Final grade appeal

If you have good reason to believe that you were assigned an inappropriate final grade in a course, you can appeal your final grade according to the Final Grade Appeals - Policy 217.  The full final grade appeal process is described in the Final Grade Appeal Procedures.

Grounds for appealing your final grade 

The policy allows students to appeal a final grade on the following grounds:

• Alleged failure by the instructor to follow the evaluation profile, grade assignment and operational details as stated in the course syllabus and/or instructions for assignments, examinations, or projects. Students must be notified in writing or electronically of any changes to the distributed course syllabus or to the instructions for individual components;
• Alleged failure of the instructor to apply the evaluation criteria to the student in a reasonable manner, consistent with other students in the class;
• Alleged failure by the instructor or departments/divisions to follow approved and relevant university, faculty, department, or school policies and procedures.
• Alleged failure of the instructor to adequately consider and provide reasonable accommodations in response to documented extenuating circumstances that prevented or delayed a student from completing or submitting one or more components of the course.

Appeals for the following reasons cannot be accepted:

• An appeal to correct a grade calculation error.  If you believe there was an error in the calculation of your final grade, you will need to contact your instructor directly.
• Appeals of a grade received for an individual item of work.
• Complaints related to the general performance of the instructor.  Concerns of this nature can be referred to the appropriate Department Head or Dean.

Before submitting your appeal

Appealing a final grade is a formal process, and needs to follow set timelines and procedures.  Wherever possible, supporting evidence and documentation should be provided.  Before submitting an appeal, do the following:

Preparing your appeal

If you were not able to come to a resolution with your instructor and believe you have material evidence to support a formal appeal, refer to the steps below:

Receiving a response

The Office of the Registrar will review your appeal to determine if it falls within the scope of the Final Grade Appeals policy (217).

If it does not fall within the scope of the policy, or if additional information is required, the Office of the Registrar will inform you.

If the appeal proceeds, the Office of the Registrar will contact the instructor to provide a response to your appeal. The Office of the Registrar will then provide all appeal information to the administrator responsible for processing the appeal.

The administrator, may attempt a facilitated resolution meeting with you and/or the instructor. The matter may be resolved with or without change to the final grade. You will receive a letter confirming the resolution.

If an informal resolution cannot be reached, the administrator will form a Final Grade Appeals Committee.  This committee will review the grade and all materials used to determine the grade.  The final grade may be raised, lowered or left unchanged.

Appealing the decision

Students may appeal the decision of the Committee, but only on the basis of alleged unfairness or bias in the process of the final grade appeal. You may submit a Request for an Appeal Hearing appeal with the Senate Committee for Student Appeals.  This request must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar within 15 business days of receiving the decision of the Final Grade Appeal Committee. 

Note: Where there is a perceived difference between the meaning or intent of the steps found on our website and the Final Grade Appeals Policy and Procedures, the wording of the Final Grade Appeals Policy and Procedures will apply.