COD – Grade Dispute

Policy Number: 3349-AC-600
Effective Date: 05/21/2024
Updated: 07/01/2025
Reviewed: —
Responsible Department: College of Dentistry

A. Purpose

The College of Dentistry has established this Policy by which a dental student can dispute a Final Course Grade. This policy applies only to final course grades and does not apply to individual examinations.

B. Scope

This Policy applies to all students enrolled in the College of Dentistry taking a course for credit and for which a grade is assigned.

C. Definitions

1. “Credit-Bearing Course” refers to a course offered by the College of Dentistry in which a student is enrolled, appears on the student’s official transcript with credit-bearing acknowledgment, and a grade is assigned. This includes didactic, laboratory, and clinical courses that meet the above criteria.
2. “Grade Posting” refers to when the final grade itself appears for the student to view in Banner Self-Service.
3. “Grade Dispute” refers to a formal request being made to the faculty of record to change a Final Course Grade.

D. Policy Statement

1. Assigned a Final Grade
   1. The assignment of a final grade is the responsibility of the course director.
2. Grade Disputes
   1. A Grade Dispute should only be made when a student contends that a Final Course Grade assigned by the faculty of record is arbitrary or capricious, which implies:
      1. the student has been assigned a grade on the basis of something other than their performance in the course;
      2. the grade calculation process and/or criteria was not included in the syllabus, was not followed, or was calculated in error;
      3. standards used in the determination of the student’s grade are more exacting or demanding than those applied to other students in the course; or
      4. the Final Grade is based upon standards that are significant, unannounced and unreasonable departures from those articulated in the course description/syllabus distributed at the beginning of the course.
   2. A Grade Dispute must be for a legitimate disagreement and is not appropriate for use simply because a student disagrees with the judgement of the faculty about the quality of the student’s work. Examples of legitimate disagreement could include, but are not limited to, the following:
      1. A lack of information being given to students on the basis for grade calculations in the syllabus, on the Learning Management System or prior to the assignment;
      2. a student’s grade not being calculated in accordance with the stated policy in the syllabus, on the Learning Management System or as provided prior to an assignment;
      3. a significant and unwarranted deviation from grading procedures and course syllabi established at the beginning of the course;
      4. a Final Grade being assigned arbitrarily and capriciously, based on whim or impulse; or
      5. an error in the computation of the Final Grade that was not corrected.
   3. If a student disputes their final course grade, the student must submit a completed Grade Dispute form and required attachments to the faculty of record. The student will have five (5) working days, starting with the first working day after the grade is posted, to submit the completed Grade Dispute form to the faculty of record. The form must be submitted by 5:00 pm on the fifth (5^th) working day. The faculty of record  will make a decision about the Grade Dispute.
      1. Grade Dispute – Supported
         1. If the student’s request for a change of grade is supported, the faculty of record must submit a Grade Change Form to the Office of the The decision of the faculty of record is the final, binding resolution.
      2. Grade Dispute – Not Supported
         1. If the student’s request for a change of grade is not supported, the student may bring the Grade Dispute issue forward to the Department Chair, or designee. The Grade Dispute form and required attachments must be submitted to the Department Chair, or designee. The student will have five (5) working days, starting with the first working day after the student is notified that the grade dispute was not supported, to submit the required documentation to the Department Chair, or designee. The form must be submitted by 5:00 pm on the fifth (5^th) working day.  The Department Chair, or designee, will evaluate the grade dispute and provide the decision in writing to the student within five (5) working days.
   4. In the event that the Department Chair was the person assigning the grade that is the subject of dispute, the Associate Dean for Education & Academic Affairs, or designee, will evaluate the dispute from the student regarding the assignment of the grade and respond to the student in writing within five (5) working days of receiving the dispute. In this case, the decision of the Associate Dean for Education and Academic Affairs, or designee, is the final, binding resolution.

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