Amendments to the Grade Appeal Policy

In January 2023, the Office of the Registrar proposed updates to the Grade Appeal policy for all students.

The updated policy simplifies the language in the Grade Appeal policy and clarifies timelines and responsibilities of the student, instructor, department head, college dean (or dean designee) and committee. To make the process of filing a grade appeal more understandable and efficient, steps have been outlined based on what party is responsible for completing each step. This update allows for a consolidation of tasks within each step. Additional updates clarify that all student documentation must be provided at the initiation of the appeal and that no additional pieces can be introduced once the appeal has been submitted. Student rights and responsibilities are clarified to include that appeals may be withdrawn at any point.

The updated policy was approved by the Undergraduate Council, Graduate Council, Undergraduate College Academic Administrators Council, Graduate College Academic Administrators Council and the Faculty Senate during the spring 2023 term.

The updated policy is effective immediately and can be read in full online. Students may use the updated policy to appeal grades for the spring 2023 term and beyond.

Updates to the Grade Appeal policy include:

• Responsibilities of each party defined with redundancies removed.
  • Steps outlined for process of the student, instructor, department head, college dean, and committee.
  • Timeline identified for all responsible units.
  • Process supported by the Grade Appeal packet provided by the Office of the Registrar.
• Modernization of language to reflect current terminology.
  • Example: "semester" replaced with "term;" updated language pertaining to physical mail. 
• Clarification that the student may not introduce new information after the initial submission of the appeal. Additional information or materials may be submitted after an initial appeal if expressly requested by the instructor, department head, or dean.
• Clarification that the appeal may be withdrawn by the student at any point during the appeal process.

Justification/Rationale

These updates come in response to recommendations from the University Office of General Council to specify timelines and designate responsible parties. Streamlining the process by relocating precursory steps prior to the appeal procedure, consolidating steps and tagging them based on the responsible party, and removing redundant information will make the appeal more accessible and efficient for students and faculty throughout the process. These changes will offer the student, instructor, department head and dean the benefit of having access to the same information throughout the grade appeal process.

Questions about the updates to the Grade Appeal policy should be addressed to the Office of the Registrar at catalog@arizona.edu.