II. General Regulations

Grade Reassessment

Methods or Criteria Used in Establishing Final Grades

The course outline distributed to the class at the beginning of the semester defines the methods and criteria used in establishing final grades for a course. The methods and criteria must conform to the grading procedures established by Senate.

A student who believes that the methods or criteria used by an instructor in determining a final grade are unfair, unreasonable or inconsistent with the course outline, must request the chair of the department offering the course to review the methods or criteria used. The student must submit the request in writing within 14 working days of receiving notification of the grade and must state the reasons for the request.

The chair shall attempt to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of both parties. Both the instructor and the chair are free to discuss the student's work with the student or another instructor in the department, but are not obliged to do so. The student, instructor, or chair of the department may request an internal or external assessor who shall be identified by mutual agreement between the instructor and the student. If agreement as to the assessor cannot be reached within 10 working days, the chair shall notify the dean of the College, who shall select the assessor in consultation with the parties.

If both parties are able to come to an agreement, the chair shall prepare a statement of the agreement to be signed by both parties. If the agreement results in a change to the grade of the student, the chair shall send a copy of the statement to the college dean who shall inform the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

If at any time the chair decides that the matter cannot be resolved informally, he or she will terminate all efforts at reconciliation and notify both the student and the instructor of this decision in writing. Results of any internal or external assessment must be included. The chair will advise the student that an appeal can be made to the Senate Committee on Student Petitions. The student must appeal to the committee within 10 working days of being advised of the termination of the chair's efforts. In cases where the student, instructor, or chair of the department has requested an internal or external assessment of the student's work, the materials submitted to the Petitions Committee must include a copy of the internal or external assessment obtained by the chair.