appeals. The University Committee for Grade Appeals shall report and be responsible to the Student Affairs Committee of the PNW Faculty Senate.
2. The committee shall be chaired by a faculty member appointed by the Faculty Senate. The Chair shall be compensated with .25 course release time. The Chair will serve a two-year term with possibility of re-appointment. (During the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years, co-chairs will be appointed, one from each campus.) In the circumstance when the Chair of the Grade Appeals Committee is named as the defendant in a grade appeals or academic integrity case, the Chair of the Student Affairs Committee of the PNW Senate shall name a substitute Chair of Grade Appeals for the purposes of that case. The substitute shall be a faculty member from a different Academic Unit than that of the Grade Appeals Chair.
3. The committee shall consist of three faculty representatives from each academic unit, defined as the smallest of a Department, School, or College, whichever exists in the unit. There shall be two members from the Hammond campus and one from the Westville campus from each Unit. Members shall also shall simultaneously serve on the University Committee for Academic Integrity. The members shall serve staggered two-year terms. (During the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years, each academic unit will appoint one representative from each campus site.) The faculty representatives from each academic unit shall be selected by the Nominating Committee of the Faculty Senate and confirmed by the full Senate, and shall start their terms of service at the beginning of the fall semester.
4. The committee shall include student representatives from lists provided by the Office of the Dean of Students. These lists shall include undergraduate and graduate students in good standing enrolled at either campus site. The list shall provide each student’s primary campus location and degree-seeking college. Separate lists shall be kept for undergraduate and graduate students. Students on these lists also shall serve as the student representatives for the University Committee for Academic Integrity.
5. The Chair of the committee may make appropriate temporary appointments to fill vacancies under the following conditions:
  1. when an appointing authority fails to make an initial appointment within the specified time or within seven days of a vacancy.
  2. when one of the panel representatives is unable to serve.
6. Faculty and student representatives shall be excused in a particular case of potential conflict of interest. In no case shall a panel member (faculty or student) be selected from the same academic unit as the instructor or the student involved. No faculty or student members shall serve on more than one panel involving the same case, including an academic integrity panel. When a potential conflict of interest exists, the Chair of the committee shall select a substitute panel member as necessary.
7. A Screening Panel shall consist of two faculty representatives and one student representative from the Grade Appeals Committee, selected by the Chair of the Committee. The status of the student representative, undergraduate or graduate, shall correspond to the status of the student involved. The Chair of the committee presides over the Screening Panel without vote.
8. A Hearing Panel shall consist of three faculty members and two student members, selected by the Chair of the Committee. The status of the student representatives, undergraduate or graduate, shall correspond to the status of the student involved. The Chair of the PNW Grade Appeals Committee presides over the hearing without vote. A Secretary will be chosen from among the three faculty representatives on the Hearing Panel. The Secretary is charged with the responsibility of writing up the decision that was reached and a brief rationale for that decision.At the end of each academic year, the Chair of the committee shall submit a report to the Student Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate that includes
  1. an summary of the result of all grade appeals filed
  2. the number of appeals dropped before being heard by a screening panel
  3. the number of appeals heard by screening panels, including the number of appeals approved and rejected by the screening panel
  4. the number of grade appeals that proceeded to a full hearing, including the number of appeals accepted and the number of appeals rejected. For each hearing, the report will include the date, decision (accept or reject appeal), and panel membership (faculty and student).
  5. any other dispositions of grade appeals cases

No names of individual students who brought appeals or faculty members whose grades were appealed shall be included in this annual report.

IV. University Grade Appeals Procedures

A student who wishes to appeal a grade must file a written notice of intention to appeal with the Chair of the University Committee for Grade Appeals. This notice must be an email attachment sent from an official PNW email account: one with a .temp.pnw.edu domain name. This written notice must be filed by the twenty-first calendar day from the start of classes of the semester session following the session in which the grade was given. The written intention to appeal must include the date, course, section, semester, name of the course instructor, and a statement as to why the grade given was inappropriate. The Chair shall forward a copy of this written notice to the instructor.
In preparing a grade appeal, a student may seek assistance from the Student Advocate(s) in the Office of the Dean of Students or from the Chair of the Committee for Grade Appeals.
If the basis for the grade appeal is an issue of academic integrity, the appeal must follow the procedures listed in the Academic Integrity Policy prior to the Grade Appeals Screening Panel meeting.
The student is expected to meet with the instructor and/or the head of the academic unit through which the course was offered to attempt to resolve the grade appeal. These meetings should take place by the thirty-fifth calendar day from the start of classes.
If a mutually acceptable solution between student and instructor cannot be reached, then the student must submit to the Chair a detailed written statement of allegations, facts, and circumstances justifying their grade appeal. The statement must be submitted to the Grade Appeals Chair as an email attachment from an official PNW email account: one with a .temp.pnw.edu domain name. If the detailed statement is not submitted by the thirty-fifth calendar day from the start of classes, then the case is closed and the grade shall stand.
After receipt of the student’s detailed written statement, the Chair shall promptly forward a copy of the statement to the instructor involved. The instructor may prepare a written response to the student’s allegations and submit it to the Chair. Such a response must be received by the Chair within five business days after the Chair submits the student’s detailed written statement to the faculty member. It must be submitted as an email attachment from an official PNW email account. If a written response is prepared by the instructor, the Chair shall promptly forward a copy to the student.
The Chair shall convene the Grade Appeals Screening Panel within seven calendar days of the receipt of the student’s detailed statement.The Chair shall submit a copy of the student’s detailed statement and evidence, and the written statement from the instructor to the panel.The panel shall decide if the appeal is valid based on Items 1 through 4 of Section IV.J, which are:
1. Evidence exists that the grade assigned to the student is inconsistent with those of other students in the class performing at the same level;
2. Evidence exists that there has been mechanical error in the determination of the final grade;
3. Evidence exists that the grade assigned is contrary to formally stated initial criteria;
4. Evidence exists that course requirements or procedures violate University policy or regulations.
If any panel member deems that the appeal meets any of the cited items, then the Chair will schedule a formal hearing.
If the panel unanimously determines that the appeal is not valid based on any of the cited items, then the appeal is closed and the grade shall stand.
A Screening Panel may consider only evidence respective to a specific appeal for a single course. Other courses of the student or of the instructor shall not be accepted as evidence.
If the Screening Panel determines that the appeal appears to be valid, then the Chair shall schedule a hearing. The hearing must not be scheduled earlier than seven calendar days from the receipt of the student’s detailed statement. The hearing must be concluded by the fifty-sixth calendar day from the start of classes.Once the Hearing Panel has been selected, the Chair shall promptly give written notice of the hearing to the parties involved. The notice shall specify the time, date, and location of the hearing, as well as the procedures and sequence of events to be followed in conducting the hearing.
All documents to be considered at the hearing, including but not limited to statements and written evidence, must have been received by the Chair of Grade Appeals no later than two days before the hearing. The Chair shall ensure that all documents to be considered at the hearing have been received at least one day in advance of the hearing by the student, instructor, and panel members. All parties are to preserve confidentiality and to refrain from discussing the case.
The following shall apply in conducting a panel hearing:
1. 1. A Hearing Panel may consider only evidence respective to a specific appeal for a single course. Other courses of the student or of the instructor shall not be accepted as evidence.
  2. The hearing shall be closed.
  3. The Panel Chair shall determine the number of individuals that can be accommodated at the hearing. The Panel Chair shall be responsible for maintaining the integrity of the grade appeals process. The Panel Chair may set time limits for presentations and rebuttals. Anyone interfering with the orderly procedure of the hearing may be excluded at the sole discretion of the Panel Chair.
  4. The student and the instructor may each have an advisor present at the hearing. The advisor to the instructor must be someone with a bona fide need to know about the student’s academic record, as per FERPA. Both parties have the right to present evidence and witnesses on their behalf and to challenge evidence and to question opposing witnesses. All parties shall be reminded that the appeal hearing is not a legal proceeding and procedure is not dictated by established precedent pertaining to court hearings. Advisors shall be allowed to advise the parties concerned, but shall not be allowed to address the panel or witnesses directly.
  5. All evidence initiated by the student at the hearing is restricted to addressing the allegations, facts, and circumstances contained in the student’s detailed statement.
  6. Normally, if the student does not appear for the hearing, the complaint shall be dismissed, the case closed, and these actions are not subject to further hearing or appeal.
A hearing can be rescheduled only when extraordinary circumstances prevent an involved party from attending the hearing. The party must petition in writing the University Grade Appeals Chair to reschedule the hearing. The petition must document the circumstances. If the University Grade Appeals Committee Chair concludes the circumstances are extraordinary, then the Chair shall reschedule the hearing and the appeal shall continue. If, however, an instructor does not appear, the hearing will continue.
A hearing should be structured in the following manner:
1. Student’s presentation of witnesses and evidence.
2. Instructor’s cross-examination of witnesses.
3. Instructor’s presentation of witnesses and evidence.
4. Student’s cross-examination of witnesses.
5. Question period by the panel members.
6. Student’s final statement.
7. Instructor’s final statement.
8. Parties dismissed so panel members may deliberate and reach a decision in private.
The Grade Appeals Committee Chair may attend any panel hearing in order to insure that proper procedures are followed.
An official recording shall be made of each hearing. The Panel deliberations shall not be recorded. The Panel Chair is expected to identify voices for the record.

In both the evidentiary and deliberative aspects of the hearing, the members of the panel shall restrict questions and discussion to the allegations, facts, and circumstances pertaining to the student’s detailed statement. The panel’s decision shall be based on the following:
1. Evidence exists that the grade assigned to the student is inconsistent with those of other students in the class performing at the same level;
2. Evidence exists that there has been mechanical error in the determination of the final grade;
3. Evidence exists that the grade assigned is contrary to formally stated initial criteria;
4. Evidence exists that course requirements or procedures violate University policy or regulations.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the panel shall determine the student’s grade by majority vote of all members. The panel may raise, lower, or uphold the original grade. The Secretary shall record the decision on the same day that the hearing is held. The Chair of the Grade Appeals Committee shall notify both parties of the panel’s decision no later than the sixty-third calendar day from the start of classes.
An official file containing the notice of intention to appeal, the student’s detailed statement, the recording, copies of other material entered as evidence, and a written record of the panel’s decision shall be forwarded to the Office of the Provost to be retained for one calendar year. The official file is confidential.
The Hearing Panel’s decision is final and shall not be subject to further hearing or appeal. However, if the Grade Appeals Chair determines that a procedural error has occurred at the hearing, he/she shall immediately inform the parties that he/she will request the authority to have the case re-heard by a new panel. Such authority shall, however, only be granted by a vote of the Student Affairs Committee of the Senate, to whom the Grade Appeals Chair shall provide the procedural details. If the Student Affairs Committee agrees, the flawed hearing shall be disregarded, and a new hearing held. If the Student Affairs Committee disagrees, the decision of the original hearing panel shall stand.
If the grade determined by the University Grade Appeals Panel differs from the original grade, then the Chair of the University Committee for Grade Appeals shall file the appropriate grade change with the Registrar, who shall expunge the old grade and record the new grade.

V. Grade Appeals Timeline

ACTION	ALLOTTED TIME	DUE BY
Notice of Intention	3 weeks	21st day
Student-faculty discussion	2 weeks	35th day
Screening Panel meets	1 weeks	42nd day
Appeals Panel meets	2 weeks	56th day

This time line applies to the regular session (exclusive of summer) following issuance of the appealed grade, beginning from the first day of classes.

All deadlines listed here occur on the same day of the week on which classes began. When a given deadline falls on a university holiday or other day when the campus is closed, the deadline extends to the next regular weekday when the campus is open. Under extraordinary circumstances, the Chair may extend a deadline. The Grade Appeals Chair shall have the power to suspend a hearing under extraordinary circumstances, such as a panel member needing to leave for a class.

Approved:

K. Al Shamaileh
R. Calix
T. Dobrowski
A. Elmendorf (Chair)
J. Kuhn
S. Rezak
D. Williams (SGA)

Disapproved:

None

Absent:

J. Spores