Grade Change Form (Faculty Use Only)

Faculty may use this form to request a grade change.  To submit an Incomplete grade, please use Incomplete and W Form. Faculty ONLY may complete this form, not students.

Faculty Request for Grade Change

Assessing student work and assigning grades is a primary faculty responsibility. Faculty have the right to substantial autonomy in assigning grades, within the policies they set for their classes and applicable College policies. The utmost care should be taken to ensure that grading is accurate, fair, and based on grading criteria (see Section 9.1.3.7 for recommendations on grading criteria in syllabi).

On rare occasions, errors in grading are discovered by faculty or students after grades are posted. On even rarer occasions, students may have concerns about grading that do not fall within the parameters of the faculty-initiated grade change policy (Section 1 below). The policy outlined below governs the circumstances under which grade change requests may be made and the procedures for doing so.

Students should be advised that filing a formal grade change request, that is, beyond the level of the instructor, is serious, and should be avoided until all informal methods of resolution have been used.

The decision of the Provost to change or not change a grade in the circumstances outlined below is final, and will either be made upon recommendation of the faculty involved, or if there is clear evidence that the standards listed above of accuracy, fairness, and application of grading criteria have not been met.

I. Grade Change Originated by Faculty 

Faculty may request that a previously recorded course grade be changed only: (a) in the case of a demonstrable mathematical error in the compilation or recording of a grade; (b) where it is brought to the attention of the faculty member that they inadvertently misapplied College policy in a way that affected grading; or (c) in the case where documented, extraordinary, extenuating circumstances are brought to the instructor after the deadline for grade submission. Such circumstances brought to the instructor prior to the deadline for grade submission should be evaluated according to the policies for “Grades of Incomplete” or “Withdrawals for Extenuating Circumstances.” All faculty requests for grade changes must be approved by the Provost and Dean of the College, whose decision in the matter is final. Within fourteen days of receiving the faculty request to change a grade, the Provost shall determine the outcome of the case, and communicate that to the student and instructor.

II. Grade Change Originated by Student 

A student with questions about their evaluation in a course is expected to first consult with the faculty member instructing the course. Many such questions can be resolved via a conversation between student and instructor. 

If further consultation is necessary, the student should write a formal appeal to the chair of the academic department or program in which the course is offered. In their appeal, students should include the nature of their concern, supporting evidence when available, the result of the previous conversation with the course instructor, and the resolution requested. If the faculty member instructing the course is also the chair of the academic department or program, then the student should direct their appeal to the Provost and Dean of the College.

The chair of the academic department or program should review the student appeal, consulting further with the student and instructor(s) as necessary. Within fourteen days of receiving the student appeal, the chair should make a written recommendation to the Provost about the matter. Within fourteen days of receiving the chair’s recommendation, the Provost shall determine the outcome of the case, and communicate that to the student, instructor, and chair.

The decision of the Provost is final and no further appeal is possible.

III. Timing of Grade Changes

All requests for review must be initiated within sixty days of the date that the final grade was posted to a student’s record. So long as the request is initiated within sixty days, the review and final decision may exceed that timeframe. However, grades cannot be changed after a student’s degree has been posted and they have graduated.

IV. Conflicts of Interest

In cases where a conflict of interest exists on the part of the chair of an academic department or the Provost, they must recuse themselves from the process. The chair would be replaced by a faculty member in their department, ideally a former chair, and the Provost would be replaced by the Associate Provost or an academic dean.

This policy is under the purview of the Academic Standards Committee. Changes are subject to a vote of the faculty.

(April 2021)