Grade Changes and Appeals

The grades of H, HP, P, LP, L, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, PS, F, FA, F* and numerical grades in the Law School, are considered to be permanent grades and once reported the Instructor’s Grade Report may not be changed, except under certain conditions.

For a grade change to be considered, it must be based upon one or more of the following grounds and upon allegation that the ground or grounds cited influenced the grade assignment to the student’s detriment:

• Arithmetic or clerical error
• Arbitrariness, possibly including discrimination or harassment based upon the race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression of the student.
• Personal Malice
• Honor Court sanction
• Harassment
• Discrimination

The University’s Policy on Prohibited Harassment and Discrimination (www.unc.edu/campus/policies/harassanddiscrim.pdf) prohibits discrimination or harassment on the basis of an individual’s race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Appendix B of this Policy provides specific information for students who believe that they have been discriminated against or harassed on the basis of one or more of these protected classifications.

Students who want additional information regarding the University’s process for investigating allegations of discrimination or harassment should contact the Equal Opportunity/ADA Office for assistance:

Equal Opportunity/ADA Office
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
214 W. Cameron Ave, 2nd floor
Campus Box 9160
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
Telephone: (919) 966-3576

Email: eoc@unc.edu

Any administrator or supervisor, including a department chair, associate dean or other administrator, who receives a student’s complaint about prohibited harassment or discrimination must notify the Equal Opportunity/ADA Office within five (5) calendar days of receiving the complaint. If a student raises a claim of prohibited harassment or discrimination during an academic appeal, an investigation of the student’s claim must be performed under the direction of the Equal Opportunity/ADA Office. The school or department must await the results of the harassment or discrimination investigation before deciding the student’s academic appeal.

A grade appeal must be made no later than the last day of classes for the next succeeding fall or spring semester.

1. Grade Appeals Correcting a Clerical or Arithmetical ErrorAn instructor who has reported an incorrect grade for a student because of an error in calculating the grade or in transposing or entering it incorrectly on the electronic Grade Roster in ConnectCarolina, may change the grade to one of the other letter grades, provided this change is made no later than the last day of classes of the next succeeding fall or spring semester. Such a change must be reported to the University Registrar’s Office on an Official Report of Grade Change Form. This report must contain a statement to the effect that the grade change is due to clerical, arithmetical or transposition error and must contain the written approval of the department chair concerned, and, for Graduate Students, the approval from the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.
2. Grade Appeals for Undergraduate and Post Baccalaureate Professional StudentsAny student who protests a course grade shall first attempt to resolve this disagreement with the instructor concerned. (An instructor may change a permanent grade only when a clerical or arithmetical error is involved, see paragraph a. above.) Failing to reach a satisfactory resolution, the student may appeal the grade in accordance with the procedures outlined below. Such appeal must be made no later than the last day of classes of the next succeeding fall or spring semester.Students should present the appeal in writing to the dean of their school. The dean will refer the appeal to the administrative board of his/her school and the chair of the department concerned. The department chair will appoint a committee to consider the appeal and will make a recommendation to the administrative board based on the committee’s findings. The administrative board will make the final decision and no change of grade will be made except as a result of the decision by the board. The chair will report such decision to change the grade to the University Registrar’s Office.
3. Grade Appeals for Graduate StudentsBefore filing any protest of a course grade, the student should first address his or her concerns to the instructor who assigned the grade. Should the instructor detect an arithmetical or clerical error that influenced the grade assignment to the student’s detriment, a grade change form should be executed reflecting the corrected grade. An instructor may not initiate an Official Report of Grade Change Form as a result of a re-evaluation of the quality of the student’s performance or as a result of additional work performed by the student.If, after consultation with the instructor, a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached, the student may appeal the grade to the instructor’s chair or dean. Such an appeal should be lodged by the student in writing with the instructor’s chair or dean, with a copy to be provided by the student to the instructor, and shall cite the evidence by which the student judges (a) that an impermissible element existed in the instructor’s evaluation of the student course work and (b) that it influenced the grade assignment to the detriment of the student. Appeals should be submitted no later than the last day of the next succeeding regular semester (fall or spring).The chair or dean will evaluate the material presented and determine whether the evidence cited warrants further investigation of the charges. The burden of proof shall fall upon the student. The determination by the chair or dean shall be made only after providing the instructor with the opportunity to reply to the charges as cited in writing by the student.If, in the judgment of the chair or dean, the evidence cited by the student is insufficient to warrant further investigation of the charges, the appeal may be denied by the chair or dean. In this case, the student shall have the right to appeal the ruling in writing to the Administrative Board of the Graduate School.

   If, in the judgment of the chair or dean, or the Administrative Board (if the ruling has been appealed to that body), the evidence cited is sufficient to warrant further investigation, the chair or dean of the school, department, or curriculum in which the course was offered will appoint a committee of no less than three members of the graduate faculty to investigate the charges and to render a written set of findings and recommendations. The findings and recommendations shall be transmitted to the student by the chair or dean, with a copy to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. Should a change of the permanent course grade be recommended, the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs shall present that recommendation for action by the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. Should there be recommended no change of grade, the student retains the right to appeal in writing to the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. A change of grade following these appeal procedures requires a vote of no less than two-thirds of those administrative board members who are present and voting. Any decision for a change of grade should be reported by the chair of the Administrative Board to the Office of the University Registrar.