administrator whose decision you question. It is your responsibility to gather the evidence necessary to support your case and to include that evidence when submitting the written appeal. In preparing the appeal, you should keep in mind that the primary issue is whether the administrative decision was justified by the procedures and/or guidelines established to govern that decision.

The supervisor to whom the appeal is made may choose to appoint and be advised by a consultative board composed of students and/or faculty and/or administrators of the supervisor's own choosing, and may also choose to charge such a board with hearing oral arguments and/or with making inquiries into specified matters of fact. However, if you have alleged discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, handicap, religion, or national origin, a consultative board must be appointed and must include at least one student and at least one faculty member who is not an administrator. In no case will the supervisor be bound by the advice of the board.

Student Academic Grievances
(also see "Student Academic Appeals", page 56)
The following grievance procedure primarily applies to alleged violations of a student's rights by his/her instructor. However, if your problem is related to admission, transfer of credit, probation, suspension, or dismissal, you may wish to enter an academic appeal, as described in the previous section of this manual. If your problem is with an administrator's decision regarding a matter between you and your instructor, you should use the academic appeals process unless you can reasonably claim that the administrator's decision constitutes a violation of your rights. In the latter case, you may choose to use the academic grievanceprocedure, adapting it to your case so as to begin with the administrator and his/her supervisor rather than the instructor and his/her chair and dean (as outlined below). The Academic Policies Committee is the final arbiter of whether such a grievance against an administrator should be resolved instead through the appeals process. If your problem is related to a non-academic issue, you should refer to the Student Conduct Code.

If you wish to initiate a grievance, you must follow the student academic grievance procedure as outlined below, keeping in mind the following principles:

1. You must start with a sincere attempt to settle the dispute in an informal manner with the instructor. Administrators can initially hear your concerns and refer you to this document, but they will not discuss any specific grievance until the appropriate procedural steps have been taken.
2. Within the guidelines of the institution, faculty have authority and responsibility for course content, classroom procedure, and grading, except insofar as it can be shown that a decision was arbitrary or capricious, or based on discrimination with respect to race, religion, sex, handicap, age, or national origin.
3. In order for you to prepare your case, keep in mind that when you present the facts the burden of proof is on you, not on the instructor.

57Augusta State University Catalog

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