At one point or another, everyone has gotten a grade that the student felt was not earned or warranted. How does a student go about changing this grade or at least getting someone to take a look at it? Many students do not know the proper procedure for doing this and instead stay silent.
“I’ve gotten grades I disagreed with,” junior Tiara Grant said. “I usually just try and bring it up next semester.”
These are the steps one needs to take.
First, talk to your professor. Ask why you received the grade you did. Be prepared to prove you handed in all of the required work and did not violate any class policies such as attendance.
If that doesn’t go well, speak with your department chair. The department chair will speak with the professor about your grade. If needed, the chair of the department can call the appropriate school dean into the meeting.
Depending on the outcome of that meeting, the final stop would be the provost. The provost will speak with the appropriate dean and department chair in order to establish an Appeal committee of faculty members, with some members from the department in question.
The committee will hear the student’s complaint, speak with the faculty member and study any evidence provided. If it is deemed necessary, other students or faculty can be brought into the committee and interviewed.
The committee would present the final decision to the provost. The most common decisions are upholding the grade, altering the grade or presenting a third option possibly including additional work to be completed by the student before a new final grade is determined.
All the policies are outlined in the student handbook, and students can check them at any time at www.wilkes.edu. Unfortunately, many students do not know that any of these policies exist.
Junior education  major Shawn Loyack wasn’t sure where to look for the information.
“I wasn’t aware you could even do this,” Loyack said. “It’s a good things to know.”
For more information, look for the student handbook on the portal and the university website.