37 Process for Students to Report Academic Grievances

While an Academic Grievance is not something you would ever submit as an instructor (you might submit this as a graduate student), you should know what an academic grievance is, under what circumstances students could file a grievance against you, and what to expect if a grievance were to be filed.

According to the Office of the Provost, an instructor has full autonomy to evaluate a student’s academic performance in a course. Accordingly, options for outcomes from a grievance process are limited. The University administration would override an instructor’s evaluation only in an extremely limited circumstance-where the occurrence or incident relating to an academic grievance constitutes, from the student’s perspective, a failure to adhere to faculty code in Section 400 of the Utah State University Policy Manual. If a student believes that the actions of an instructor, academic supervisor, or supervisory committee represent a failure to uphold responsibilities to students as outlined in section 403.2.3.1 of the faculty code, the student may initiate an academic grievance by submitting an academic appeal form. An academic grievance includes complaints related to course conduct or grades (e.g., unfair grading, unfair course policies, unwillingness to accommodate approved class absences), graduate committee decisions, practicum or internship placements or evaluations, and other discipline-specific activities that impact the students’ academic record or progress.

This form is to be used to submit a formal appeal after the student has been unable to informally resolve the dispute with the faculty member.  Once the form is completed, a student must submit it and send all supporting documentation to provost@usu.edu.

For full transparency, you are welcome to include any or all of this information in your course syllabus.