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Appeals Policy

Students may submit an appeal when facing circumstances that impact their academic standing, financial aid eligibility, or program enrollment.

Appeal Definitions

  • Grade Appeals: Appeals for students who believe a final course grade was assigned in error or unfairly.
  • Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeals: Appeals for students who did not meet academic progress standards due to extenuating circumstances.
  • Programmatic Dismissal Appeals: Appeals for students dismissed from an academic program for not meeting specific academic or program requirements.
  • Grievance Appeal: Appeal to the Grievance Committee Decision made to the Provost.

Grade Appeal

USU recognizes the right of every student to challenge and/or appeal a final course grade if they believe an error in calculating the grade or inconsistent application of grading criteria has occurred.

Overview of Procedures

Faculty members are vested with the authority to establish course requirements and standards of performance; they are expected to articulate and communicate these at the beginning of each course and apply all grading criteria uniformly and in a timely manner. Final grades submitted by faculty to the Office of the Registrar are presumed to be accurate and final. The University recognizes the right of every student to challenge a final grade. A student who has questions about a grade in a course should first consult the instructor to resolve the issue. If the issue has not been resolved after consultation with the student, the student must follow the procedures for a formal appeal and request for grade change. Grounds for appeal can be made when students can provide documentation for one or more of the following:

  • An error in calculating the grade
  • Inconsistent application of grading criteria

Procedures for Resolution

When students believe that they have grounds for appealing a grade issued by an instructor because of an occurrence of one or more of the circumstances listed below, the following procedures must be followed:

  1. The student must submit an Appeal Form within 30 days of grade submission for the course. The appeal must include supporting documentation that demonstrates the occurrence of one or more of the above-mentioned grounds. Documentation may include e-mail correspondence, graded assignments, proof of timely submission, etc. The Appeal Form and supporting documentation must be submitted to the Program Director.
  2. If the evidence meets the criteria, the Program Director will request a response from the instructor, due within 5 working days of receipt.
  3. The Program Director will render a decision within 10 working days of receiving the grade appeal. Formal notification of the Program Director’s decision will be sent to the student and the Office of the Registrar. The Faculty will be notified in the event of any material changes in the grade. The decision in such cases is final.

SAP Appeals and Programmatic Dismissals

Students who have been academically dismissed for failure to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards (SAP) or dismissed due to programmatic requirements may file an appeal if they believe University policy or procedures were not followed or if there were extenuating circumstances that impacted their academic performance. Extenuating circumstances may include, but are not limited to, the death of a relative, an injury or illness of the student, or emergency care for an immediate family member.

Appeals that are approved must proceed through the readmissions process. Readmitted students will be subject to the catalog requirements in effect at the time of readmission, which may require completion of additional courses to meet current program requirements and may result in additional tuition costs. Students will also be subject to any changes in tuition, fees, program requirements, and state-specific regulations in effect at the time of readmission. Refer to the Readmission Policy and Transfer Credit Policy for more details.

If a student does not submit an appeal within the 30-day timeframe, they may pursue readmission; however, they must wait a minimum of 365 days from their last date of attendance (LDA) before reapplying. Please note that readmission in these cases is rare.

Students who proceed through the University’s readmission process must comply with the Readmission Policy, which includes, but is not limited to, submitting a new application for admission and providing a detailed letter of explanation outlining the circumstances that led to their dismissal, the changes made during the required waiting period, and the steps taken to ensure future academic success. Students may also be required to repeat coursework upon re-entry. Please refer to the Readmission Policy for detailed information.

Before a student is readmitted, all financial obligations must be met, unless Student Financial Services grants enrollment clearance. The University charges tuition per credit hour and fees. Any course withdrawals, retakes, and/or transfer credits will affect the program's total cost.

Procedures for Resolution

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they have met the terms and conditions for filing an appeal and follow the appeals process in order for the appeal to be reviewed.

  1. The student must complete and submit the Appeal Form within 30 Calendar days from the date notification of dismissal was sent to the student. The appeal must include:
    1. an explanation of why the student is submitting an appeal,
    2. explanation of the mitigating circumstances as to why the student failed to meet SAP standards during the warning/probationary period,
    3. documentation supporting the appeal,
    4. a detailed action plan addressing how these circumstances no longer pose an issue to the student’s success and what the student will do to meet SAP standards moving forward.
  2. Once received, the Registrar will review the appeal and appoint a committee, including but not limited to the student’s college faculty, the program director, and the Office of Financial Aid, to review and make recommendations. The student will receive a response from the Registrar within 30 business days (excluding holidays).