Beginning in the fall 2013 semester, the following grade appeal policy is in effect.
Student Appeal
Students are strongly encouraged to first communicate with the professor of the course. If that conversation does not remedy the situation, or if students choose to not follow that route, then students who think that a final grade was issued erroneously may file a grade appeal to the departmental grade appeals committee by submitting the form to the Registrar’s Office. Appeals must be filed by the twenty-fifth calendar day of the subsequent long semester. (Courses taken in spring or summer must be appealed by the twenty-fifth day of the subsequent fall semester; courses taken in the fall or winter must be appealed by the twenty-fifth day of the subsequent spring semester.)
Department Grade Appeals Committee
The request shall be reviewed by the departmental grade appeals committee. The departmental committee has 30 calendar days to review the matter and make a recommendation to the faculty member. For interdisciplinary programs, grade appeals will go to the department grade appeals committee of the academic department who hired the faculty member.
Faculty Review
The faculty member, upon receipt of the committee’s recommendation, must render a judgment within 14 calendar days and communicate in writing to the Office of the Registrar his or her decision to either sustain the grade or submit a grade change.
College-Wide Grade Appeals Committee
If the departmental grade appeals committee fails to make a recommendation to the faculty member within 30 calendar days, the grade appeal will be sent to the college-wide grade appeals committee. The college-wide grade appeals committee shall have 30 calendar days to make a recommendation to the faculty member. The faculty member’s responsibilities and responses are the same as above. The college-wide grade appeals committee shall comprise five tenured members of the faculty, who shall be nominated by the Faculty Senate and elected by the College Council. No more than one faculty member from any department may concurrently serve on the committee. The committee shall elect a chair from its own membership.
Extraordinary Circumstances
In truly exceptional circumstances the grade change may be authorized by someone other than the faculty member who taught the course. If either committee determines that such is the case, the chair of the respective committee shall forward the information and related documents to the chair of the academic department that owns the course. The chair of the department, in consultation with the department grade appeals committee, shall review the case and if the grade appeals committee determines that a grade change is necessary and appropriate, it shall render its decision and change the student’s grade by the process and deadline established for the faculty member above.
Such grade changes are expected to be rare. No change in grade may be authorized except by the faculty member teaching the course or by the department chair in consultation with the department grade appeals committee. Each fall, a report will be furnished to the Academic Standards Subcommittee of UCASC as to the number of grade changes made through this process during the previous academic year.
If a faculty member changes a grade in response to a recommendation of either the departmental grade appeals committee or of the college-wide grade appeals committee or if a department chair changes the grade in consultation with the department grade appeals committee, that grade is final.
Students shall be limited to three (3) grade appeals during their educational experience at John Jay; however, any grade appeal that is successful shall not count toward that three-appeal limit.
Applicability to Undergraduate and Graduate Students
The processes described in this policy shall apply to only courses in the undergraduate program because only the undergraduate program has departmental grade appeals committees.