GRADE CHANGE REQUESTS

Grade Change Requests

The online grade change system is another significant step toward replacing manual, paper-driven processes on campus with automated solutions. In addition to being far more efficient:

The online process provides an audit trail
Enforcement of all existing grade change policies
Verifies that changes to grades are only made by the instructor for the class

When to Consider a Grade Change

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

University Policy on Prohibited Harassment and Discrimination

The University’s Policy on Prohibited Harassment and Discrimination 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.

Grade Appeals

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

Correcting a Clerical or Arithmetical Error

An 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.

Undergraduate and Post Baccalaureate Professional Students

Any 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.

Graduate Students

Before 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.

Changing a Temporary Grade (AB, IN, SP, NR)

The Primary Instructor has the authority to process and post grade changes for temporary grades (AB, IN, SP, NR).

Step-By-Step Instructions

Note: Once a temporary grade has converted to F*, the Primary Instructor must follow the usual procedure to initiate a permanent grade change request.

Login at ConnectCarolina.
Click the Student Administration drop-down arrow to display a list of options.
Locate the Student Administration area
Click on the My Schedule link.
Click the Grade Roster icon for each course.
Note: It may be necessary to locate the correct Grade Roster using the Change Term button.
Select the Request Grade Change link.
The students who were graded at the time the Grade Roster was approved and posted are displayed.
Note: The Primary Instructor or Dean/Designate will have access to select only grades appropriate to the student’s enrollment.
Select the appropriate student record.
Use the following fields to enter a Grade Change Request:a. Set the Grade Change Request
The Grade Change Reason defaults to Temp Grade.
Set the Request Action:a. Set this field to Approved
Enter Comments to explain the grade change request:The Comments field is used to enter an additional explanation for the grade changeImportant: You must enter an explanation for the grade change.
Click the Save button (located at the bottom of the Grade Change Request page).
- The Request Status column will display the grade changes as Instructor Approved
Click the Post Change of Temporary Grade (located at the bottom of the Grade Change Request page) button to officially submit the grade change.
- The Request Status column will display the grade changes as “Approved – Final”

Video Tutorial

Temporary Grade Change Deadline

Temporary grades of AB and IN convert to a permanent grade of F* when the time limit for a grade change on these temporary grades has expired. The deadline for undergraduate students is the last day of final exams in the following term. The deadline for graduate students is the last day of classes for the same term one year later. Grade lapse deadlines can be found on the Academic Calendar.

Academic Calendar

Permanent Grade Change Workflow

Important: a grade change cannot be requested until the grade roster has been approved and posted.

The Grade Change Request for permanent grades workflow is a three-step process:

Step 1 : The Primary Instructor initiates permanent grade change request.

Login at to ConnectCarolina.
Click the Student Administration drop-down arrow to display a list of options.
Click on the My Schedule link.
Click the Grade Roster icon for each course.Note: It may be necessary to locate the correct Grade Roster using the Change Term button.
Select the Request Grade Change link.Important: The students who were graded at the time the Grade Roster was approved and posted are displayed.
Select the appropriate student record.
Use the following fields to enter a Grade Change Request:a. Set the Grade Change Request grade:
- Select the new grade from the drop down.
  Note: Only grades appropriate to the student’s enrollment will be available.
b. Set the Grade Change Reason:
- Arithmetic – A change of grade based on a calculation error of the student’s course work.
- Clerical – A change of grade based on an error entering the grade on the grade roster.
c. Set the Request Action:
- Set this field to Approved when the Grade Change Request is ready to be submitted.
d. Enter Instructor Comments:
Note: You must enter an explanation for the grade change.
Click the Save button which is located at the bottom of the Grade Change Request page.

The student grade’s Request Status column will change to Instructor Approved.

Note: Grades of NG are not allowed to be changed by this process and are therefore grayed out.

The Request Status becomes a hyperlink which can be accessed by the instructor to view the status of the grade change request. Click on the Request Status hyperlink to view the status of the Grade Change Request.

The Grade Change History page will open in a new tab.

When the Grade Change Request is set to Approved, the following email is generated to the designated Department Approver.

Step 2 : Department Approver

The designated Department Approver reviews and approves/rejects all permanent grade change requests initiated by primary instructors under the Department Approver’s supervision.

1. Go to Curriculum Management > Grading > Grade Change Request Inbox

The Grade Change Request Inbox displays a list of initiated grade change requests in a class/subject.

2. Use Search Options to narrow results and locate specific requests
Note: To view all grade changes assigned to you it is recommended to simply click to use the default entries and select the Search button.

Additional search options can be used to view grade change requests in a department or school.

3. Click the Search button

All initiated Grade Change Requests matching the search criteria will display.

4. Set the Request Action to ‘Approve‘ or ‘Reject’ as appropriate

5. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page

This concludes Step 2 and completes the Department Approver function in the Permanent Grade Change workflow

Next Steps

Approved – Once a grade change request is set to “Approved” and saved, an email is generated to the Dean/Designate (the final step in the Grade Change Request workflow).Below is a sample of the email that is generated to the School Dean:

Rejected – Once a grade change request is set to “Rejected” and saved, the grade roster – Request Status column will be updated to “Department Chair Rejected’ for the primary instructor to review.

The rejection of the grade change request will also be reflected on the Grade Change History page

Step 3 : Dean/Designate

The Dean/Designate will access the Grade Change Request Inbox to approve or reject Grade Change Requests approved by Department Approvers under the Dean/Desingate’s supervision.

1. Go to Curriculum Management > Grading > Grade Change Request Inbox.

The Grade Change Request Inbox displays a list of initiated grade change requests in a class/subject.

2. Use Search Options to narrow results and locate specific requests.

Additional search options can be used to view grade change requests in a department or school.
Example: to locate Grade Change Requests in a department, use the Subject Area field.

3. Click the Search button.

All initiated Grade Change Requests matching the search criteria will display.

4. Click the Submit button at the top of the page.

The listed Grade Change Requests are now complete.

- Final grades for “Approved” grade change requests are immediately posted to the student’s record.
- Grade change requests set to “Rejected” are updated in the Request Status column on the Grade Roster to “Dean/Designate Rejected” for the primary instructor to review.

This concludes Step 3 and completes the Permanent Grade Change workflow.

Next Steps

Two actions occur when the Dean/Designate sets the Request Action to ‘Approve’ and clicks Submit:

An email is generated to the primary instructor confirming that the grade change request has been approved.
The official grade is updated on the student’s record and in the Official Grade column on the Grade Roster.

Frequently Asked Questions

- If an error was made when submitting a grade change request, a second request can be initiated.
  A Revise column will appear after a grade change has been posted for a student. Click “Revise” to re-open the grade change fields and follow the usual procedure for initiating a permanent grade change request.

- An instructor can enter multiple grade changes on a grade roster, including both permanent grade change requests and temporary grade changes. Remember that the status of the request must be set to “Approved” in order to initiate the request:
  - For permanent grade change requests, clicking “Save” will initiate the approval workflow process for all permanent grade change requests on the roster with “Approved” status.
  - For temporary grade changes, clicking “Post Change of Temporary Grade” will submit/post grade changes for all temporary grade change requests on the roster with “Approved” status.

Questions about grade changes?

Contact the Records and Enrollment team at registrar@unc.edu

GRADE CHANGE REQUESTS

GRADE CHANGE REQUESTS