School of Nursing Grading Policy

SCHOOL OF NURSING FORMAL GRADE APPEAL PROCESS

It is the policy of the School of Nursing to allow students to appeal their final course grade if they believe their grade has been derived in a manner not consistent with the fair and equitable application of evaluation criteria specified in the course syllabus

PRIOR TO A FORMAL GRADE APPEAL

Prior to initiating a formal grade appeal, the student must attempt to resolve the matter on an informal basis by discussing the final grade with the course faculty of record. lf upon the receipt of the final course grade, the student has met with the faculty of record, and no resolution has been reached a formal grade appeal may be initiated by the student.

FORMAL GRADE APPEAL PROCESS

Step 1 Appeal to Course Faculty of Record

1. The student initiates the formal final grade appeal by accessing the Step 1, Appeal to Course Faculty of Record form located in the Student Handbook.
2. The student completes Step I Part A of the Appeal to the Faculty of Record (Appendix A) and submits the form to the course faculty of record via email writhing 48 hours of the final grade posting.
3. Upon receipt Step 1 form from the student, the course faculty of record informs the appropriate course/level coordinator, Academic program director, and the Associate Dean that a formal grade appeal has been initiated.
4. The course faculty of record reviews the Step 1 Appeal to the Course Faculty of Record Form within 1 business day, and completes Step I Part B.
5. If the course faculty of record approves the appeal for a grade change, the course faculty initiates the grade change, and the appeal is complete.
6. The completed form is saved in the student’s academic file
7. lf the course faculty denies the appeal; the grade remains unchanged.
8. The course faculty of record informs the appropriate level /course coordinator, program director, and Associate Dean of the status of the appeal.
9. The completed Step 1 Appeal to the Course Faculty of Record Form with the decision is signed by the course faculty and returned to the student via email.
10. The student may either accept the grade and the process ends or continue the appeal to the Associate Dean within three business days.

Step 2 Appeal to Associate Dean

1. The student initiates the appeal to the Associate Dean via email within 3 business days.
2. The student appeal to the Associate Dean should include the original signed Step 1 Appeal to the Course Faculty of Record Form and the Step 2 Appeal to the Associate Dean Form, the student completes Part A of the Appeal to the Associate Dean Form (Appendix B). The form is located in the Student Handbook.
3. The Associate Dean responds to the student via email and acknowledges the receipt of the student appeal documentation via email. 
4. The Associate Dean reviews the appeal, completes Step 2 Part B, and notifies the student the appeal is assigned to the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Committee for review.
5. The Associate Dean notifies the Chair of the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Committee via email of the need for an appeal committee.

Step 3 Appeal to the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Committee

1. The Chair of the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs acknowledges via email the request of the Associate Dean of the need to convene an Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Appeal Committee.
2. The Associate Dean provides Step I and Step 2 Forms to the Chair of the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Committee to share with the assigned Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Appeal Committee members.
3. The Chair of the Under graduate /Graduate Programs Committee will assign three members of the Undergraduate /Graduate Programs Committee, not involved with the course in question, to review the appeal.
4. The Undergraduate/Graduate Appeal Committee meets and may request a meeting or further information from the student, advisor / mentor the course faculty of record, the course/level coordinator, and Academic Program Director.
5. The Undergraduate/Graduate Appeal Committee makes a recommendation using Step 3 School of Nursing Final Grade Appeal Form (Appendix C) and sends the recommendation, along with Step l and Step 2 forms to the Chair of the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Committee.
6. The Chair of the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Committee presents therecommendation to the Associate Dean and Dean.
7. The Associate Dean contacts the student to relay the decision of the Undergraduate/Graduate Appeal Committee
8. The documentation from the Final Grade appeal are saved in the student’s academic file

Appendix A

WIDENER UNIVERISTY SCHOOL OF NURSING FINAL GRADE APPEAL

STEP 1 Appeal to Course Faculty of Record

STEP 1 Part A This portion is to be completed by the student and submitted to the course faculty of record via within -18 hours of the final grade posting

Student Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ID_# _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Student Contact Information (email/phone): _  _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _

Academic Program of Study: _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _

Course Title: _  _   _  _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _

Course Faculty of Record Name: _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _

Grade Received: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Final Grade Appeal Justification

Please include a statement to address the final grade appeal. This should include:

• Describe the resolution you are seeking
• Clearly and concisely state what you are requesting
• When did you first become aware of the problem?
• What steps have -you already taken to address the problem/situation?
• Identify resources or supports that may help you improve or correct the situation Additional documentation may be attached.

Student Signature: _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _ _  _                                      Date: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

STEP 1 Part B This portion is to completed by the course faculty of record within 1 business day of the receipt of the form from the student.

Course Faculty of Record decision:         

Grade remains  _ _ _ _     

Grade changed to: _ _ _ _

Persons informed:       level/course coordinator   _Program Director  _     Associate Dean

Explanation of decision:

Attach all relevant information

Course Faculty of Record Signature: _   _  _   _  _   _  _   _   _  _                    Date: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Appendix B

WIDENER UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF NURSING FINAL GRADE APPEAL

STEP 2 Appeal to Associate Dean

STEP 2 Part A: This portion is completed by the student within three business days of receipt of the course faculty of record decision                                                                                                                

The grade decision of the course faculty of record was not resolved to my satisfaction: therefore, I appeal to the Associate Dean. I understand that the Associate Dean will submit the paperwork to the

Graduate/ Undergraduate Program Committee for review and decisions. The role of the Associate Dean is only to trigger the process. Only the original explanation of the circumstances and documentation will be considered.

Attach: Step 1: Appeal to the Course Faculty of Record with original explanation of circumstances and documentation

Student Signature: _  _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _ _  _               Date: - - - - - - - - - - -

STEP 2 Part B: This portion of the form is completed by the Associate Dean within three business days of the receipt of the Step 1 form from the student and reflects the decision of the course faculty. and the recommendation to the Undergraduate/Graduate Program Committee to provide further review.

Comments:

Associate Dean Signature: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Date: _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Appendix C

WIDENER UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF NURSING FINAL GRADE APPEAL

Step 3 School of Nursing Final Grade Appeal Form

The Associate Dean informs the Chair of the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs of the need to convene an Undergraduate /Graduate Programs Appeal Committee

The Associate Dean sends Step 1, Step 2, and supporting documentation to the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Chair to share with the Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Appeal Committee

The Undergraduate/Graduate Programs Appeal Committee will complete its review of the final grade appeal request within three business days of receipt of the request.

Only the original reason for appeal and documentation will be considered

Appeal Committee Meeting

Time: _  _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _  Date: _  _   _  _   _  _   _  _  _    Location: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Appeal Committee Members:

1.

2. 

3.                                                                                                                                

Appeal Committee Decision: Grade remains the same

        Grade Changed to_ _ _ _

Comments:

Student signature: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Undergraduate/Graduate Program Appeals Committee: Signatures:

1)                                                                        

2)                                

3)                                                                                                   

Date: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The decision of the Undergraduate/Graduate Program Appeals Committee is final