Academic Appeals

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Final Grades

Appeals of final course grades must be initiated by the student within five working days of receipt of the disputed grade. To appeal a final course grade, the student must first meet with the course director to discuss the situation and attempt to arrive at a solution. If the matter is not resolved between the student and the course director and the student wishes to pursue the appeal, the student must then make a written request to the head of the department in which the course was taught asking for a meeting with the department head and the course director. The department head shall arrange a meeting within 10 working days of receipt of the request and, at the close of the meeting or within five working days thereafter, the department head shall render a decision. The department head shall inform all parties of the decision in writing. If the student is dissatisfied with the decision reached, the student may submit notification and justification of his/her decision to appeal, in writing, to the Academic Dean. This notification and justification of appeal must be submitted to the Academic Dean within five working days after notification of the department head’s decision. The Academic Dean will notify the Dean who, in turn, will appoint a three faculty member Ad Hoc Academic Appeals Committee. The written letter of appeal submitted to the Academic Dean will be provided to the Ad Hoc Academic Appeals Committee for review. The Ad Hoc Academic Appeals Committee shall make a decision within fifteen working days from receipt of the student’s appeal.

Action of Academic Performance Advancement Committees

Appeals of action(s) taken by the Academic Performance Advancement Committee must be appealed within 5 working days after receipt of notification of the committee action(s). The appeal must be in writing to the dean and contain the following information: (1) a statement of the actions complained of, (2) the relief requested, and (3) a specific statement of the reasons supporting the relief sought. The dean or his assignee may recommend the matter to the Academic Performance Advancement Committee for consideration of additional evidence. The committee shall make its recommendation to the dean within 5 working days of the hearing. Acting on the committee’s advice or independently, the dean shall render a decision. The dean shall make a decision within 30 days from receipt of the student’s appeal. The decision shall be in writing and copies of the decision shall be given to all parties. The decision of the appeal reached by the dean represents the final level of due process in the School of Dentistry.

Withdrawals

A student who for legitimate reasons is unable to return to school at the opening of any semester or who, for acceptable reasons, must discontinue school during the academic year will ordinarily be permitted to withdraw in good standing. A student who withdraws from the school will receive a “W” grade for each course that is less than 80% completed, according to assigned clock hours. For courses that are 80% or more complete at the time of withdrawal, a “W” will be recorded when student performance is satisfactory, or an “F” will be recorded when student performance is unsatisfactory. A student who has withdrawn in good standing may apply for readmission on the basis of the student’s status at the time of withdrawal. In general, a student will not be considered for readmission if the absence has been for more than two consecutive years.

Approved Absences

The dean or his assignee may grant a petition for a short approved absence in case of illness, participation at a professional meeting, or any emergency, with the explicit understanding that the student will arrange with the faculty involved to make up satisfactorily all the work the student will miss.