Filing of the Appeal: Any appeal concerning undergraduate academic policies and not involving a course grade shall begin with the student completing and filing a Special Academic Petition form with the university Registrar.

Action of the Registrar: The Registrar will either grant or deny the petition, and will notify the student in writing no later than five working days after receiving the completed special Academic Petition form.

Action of the Appeal Committee: If the decision of the Registrar does not resolve the matter to the student’s satisfaction, the student may file a written appeal in the form of a letter to the chair of the Academic Council, Undergraduate, requesting reconsideration of the appeal. The chair of this group will appoint an appeal committee to consider the matter. The appeal committee will review the written appeal and may receive comments from those directly involved including the student. Upon the conclusion of the meeting of the appeals committee the student will be informed if the appeal was approved or denied in writing by the appointed chair of the appeal committee no later than five working days after the meeting.

Action of the Academic Council, Undergraduate: If the decision of the appeals committee does not resolve the matter to the satisfaction of the student, the student may request that the Academic Council, Undergraduate, hear the appeal. This request will be in the form of a letter to the chair of this group. All documents related to the appeal are forwarded to this group. The chair of the council will direct this written appeal to the full council and will convene a meeting of the council in a timely manner, or place the appeal on the agenda for the council’s next regularly scheduled meeting. The council will review the written appeal and may receive comments from those directly involved including the student, and then will resolve the matter in executive session. Upon the conclusion of this meeting the student will be informed if the appeal was approved or denied in writing by the council’s chair no later than five working days after the meeting. The decision of the council is final. In the event that the council, by vote, evenly divides on the appeal, the prior decision of the appeal committee shall stand.

Assumptions

1. By filing a Special Academic Petition form, the student agrees that all documentation necessary for consideration of the appeal will be available to those named in the Academic Appeal Process.
2. In order to move the appeal to the next step, the student will respond in writing to the previous action.
3. Written notification to the student from any individual or group regarding action on the appeal will be made in writing using campus E-mail, campus mail or a local address as indicated on the Special Academic Petition form.
4. Final records of the appeal process will be kept in the Office of the Registrar.
5. All information considered by the respective groups will be considered confidential and the following statement will be read prior to consideration of any student appeal.

This is to be read at the beginning of each appeal hearing:

This is a reminder that confidentiality is an integral part of the appeal process. The individuals and groups hearing an appeal must have access to sensitive information in order to conduct reviews. Participants must protect the confidentiality of this information. Unless indicated otherwise, all meeting materials, testimony, and discussions related to the appeal process are confidential.

Please remember that confidentiality has no expiration date—it lasts forever!