Grade Changes/Appeals

Changing a Final Grade

After the final grades are filed in the Office of the Registrar, a grade may normally be changed only to correct a clerical error. For these changes, the instructor must file a completed Change of Grade form in the Office of the Registrar.

Appealing a Final Grade

The academic evaluation, resulting in grade assignment, will be subject to appeal if the instructor’s evaluation is based on any factors other than the student’s performance in the course and/or adherence to course requirements. Refer to the Grade Appeal Policy and Procedure under the Student Code of Conduct and Policies section of the catalog for additional information.

Appealing Grades Received for Improper Withdrawal

Under certain circumstances, students who do not withdraw from the college in accordance with official procedures may appeal the grades they have received that semester. The appeal procedure applies only to emergency or hardship situations, as defined below:

• Personal illness or accident involving extended hospitalization
• Sudden and unexpected departure from the area resulting in the student’s inability to return to the college (e.g. death in the immediate family, induction to military service)

The appeal must be made for all course work in the semester in question and must be made within six months of the issuance of final grades, unless the student can demonstrate incapacity beyond that date. It is the student’s responsibility to support the appeal with written, documented evidence, such as an official hospital record, to substantiate the claimed hardship. In addition, if the date of departure from the college comes after the 60 percent of the course instruction, the student must also provide documented evidence from each instructor that he/she was passing each course listed on the record for that semester. Students who meet the specified criteria and elect to file an appeal must submit a written statement with supporting documentation to the Dean of their school.

Academic Renewal

Under certain circumstances, undergraduate students may petition the Office of the Registrar for academic renewal. If the petition qualifies, students may have a maximum of two consecutive semesters of course work disregarded in all calculations regarding academic standing, grade point average, and graduation eligibility. If summer work is to be included in the disregarded course work, then a six-week summer term shall count as one-half semester.

Eligibility for academic renewal is subject to the following conditions:

• At the time the petition is filed, at least five years must have elapsed since the most recent course work to be disregarded was completed.
• In the interval between the completion of the most recent course work to be disregarded and the filing of the petition, students shall have completed at least 15 acceptable credits of course work at a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a grade-point average of at least 2.50 on all work completed during that interval. Courses taken during the interval may be repeats of previously attempted college work.

The student's filed petition will specify the semester(s) or term(s) to be disregarded. If more than one semester or term is to be disregarded, the semester(s)/term(s) must be consecutive, be completed within two calendar years and include no intervening enrollments at the college.

If the petition qualifies under this policy, the student's permanent academic record will be suitably marked to indicate that no work taken during the disregarded semester(s), even if satisfactory, may apply toward graduation requirements. However, all course work will remain on the academic record, ensuring a true and accurate academic history.

Academic renewal can only be applied prior to graduation from the first undergraduate degree. Once a student graduates, academic renewal cannot be retroactively applied.