CON Procedures for Handling Undergraduate Student Appeals of Academic Evaluations

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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:


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.

Appeal of Academic Evaluation Involving Academic Dismissal or Suspension

Students desiring to appeal a grade or an evaluation of their academic progress which involves academic dismissal or suspension shall be subject to the rules prescribed above with the following exceptions and additions:

  1. A student who is dismissed or suspended for academic reasons shall be given notice in writing of the dismissal or suspension by the Dean of the college or school involved. The notice shall state the reasons for the action taken and the effective date of the dismissal or suspension.
  2. If the student desires to appeal a course grade or an evaluation of academic progress which led to the dismissal or suspension, the student shall, within two weeks from receiving the notice from the Dean, file an appeal in writing with the chair of the Academic Review Committee. The appeal should state all facts pertinent to the appeal and should be as specific as possible concerning the students position. If the student wishes to appear personally before the committee, he/she should include a statement to that effect and the committee shall grant such request. In such case, the student shall be given reasonable advance notice of the time and place of hearing. The student may be represented by an advisor of choice who may assist the student but who may not question witnesses or otherwise participate in the proceedings unless the chair of the committee specifically permits. The name of the students advisor shall be supplied to the committee chair at least 24 hours before the hearing. Any expense incurred in securing an advisor will be assumed by the student. The committee shall not be required to grant a hearing at which both the student and faculty member(s) involved are present at the same time.
  3. At the hearing conducted by the committee (if one has been requested by the student), the student shall first present his/her reasons for believing that the grade or academic evaluation which led to dismissal or suspension was the result of prejudice or caprice or was otherwise improper. The student may use any relevant evidence deemed proper, including affidavits, exhibits and oral testimony. The committee has no subpoena powers and cannot compel the attendance of witnesses before it. Therefore, the responsibility of procuring any desired witnesses on his/her behalf rests solely with the student.
  4. Any recommendations of the committee will be based solely on the results of its investigation and, if a hearing has been held, the evidence presented at the hearing.
  5. The student, if he/she wishes, will be allowed to record at personal expense any hearing at which he/she is present, and the student shall also have access to the official recording of the proceedings under such conditions as the committee may prescribe.

    At the conclusion of its investigation (or, if a hearing has been held at the request of the student, within a reasonable time after the hearing) the committee shall determine whether the student has sustained the burden of proving by the weight of the evidence that the grade or academic evaluation complained of was the result of prejudice or caprice or was otherwise improper. If the committee finds by a majority vote of the entire committee, taken by secret ballot, that the student has sustained such burden, the committee shall submit its report and conclusions to the Dean and to the student involved. Thereupon the students grade or evaluation shall be changed by order of the Dean in accordance with the committees report and the matter shall be concluded. If the student has been dismissed or suspended, and the change in the grade or evaluation removes the cause for academic dismissal or suspension, the student shall be reinstated and shall be given reasonable opportunity to make up any academic work missed. If conditions of subsequent performance accompany the reinstatement, those shall be communicated to the student.

    If the committee finds that the grade or academic evaluation complained of was not the result of prejudice or caprice or otherwise improper, the committee shall likewise submit its report and conclusions to the Dean and to the student involved. In such case the student may, within ten days, submit an appeal in writing to the Dean setting forth any reasons he/she may have for believing he/she was not accorded a fair hearing by, or given a reasonable opportunity to present his/her case to the committee. The Dean shall make such a review of the record and of the facts of the case as he/she deems appropriate and, at his/her discretion, may interview the student and such other persons as the dean desires. The Deans review, however, shall be limited to matters of procedure and fairness and shall not involve the merits of the case. If the Dean desires, he/she may be assisted by counsel for the University. The Dean shall then either affirm the findings of the committee or, if he/she concludes that the student was denied proper procedural safeguards, shall direct the committee to conduct a rehearing either in whole or in part. The decision of the Dean shall in all cases be final and no appeal may be taken therefrom.

    In the event that the committee decides that the grade or other academic evaluation should be changed, the faculty member who issues the grade or evaluation may appeal to the Dean if he or she feels that the procedures used by the committee were improper or that the committee did not properly consider all of the evidence. The Dean shall then review the record and the facts of the case as he/she would for a student appeal, as provided in the preceding paragraph, and may return the matter to the committee for reconsideration. The decision of the dean shall in all cases be final.
  6. Any materials pertaining to the Grade Appeal (e.g., documents, transcripts, tapes, etc.) will be kept for one year following the conclusion of the grade appeals or graduation, whichever occurs later, in the Undergraduate program director’s office.

1 (Adapted from Procedural Guidelines for Handling Student Appeals of Academic Evaluation, Feb. 1979, May 1991)

Brought to General Faculty Organization 12/15/03; 9/15/08

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