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Grade Appeal

Request for Academic Relief (Grade Appeal)

A request for academic relief asks for an exemption from a University regulation or that a grade be changed. The procedures governing these requests are established partly by Senate regulation, and partly by departmental decision. By Senate regulation, requests must be submitted according to the following deadlines:

January Marks	January 31
April/May Marks	June 30
Intersession	July 31
Summer Evening	August 31
Summer Day	September 15
Spring/Summer Distance Studies Courses	October 15

The deadline is June 30th for requests for relief concerning program eligibility and progression.

For procedures beyond the departmental level, consult the Western Academic Calendar > Academic Rights and Responsibilities > Student Academic Appeals – Undergraduate > Requests for Relief. Bear in mind that there will be deadlines for appealing against departmental decisions on requests for relief.

Department Procedures:

1. These procedures are applicable for courses administered within the Department of Visual Arts. Students may request academic relief with respect to grades on assignments, essays, tests, or final examinations. Unless there is a procedural irregularity, relief cannot be adjudicated for other matters such as participation and critique grades.

2. The first stage of the process is a discussion with the tutorial assistant (if applicable), and then with the instructor of the course; the appeal must be made within three weeks of the date on which the assignment was returned.

3. A request for relief at the departmental level must be made in writing; forms are available below. A request cannot be lodged without grounds, which may include questions of fairness or appropriateness of general grading practices.

4. The Chair of the Department will contact the instructor in order to ensure that a full discussion of the matter has taken place at the level of the instructor and the student. In the case of a final examination, the student is entitled to go over the examination with the instructor. For an assignment or test, the student must discuss the material in some detail with the instructor. The absence of a response from the instructor within two weeks during the fall and winter terms will be taken as agreement that jurisdiction in the matter has moved to the departmental level. During the summer term, if the instructor is unavailable, the request will normally be suspended as long as necessary. (This does not contravene the Senate deadlines given above; the grievance must be filed within the appropriate time limit.) If an instructor is unavailable for an extended period of time the request for relief will proceed.

5. Once the department has taken jurisdiction in a request for relief, it cannot return to the instructor.

6. The Chair will consider the grounds given, and may arrange to have the assignment or examination re-read confidentially by another instructor who taught the course during the current year or in recent years, but who is not the student's instructor. For written assignments, the student must submit the original work, but should also submit a clean copy for the second reader. The instructor should provide the original assignment guidelines to the Chair.

7. If the grade given by the second reader differs from that given by the student's instructor, the Chair will discuss the grade with both readers. A grade on which any two of these three people (the instructor, the second reader, and the Chair) agree will become the final grade for the assignment.

8. A request for a change in grade will have one of three results: the grade may stand, be raised, or be lowered.

  

Request for Academic Relief (Grade Appeal) Form