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Appeal of Academic Decisions

The College provides an appeal process for students who wish to challenge an academic decision, including decisions related to assigned grades, program progression, program dismissal, college dismissal, violations of academic integrity, and need for course repetition.

Students may file an appeal of academic decisions based upon the following grounds:

  • Procedural Irregularity: A practice/policy occurring within the academic area that is at variance with published academic Program or College practice/policy.

  • Computational Error: A computer/calculation error having a deleterious impact on a student’s assessment or course grade or standing in their academic program or in the college.

  • Inconsistent Grading: Inconsistent application of grading standards, within a specific section of a course or among a single instructor’s sections of the same course.

  • Arbitrary or Capricious (Random) Decision: Capricious or arbitrary application of standards concerning grading, curriculum, or placement status.

  • Unfounded Allegation of Academic Dishonesty: Allegation of a violation of the college’s Academic Integrity policy that is not supported by evidence.

Students will follow the steps outlined in the Procedures section to file an academic appeal. Students are encouraged to follow the informal resolution path first to determine if the appeal can be resolved without moving through the formal process.

Definitions

Academic Decisions – Academic decisions involve determinations made by academic programs, academic administration, and/or individual academic faculty members concerning student’s performance or status while enrolled in an academic course, in an academic program, or in the college. The Appeal of Academic Decisions process does not pertain to decisions or determinations made by other college departments (e.g., Admissions, Advisement, Financial Aid, etc.) and does not directly address issues associated with violations of the College’s Student Code of Conduct.

Academic Appeals Committee – The Academic Appeals Committee is comprised of a group of college full-time faculty and college administrators who are appointed by the college President and who comprise the committee for an entire academic year (beginning August 16 and ending August 15 of the subsequent year). The committee membership will consist of 5 individuals – at least three of whom must be college full-time faculty members. The President will designate one member to Chair the committee.

Appealable Decision – An academic decision that meets one or more categories identified as grounds for an academic appeal.

Business day – a day when the administrative offices of the College are open.

Respondent(s) – the person or persons making the academic decision being challenged

Procedures

A. Procedure for Informal Resolution

The college supports and recommends the use of informal resolution to address student concerns. Prior to submitting a formal Appeal of an Academic Decision, students with a concern should confer directly with the individual or department who made the decision leading to the concern (i.e., the Respondent) and make a reasonable effort to resolve the issue. For example, students should contact the course instructor directly for concerns about evaluations of course assignments, laboratory assessments, clinical performance, quizzes and tests, or course grades. Similarly, the student should contact the Program Director of their academic program for concerns about program progression, program placement and program dismissal. Students with concerns about being placed on probation or being dismissed from the college should contact the Chief Academic Affairs Officer (CAO).

The student must begin the informal resolution process within 20 business days of receiving the academic decision.

B. Procedures for Formal Appeal

In instances where the student has attempted an informal resolution of the concern and the concern has not been resolved to the student’s satisfaction, the student may file a formal Appeal of an Academic Decision. The student must submit a request for Appeal of an Academic Decision within 40 business days of receipt of the original academic decision.

The formal process is separated into steps which must be followed in order, and which must be completed at each step before the appeal is moved to the next step in the process.

Step 1: Submission of Appeal- Completion and Submission of the Appeal of Academic Decision Form:

Students wishing to file a formal appeal must complete the Appeal of Academic Decision Form (AADF) which is located on the MyTrocaire website. The form is available from the office of the CAO. The form requires the following information and must be completed fully in order for the appeal to progress in the process:

  • Student name, college ID number, email address and phone number.

  • Student’s current or most recent academic program and the last semester enrolled.

  • A full description of the academic decision and the reason for the appeal with narrative explaining why an appeal is being made. Note: Academic appeals must match one of the grounds for appeal listed above. For example, if an academic policy has not been followed, please cite the policy and indicate how it was not followed.

  • Evidence and Supporting documents – appeals must be accompanied by appropriate evidence and / or supporting documents. These could include any relevant documents such as course syllabi, grade reports, letters or emails received, etc. Lack of evidence or supporting documents may cause the appeal to be returned.

  • Name of individual, group of individuals or office making the Academic Decision being appealed (known as ‘the Respondent’ or ‘Respondents’).

  • Description of the attempt to resolve the concern informally including the dates of any meetings to discuss the concern with the Respondent(s) and the outcome of those discussions.

Initial Review:

Once completed, the Appeal of Academic Decision Form (AADF) should be submitted by the student to the Chief Academic Affairs Officer (CAO)for initial review.

  • Based upon initial review, the CAO may return an appeal to the student for further information or clarification (for example, due to lack of evidence or supporting documents). If the appeal is returned for further information or clarification, the student must submit the requested information or revision back to the CAO within 10 business days of receiving the request.

  • Concerns for which the reason for the appeal does not match the listed grounds for an appeal will be denied, the student will be notified by the CAO and the appeal will not progress further in the process. In such cases, students may re-submit the appeal form for re-consideration if they provide further contextual information or otherwise modify their request in a way that the appeal now meets the formal appeal requirements.

  • Upon receipt of the complete AADF, the CAO will review the appeal and, if evidence is provided which invokes the need for other, non-academic departments to become involved, the appeal process may be halted or delayed at this point until the department with the appropriate authority over the issue has been brought into the process.

  • Otherwise, the CAO will contact the individual or office making the decision being appealed (the Respondent) and will request their perspective with respect to the student’s concern. If, upon review, the CAO and Respondent agree that the original decision being appealed was not valid, the Respondent will contact the student and make any necessary adjustment. For example, if the student indicated that there was a grade miscalculation which, upon review, did occur – the Respondent will adjust the grade accordingly and contact the student. Upon such adjustment, the appeal process will end.

  • If, after discussing the appeal with the Respondent, the CAO determines that the student’s concern does not support a finding of incorrect application of college or program policies, or otherwise is not a valid appeal, the CAO may deny the appeal at this stage. For example, if a grade miscalculation is alleged by the student, but the provided evidence does not show a grade miscalculation, the appeal will be denied. The CAO will convey the decision to deny the appeal to the student within 5 business days of the review with the Respondent.

If the CAO determines that an appealable decision exists but the Respondent is not willing to change their decision, the process moves to Step 2.

Step 2: Review by Program Director or Dean

If an appealable decision exists but the Respondent is not willing to change their decision, the CAO will contact the Program Director for the academic program to request a review. If the Program Director is not available, the appeal will be provided to the Dean / Administrator overseeing the academic program. The Program Director will be asked to review the appeal and make their own independent determination of the academic decision. Using the AADF, Program Directors will provide a written narrative indicating their support of the original decision, or their disagreement with the original decision. In instances where the Program Director and Respondent disagree, the CAO will meet with both parties to attempt resolution.

If the CAO determines, after consultation with the Program Director, that an appealable decision exists but neither the Respondent and/or Program Director are willing to change the original decision, the process moves to Step 3.

Step 3: Review by Academic Appeals Committee

Upon the decision that the appeal cannot be solved informally, that the appeal meets the appeal criteria (i.e., grounds for an appeal), and the Respondent and/or the Program Director are unwilling to change the original decision, the CAO will refer the appeal, with all the original documentation and evidence, to the Academic Appeals Committee.

The Academic Appeals Committee will ensure a fair and timely hearing of the information. The hearing should be scheduled within 20 business days of the submission of the formal appeal from the CAO to the committee.

The committee hearing of the appeal necessarily focuses only on the student’s concern and not on other, peripheral issues not directly related to the student’s concern. The committee may request additional relevant information from either the student, the Respondent, or both.

The hearing may take the form of an in-person meeting, a conference call or videoconference, at the discretion of the committee. A quorum of at least 3 out of 5 committee members is required for an appeal to be heard and decision made.

The committee chair ensures a fair and timely consideration of the information and provides an accurate record of the hearing to the CAO. The student should be invited to participate in the hearing and present his or her case directly to the committee. Likewise, the Respondent responsible for the original decision should also be invited to participate in the meeting and present relevant information. The student and the Respondent will meet separately with the committee. The student may request that a college employee without direct connection to the area making the academic decision attend the hearing, and this employee may counsel the student during the hearing; however, the employee may not participate directly in the hearing or provide evidence. Students may not be accompanied to the hearing by any external party, including other students, unless they are younger than 18, in which case they may be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.

Following the hearing the committee will deliberate in a closed session. Decisions are made by majority vote, with the committee Chair breaking a tie. The committee may decide to uphold the student’s concern completely, may deny the student’s concern completely, or may make a partial judgement – depending upon the type and complexity of the original concern. Using the AADF form, the committee Chair shall provide the CAO with the committee’s decision and a synopsis of the committee hearing within 5 business days of completing the hearing.

Decisions made by the committee are final.

Upon receiving the committee’s decision, the CAO will contact the student and provide the outcome of the hearing and will work with the appropriate offices to carry out the decision as necessary.