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Part 6. Student Affairs

Section IX. Student Conduct

C. Scholastic Appeals (Updated 7/03)

1. Charge and Scope of Scholastic Appeals Board

The charge of the Board is to consider cases of significant infractions of student rights as defined by the student code. Only those infractions which lead to a student's dismissal or which adversely affect a student’s final grade will be heard. Further, the scope of the Scholastic Appeals Board shall be limited to those appeals which can be fully documented by evidence. Such evidence includes, but is not limited to, the instructor’s course record, course syllabi, examinations, homework, term papers, letters of affidavit, and documentation of professional misconduct. The Board shall consider only cases in which the student has already exhausted the normal channels of redress, i.e., the instructor, department chairperson, if any, and a formal hearing before the Dean of the College involved. The Board shall not hear matters subject to the jurisdiction of the Judicial Board or general academic complaints which should be referred directly to the Dean of the College and/or the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Board is not a peer review board or a committee to evaluate general teaching effectiveness.

2. Procedures

a. The Scholastic Appeals Board will be composed of a pool of faculty members appointed by the Academic Standards Council, a pool of students appointed by the Student Senate, and a representative from the Division of Student Affairs. The Chairperson of the Scholastic Appeals Board shall be a faculty member appointed by the Chairperson of the Academic Standards Council.

b. A scholastic appeal petition must be initiated before the end of the semester following the semester in which the alleged infraction occurred (e.g., petitions relating to alleged infractions occurring during the spring semester or summer session must be initiated prior to the end of the following fall semester). A petition is initiated when the student formally presents his or her complaint to the Office of Vice President for Student Affairs and requests a scholastic appeals petition from the Vice President for Student Affairs.

c. The appeals route shall be as follows:

(1) The person or persons most directly involved (normally the faculty member).

(2) The Department Chairperson, if any. For issues pertaining to the College of Pharmacy, the Assistant Dean of Pharmacy shall substitute for the Department Chairperson.

(3) A formal hearing before the Dean of the college involved. At this hearing, parties shall submit written charges, answers, and arguments to the Dean. The Dean shall preserve these documents for use in later appeals to the Scholastic Appeals Board, if such an appeal becomes necessary.

(4) The Scholastic Appeals Board whose decision shall be implemented by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

d. The procedure prior to instituting a scholastic appeals shall be as follows:

(1) An aggrieved student must first meet with the instructor in an effort to resolve the issues in question and fully inform the instructor of the specific complaint and the relief sought by the student.

(2) Any unresolved issues then will be presented at a formal hearing before the Dean of the appropriate College. Only written charges, answers and arguments presented at the Dean’s formal hearing will be subject to review by the Scholastic Appeals Board. The Deans shall be charged with preserving all tangible evidence and all written charges, answers, and arguments submitted at hearings before them. The student must have specifically demonstrated how the alleged infraction led to his or her dismissal from the program or adversely affected his or her final grade at the formal hearing before the Dean in order to pursue an appeal to the Scholastic Appeals Board. The Dean must notify, in writing, the student and faculty member of his or her decision within one (1) week following the formal hearing. The Dean shall have the authority to direct the Registrar to change a student’s grade.

(3) Any Department Chairperson or College Dean may elect to utilize an internal committee to assist in making a decision on academic appeals at the departmental and/or college levels.

(4) Nothing contained in these procedures shall act to enlarge or restrict the existing authority, if any, of any Dean or the Vice President for Academic Affairs to take any action, including the changing of student grades or reinstating a student, outside of the appeals process described herein.

e. The procedure for an appeal to the Scholastic Appeals Board shall be as follows:

(1) A scholastic appeal petition may be obtained from the Office of Vice President for Student Affairs. The petition shall include a concise description of the complaint. The petition shall also contain the signature of the student instituting the petition and the signatures and comments of the faculty member, Department Chairperson, if any, and the Dean involved, if said persons are still employed by the University.

(2) Copies of all written charges, answers, and arguments and all tangible evidence presented at the Dean’s formal hearing shall be attached to the original petition submitted to the Office of Vice President for Student Affairs.

(3) The Vice President for Student Affairs will then notify the Chairperson of the Scholastic Appeals Board of the need to consider the petition. The Chairperson shall then select two (2) additional faculty members and three (3) students from the pools of faculty members and students and will call a meeting of the Scholastic Appeals Board including a representative from the Division of Student Affairs. The appeals shall be read at the initial hearing and a vote shall be taken to determine whether the petitioner should be granted a formal hearing. If the Scholastic Appeals Board decides to grant a formal hearing, then a date for the formal hearing shall be set. Notice of the formal hearing shall be mailed to the parties involved at least two (2) weeks prior to the hearing. This notice must also inform the involved persons that, while not entitled to legal counsel, each person may choose a peer group member to accompany him or her at the meeting. Peer group members for faculty are other faculty members. Peer group members for students are other students.