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 58)
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 grievance
procedure, 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Students who have legitimate grievances which cannot be resolved at the departmental level are
encouraged to pursue their cases and follow the procedures outlined below. However,
frivolous or mendacious complaints are discouraged. Students and faculty are further advised
that adherence to the full truth represents the best service to their cases, and indeed that
misstated or overstated claims by the principals or their witnesses about the misdeeds of others
may lead to civil penalties.
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