Grade Appeals

What is a Grade Appeal?

A Grade Appeal can be submitted by any student who feels that their grade has been impacted from factors outside of their academic performance, including:

• Arithmetic or clerical error (grades were added up or input incorrectly)
• Arbitrariness, possibly including discrimination or harassment based on their race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression
• Personal malice
• Student conduct under The Instrument of Student Judicial Governance

Here’s What You Should Be Doing:

Before submitting a grade appeal, you should first attempt to work with your professor to settle your disagreement over your grade. You can even consult the chair of the department that hosts the class. If you are not able to settle the disagreement by your own accord, you are welcome to submit a grade appeal.

Grade appeals must be made no later than the last day of classes of the following fall or spring semester.

You can fill out the appeal form. You will need to illustrate through personal narratives and supporting documentation the reason for the grade appeal and your efforts to have it resolved on your own.

Here’s How We Can Help:

Once your appeal is submitted, it is directed to the Associate Dean for Academic Advising, who will take the case to the next meeting of the Administrative Board Appeals Committee. This committee only meets once or twice a semester, so we want to make sure you understand that the grade appeal review process may take several months to complete.

If the Committee does not find sufficient grounds to continue reviewing the case, you will be notified by email.

If the Committee does find sufficient reason to conduct a further review of the case, your grade appeal and all accompanying materials will be sent to be reviewed by faculty both inside and outside the academic department involved. Their findings will then be sent back to the Administrative Board Appeals Committee for a final decision, and that decision will be sent to you via email.

You are encouraged to set up a meeting with your academic advisor to discuss any questions or concerns you have regarding the Grade Appeal process.

Resources

If you feel you have been discriminated against or harassed in the classroom, please contact the Equal Opportunity & Compliance (EOC) office to report your experience. You can submit a report via online Incident Report Form, by email, reportandresponse@unc.edu, or by calling 919-445-2759.