The University of Montevallo respects the right and professional responsibility of faculty members to assign grades based on their professional judgment of student performance. If a student wishes to appeal a final grade assigned as a result of an academic dishonesty charge, the student should follow the process outlined in the Academic Dishonesty Policy.
In the event that a student believes that the final grade assigned in a course is unfair or incorrect, the student should take the following steps:
1. The student must first confer with the faculty member involved to review his or her academic work and its assessment and attempt to resolve issues informally.
2. If the student is not satisfied and wishes to continue the appeal, he or she will request a final grade appeal form from the appropriate department chair. This form must be completed and submitted to the department chair within 30 calendar days of the posting of final grades along with an attached written statement of the rationale/basis for the appeal and any supporting materials such as graded work and the course syllabus. The written appeal must state clearly the reason(s) for the appeal of the grade and the desired remedy.
3. The department chair will review the documents submitted by the student and will discuss the case with the faculty member who will be given a copy of the written appeal. Within five (5) class days* of receiving the student’s appeal, the chair will contact the student to schedule an appointment. The chair’s decision will be rendered at the conclusion of the conference with the student or within five (5) class days after the meeting. If the department chair supports the student’s appeal, the instructor will be asked to reassess the student’s grade.
4. If the department chair does not support the student’s appeal or the department chair does support the student’s appeal and the instructor refuses to change the student’s grade, the student may appeal to the college dean. At the student’s request, the department chair will send all materials to the college dean, who, after discussion with the chair and the faculty member, will schedule an appointment with the student. The dean may or may not request that the chair and faculty member attend the conference. The dean will render a decision at the conclusion of the conference or within five (5) class days after the meeting. If the dean supports the student’s appeal, the instructor will be asked to reassess the student’s grade. The decision to change the grade will remain with the instructor unless the dean has clear, convincing and objective evidence that the grade has not been calculated according to criteria communicated to students by the instructor.
Every effort will be made to address complaints in a timely manner. However, students should be aware that action complaints filed after Spring Commencement may be delayed if the faculty member involved is not available during the summer to respond to the complaint. All appeals should be resolved by the end of the term in which they are filed.
For Distance Education students who are not located within a reasonable distance of campus, written correspondence will occur via official university email and meetings may take place via phone or videoconferencing.
*Class Day: a class day is any weekday in which the University is in session during the regular academic year (e.g., fall and spring semesters).
