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All students have the right to disagree with an assigned grade and shall follow the steps outlined below in the Grade Appeal Procedure.

Instructors and students are expected to fulfill their respective responsibilities as they relate to grading and evaluation. College policy/procedure 500.7 on Grading and Progression lists the following rights and responsibilities:

1. Instructors are responsible for distributing to their students a copy of the ACAD course outline and the instructor course guideline that includes course objectives, methodology, evaluation and specific grading criteria, normally by the end of the first week of instruction. A copy must also be submitted to the Office of the Vice-President, Academic. Instructors are expected to discuss the course expectations and grading criteria with their students.
2. Students are responsible for ensuring that they obtain a copy of the ACAD course outline and the instructor course guideline and that they understand the course expectations and grading criteria.
3. Instructors are responsible for providing students with feedback on their progress in the course at or before the midterm of the semester so that students may make an informed decision, on the basis of instructor feedback, to continue or to withdraw from the course without failure. Where the nature of the course does not lend itself to a formal midterm evaluation, instructors are required to notify those students whose progression to that date is not satisfactory by way of a "Warning Letter" issued through the Registrar's Office.
4. Students are responsible for their own course registrations and must abide by College deadlines in adding or withdrawing from class. Students who have not received feedback on their course progress at midterm have the right to request that the instructor provide this feedback prior to the deadline for withdrawing from class.
5. If a student is not fulfilling course expectations at any time during the semester, the instructor is responsible for advising the student in writing of his/her progress in the course. Instructors are encouraged to issue "Warning Letters" to students through the Registrar's Office. Similarly, students encountering difficulties in fulfilling course expectations should seek assistance from their instructor during class time or office hours, if necessary.
6. In assigning final grades, instructors are responsible for applying the evaluation and specific grading criteria distributed. Instructors shall assign grades according to the college grading system.
7. Where a student does not agree with an assigned final grade, both the student and the instructor are responsible for following the College grade appeal procedures.

A student may appeal a final grade if he/she believes that an instructor has applied inappropriate criteria in evaluation and/or that an instructor has unfairly interpreted the student's work in light of stated criteria. Grade appeals must be objective in nature and based on evidence.

Grade appeal procedures are outlined below. Grade Appeal Forms are available online (PDF, 108 KB) and in person from the Registrar's Office.

A grade query must be completed and returned to the Registrar's Office within 30 calendar days of the end of the semester for which the grades were issued.

The grade query is a compulsory first step in the Grade Appeal process. It is intended to provide a forum for the instructor and student to resolve the issue of a disputed grade informally.

Procedure:

To complete a grade query, the student must meet with the instructor to discuss:

• Whether there was an oversight or a mistake in grading;
• The reason(s) for the student's request for a grade change;
• The criteria used to determine the grade;
• The possibility of a change of grade to an "I" incomplete with specific conditions that have to be met to satisfy the course requirements or to any other grade; and/or
• Any other mutually acceptable solution

The instructor may agree to a change of grade or may decide to uphold the original grade as a result of the grade query. The instructor shall confirm that the grade query has been completed by signing the Grade Query section of the Grade Appeal form and recording his/her decision directly on the form. The form must be returned to the Registrar's Office within 30 calendar days of the end of the semester for which the grades were issued. If the grade is to be changed, the instructor must also submit a Change of Grade form to the Registrar's Office. If the grade is not to be changed, the instructor must submit to the Head of Area of Study of the contested grade his/her instructor course guideline plus a written account of how the student's grade was determined, relative to the outlined objectives of the course and the evaluation criteria.

If the student is unsatisfied with the outcome of the grade query, he/she may proceed to Step 2: Area of Study Resolution.

In the event the instructor is not available for a grade query, the process will default to Step 2: Area of Study Resolution.

Step 2: Area of Study Resolution must be initiated within 5 calendar days of the completion of the Step 1: Grade Query (the completion date shall be the date the completed form was returned to the Registrar's Office).

A compulsory second step in the Grade Appeal process, Step 2 provides for an Area of Study level discussion and the opportunity for an Area of Study-related panel to review the student's grounds for appeal and make recommendation for the status of the grade. However, a grade cannot be changed at the Area of Study Resolution level without the consent of the instructor.

Appeal Panel:

If review by an Appeal Panel is recommended, the Head of Area of Study will serve as Chair to the panel and shall appoint three other members as follows:

• 2 instructors from the Area of Study (or familiar with the Area of Study in dispute)
• 1 student who is the Students' Association representative for the Area of Study or a designate

The Appeal Panel shall:

• Review the student's written submission provided by the Head of Area of Study
• Review the official course outline, the instructor's course guideline, plus the instructor's written account of how the student's grade was determined relative to the outlined objectives of the course and the evaluation criteria
• Interview the Parties (if deemed necessary)
• Review the student's work in light of course expectations to assess whether the work has fulfilled the requirements of the course. In reviewing the student work, only that work produced for the course may be included in the review

Upon review of the material submitted, the Appeal Panel may recommend that the instructor retain, raise or lower the grade.

The Head of Area of Study shall confirm that the Area of Study Review has been completed by signing the applicable section of the Grade Appeal form and recording his/her recommendation or that of the Appeal Panel directly on the form. The form must be returned to the Registrar's Office within 10 working days of the date the Area of Study Resolution was initiated, the initiation date shall be the date the completed form was received by the Head of Area of Study. The Registrar's Office will forward a copy of the Head of Area of Study's/Appeal Panel's recommendation to both the student and the instructor.

Where a change of grade is recommended either by the Head of Area of Study or the Appeal Panel, the instructor must agree to the change, otherwise the original grade will stand. Where the instructor agrees to change the grade, he/she must submit a Change of Grade Form to the Registrar's Office.
In the event the instructor is not available to participate in the Step 2: Area of Study Resolution procedure, the instructor may assign a designate instructor or he/she may agree to accept the recommendation of the Head of Area of Study or the Appeal Panel to retain, raise or lower the grade.

If the student is unsatisfied with the outcome of the program review, he/she may proceed to Step 3: Formal Resolution.

A formal grade appeal must be initiated within 5 calendar days of the date of completion of Step 2: Area of Study Resolution (the completion date shall be the date the completed form was returned to the Registrar's Office). A grade appeal fee, refunded if the grade is changed, must accompany the formal grade appeal request.

The third step of the Grade Appeal process, Step 3 involves a Department review of the student's appeal. Formal Resolution may result in the overturning of the instructor's original grade by a Grade Appeal Committee.

Procedure:

To initiate a Department review, the student must complete the Formal Resolution section of the Grade Appeal form and submit it to the Registrar's Office with the appropriate fee. The Registrar will then forward the student's appeal to Chair of the Department of the area of the contested grade to conduct a Department review (where the Chair is the instructor, the Academic VP shall conduct the Department review). The Department Chair will then convene a Grade Appeal Committee to review the student's appeal.

Grade Appeal Committee:

The Department Chair will serve as Chair to the Committee and will appoint two other members on an ad hoc basis as follows:

• One instructor who is familiar with the Area of Study in dispute and has not participated in the Step 2: Area of Study Resolution
• One student who is an executive member of the Students' Association
• All three members have voting privileges

The Grade Appeal Committee shall:

• Review all written submissions as provided by the Head of Area of Study, and all recommendations resulting from the Step 2: Area of Study Resolution process, including Appeal Panel recommendations, if a panel was struck
• Interview the Parties. Where the student is unavailable to be interviewed, the student may choose another representative. Where the instructor is unavailable to be interviewed, every effort will be made by the Chair to ensure that the instructor's position is represented

If an Appeal Panel was not struck at the Step 2: Area of Study Resolution level, the Grade Appeal Committee may ask that an Appeal Panel review the student's work and make recommendations to the Grade Appeal Committee on the status of the grade (note that only work produced for the course may be included in the Panel's review).

Upon review of all written and verbal submissions, the Grade Appeal Committee will decide by majority vote if the original grade should be retained, raised or lowered. The Committee may also include recommendations for future action specific to the evaluation and/or the Parties. The Chair shall confirm the Grade Appeal Committee's decision directly on the Grade Appeal form. This form must be returned to the Registrar's Office within 10 working days of the student's initiation of the Formal Resolution process (the initiation date shall be the date the completed form and fee was received by the Registrar's Office).

The Registrar shall advise both the student and the instructor of Grade Appeal Committee's decision.

Given no procedural irregularities in the appeal process, the Grade Appeal Committee's decision is final and no further appeal is possible.