CON Procedures for Handling Undergraduate Student Appeals of Academic Evaluations

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Appendices

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER COLLEGE OF NURSING
Procedures For Handling Undergraduate Student Appeals Of Academic Evaluations	Subsection: Appendix N
Section 5.0 - Appendices	Originating Date: May 1991
Responsible Reviewing Agency: Undergraduate Academic Review Committee Faculty Coordinating Council General Faculty Organization	Revised: December 2003 Revised: September 2008 Revised: May 2015 Revised: May 2022
Related documents: 5.2.19 Undergraduate Student Grade Appeal 4.1.6 Undergraduate Academic Review Committee Rules of the Faculty Organization Appeals of Academic Evaluations University Student Code of Conduct

This policy is currently under revision. Please refer to the earlier version linked in the header until this work is complete.

Policy:

Paragraph 5.3 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents provides in part as follows: Each college or school shall provide for a faculty-student appeals committee for students who believe that evaluation of their academic progress has been prejudiced or capricious. Such procedure shall provide for changing of student's evaluation upon the committee's finding that an academic evaluation by a member of a faculty has been prejudiced or capricious.

See also UNMC College of Nursing Policies: 4.1.6 Academic Review Committee and 5.2.19 Undergraduate Student Grade Appeal. Please note: A student looking at this procedure should also look at the full University Student Code of Conduct and Appeals of Academic Evaluations.

Procedure Definitions:

• University Day: Various deadlines are stated in days. The term “University Day” means a weekday during which the campus offices are open. Check the academic calendar on the campus website to determine the days during which the campus offices are closed.
• E-mail Address of Record: The “e-mail address of record.” means the student’s University assigned e-mail address. Because important notices may be sent to students by e-mail, it is extremely important that students make sure they check that email regularly. Delivery Receipt with University email is confirmation of the email being received and will be considered as the official date of delivery.
• Undergraduate Academic Review Committee (UG-ARC): a committee of 10 undergraduate faculty chosen by the general faculty to conduct all committee functions related to academic appeals.
• Undergraduate Academic Review Committee (UG-ARC) Hearing Board: is made up of 4 faculty drawn from a pool of 10 elected faculty from the UG-ARC. The UG-ARC Hearing Board also includes 1 student to create a 5-member committee.
• Undergraduate Academic Review (UG-ARC) Chair: A UG-ARC Chair will be chosen from the 10-undergraduate faculty of the committee at the fall biannual meeting. The UARC Chair will conduct all hearing board meetings but will not be a voting member of the UARC Hearing Board.

Procedure Steps:

1. Course Faculty/ Coordinator receives notice from the student immediately after receiving the grade alleged to be capricious or prejudiced, that the student wants to informally discuss the grade.
2. Faculty and student meet to discuss the grading with the student presenting the information regarding why the grading is believed to be capricious and or prejudiced.
   1. If a satisfactory agreement cannot be made, the student may appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Academic Review Committee (UG-ARC) chair.
3. The student may request to meet informally to discuss the appeal with the program director in which the course is offered after meeting with the faculty member involved/course coordinator.
4. The student sends a written request to the UG-ARC Chair requesting an appeal. With this request,
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5. UG-ARC Hearing Board may decide:
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6. The student can appeal to the Dean of the College of Nursing if the academic appeal is denied.
7. The faculty can appeal to the Dean of the College of nursing if the academic appeal is denied.

Additional Procedural Details for the Hearing:

1. The UG-ARC and UG-ARC Hearing Board must conduct the hearing in a manner that facilitates the presentation of relevant evidence and in accordance with the policies related to UNMC College of Nursing.
   1. The UG-ARC committee is only required to vote to grant or dismiss the appeal.
2. The UG-ARC Hearing Board has the discretion to allow the use of a question-and-answer format or allow a witness to make an oral statement about what the witness knows about the matter.
3. The UG-ARC Hearing Board may then ask questions to clarify what the witness said or to elicit more detailed information.
4. The UG-ARC Hearing Board has the discretion to question the witnesses directly or to require the parties to submit answers to questions asked by the UG-ARC Hearing Board.
5. In exercising this discretion, the UG-ARC Hearing Board should consider all the relevant circumstances, including whether there is animosity between the Respondent and the witness, and whether direct questioning would be more efficient or would better enable the presentation of information.
   1. UG-ARC will consider and support faculty’s academic freedom in relation to the course being taught.
6. The UG-ARC Hearing Board has the discretion to:
   1. allow the identified parties to make opening statements, closing statements, or both, with reasonable time limits
   2. The student has the right to be accompanied by a faculty advisor when the student meets with the UG-ARC Hearing Board; and
      1. that the student may choose anyone as the advisor, including an attorney, but that the student is responsible for any fees that the advisor may charge.
      2. The student’s advisor may provide guidance to the student but may not otherwise directly participate during the proceedings. The student’s advisor may not speak on behalf of the student during the hearing and may not directly participate in any aspect of the hearing.
         1. Non-compliance with directions from the UG-ARC Hearing Board will result in the student’s advisor being asked to leave the hearing.
   3. allow witnesses to testify by videoconferencing technology
   4. require that the witnesses who have not yet testified wait somewhere other than the hearing room until they are called to testify
   5. remind the student that there is one designated date that materials can be submitted to support that student's defense.
      1. If such information was not reasonably previously known to the student prior to the deadline, that information may be forwarded to the UG-ARC Hearing Board, who shall decide the relevance and admissibility of that information.
      2. Prior to the decision the UG-ARC Hearing Board may consult the University regarding the relevance and admissibility of that information.
7. Within 5 University days of the conclusion of the hearing, the UG-ARC Hearing Board will determine whether the appeal has been sustained by the evidence.
8. The UG- ARC Hearing Chair will send a report and conclusions via university email with the final decision to:
   1. The student.
   2. The faculty member/course coordinator
   3. The Undergraduate Program Director
   4. The Division Assistant Dean
   5. The Associate Dean of Academic Programs who will notify the Dean.
9. A verbatim recording of the hearing must be maintained and included in the report.
   1. UG-ARC reports and information will be housed in Associate Dean's Office for a minimum of one year following the conclusion of the grade appeal or graduation, whichever occurs later.
   2. Each report will be placed in the CON Student's File and on the student's transcript when required by policy.
10. The student will have 10 University days to respond to the UG-ARC Hearing Board’s final decision via university email to the UG-ARC Chair.
    1. If no written response from the student is received during this timeframe, the Appeals Hearing Board decision will be considered final.
    2. If the student’s written response is debating the decision of the UG-AC Hearing Board, the student will be directed to the procedures to follow in the appeal to the Dean of the College of Nursing.
       1. The Dean will review the record of the investigation and the facts to determine if the appeal procedure has been fair and thorough. The Dean may then either affirm the findings of the committee or direct the committee to conduct a reinvestigation or rehearing either in whole or in part.
       2. The decision of the Dean is final, and no further appeal may be made.
    3. If the Faculty involved in the appeal do not agree with the Appeals Hearing Board, then the faculty will be directed to the procedures to follow in an appeal to the Dean of the College of Nursing.
       1. The Dean will review the record of the investigation and the facts to determine if the appeal procedure has been fair and thorough. The Dean may then either affirm the findings of the committee or direct the committee to conduct a reinvestigation or rehearing either in whole or in part.
       2. The decision of the Dean is final, and no further appeal may be made.