The basic process for requesting a grade appeal is outlined in Article 15.2 of the Graduate Calendar General Regulations. The procedures to follow for appeals related to graduate coursework are itemized below:

A) PRIOR TO CONTACTING THE FACULTY DEAN – GRADE PETITION

  1. The student must contact their Department Chair[1] to request a grade petition.
  2. The Department Chair will assess the merits of the request and may conduct an internal grade review.
  3. Should the Department Chair determine that the petition must be forwarded to the Faculty Dean, they will instruct the student to follow the grade appeal steps in point B below or else a Faculty-specific appeals process.
  4. Should the Department Chair choose to conduct an internal grade review, the student may appeal the result of this review and contact the Faculty Dean.

B) STUDENT TASKS FOR APPEALING THE GRADE REVIEW WITH THE FACULTY DEAN

  1. Send the Faculty Dean the Graduate Grade Appeal Form, including the following items:
    1. a written statement outlining their rationale for requesting a grade review and the result of any prior internal (departmental) grade review;
    2. the original assignment(s) with feedback, mark, etc.;
    3. two unmarked hard copies of the original paper(s)/assignment(s) (or the electronic version);
    4. a breakdown of all the grades received in the course, including grades received for material not under review;
    5. course outline;
    6. the assignment directions and marking/grading scheme; and
    7. any other relevant material.

C) ROLE OF THE FACULTY DEAN

  1. Creates a file of the student’s case, including the original assignment(s) and copies of all pertaining documents;
  2. Asks the Department Chair for the names of two potential re-readers judged to be appropriate to assess the student’s work;
  3. Contacts the two re-readers and requests that they assess and grade the student’s work;
  4. Averages the grades submitted by these two re-readers to create a final grade;
  5. Sends a final report and final averaged grade to the student with the re-readers’ comments attached. All identifying information concerning the re-readers is removed.

NOTE: The Faculty Dean will inform the course instructor that a grade appeal has been requested but will not divulge the names of the two re-readers. Furthermore, the two re-readers will not be notified of the original grade(s). The re-readers shall not discuss the issue with the course instructor.

[1] The Department Chair may be a Director in the case of Schools or Institutes. The Department Chair may delegate these tasks, frequently to a Graduate Supervisor, for example.