The terms Grade Review and Faculty-Level Academic Appeal refer to the process that a student must initiate within the Faculty before considering a College-Level Academic Appeal by a College-Level Academic Appeal Panel.
18.1 Grade Review
Grade Reviews are concerns related to grading of coursework, assignments, clinical placements, examinations, and final course grades. Grade reviews related to grades received in any assessment must be initiated within ten (10) business days after the receipt of the graded work or release of grades.
Preliminary Steps toward Resolution
If a student has questions or concerns regarding a grade on an assignment or test, the student should discuss the matter with the faculty member. The Program Coordinator and/or the Associate Dean may be asked to assist if the faculty member and student are unable to resolve the issue.
Note: If an assignment or test is not normally returned to the student, the Faculty will ensure that the student has the opportunity to review the assignment or test under the supervision of the professor or designate.
Formal Request for a Reassessment of In-Course Work or Final Exam
If a student is not satisfied with the outcome of the preliminary step toward resolution referenced above, a formal request for a Reassessment of the In-Course Grade may be made. This process applies to major assignments or tests worth at least 20% of the final grade and to cases where a student has failed the assignment or believes there is a major discrepancy of at least 10% between the grade they earned and the grade they feel they should have earned.
In such cases, a student may request a reevaluation of the test or assignment by completing a Request for Reassessment of In-Course Work or Final Exam Form and submitting it to the Associate Dean responsible for the course in question. Forms are available from the Office of the Registrar or on the Academic Regulations webpage. For assistance, a student may contact the Conflict Resolution Centre (https://business.humber.ca/conflictresolutioncentre/) for a student appeal advisor.
The Associate Dean will arrange for two professors other than the professor teaching the course to individually reevaluate the assignment/exam/paper, based on established criteria as outlined in the assignment. The original grade/marks by the course professor are to be obscured in the photocopy provided for reevaluation.
The average of the two assessors’ grades will be used as the grade. This grade may stay the same or be lower or higher than the original course grade.
The Faculty shall ensure that the reassessment of the grade is to be completed within twelve (12) business days from the submission of the Grade Review unless both parties have mutually agreed to an extension. The assignment of grades is a Faculty-Level decision and a student may not appeal the resulting grade on an individual in-course piece of work except for reasons relating to breach of process in the handling of the Grade Review.
There is no further right of appeal of the grade once the Faculty has completed a Formal Grade Review and made a final decision. The assignment of a final course grade is a Faculty-level decision. A College-Level Academic Appeal Panel may only be filed for reasons relating to breach of process in the handling of the Grade Review. In such cases, the College-Level Academic Appeal must be filed within ten (10) business days of the student’s receipt of the decision of the Final Grade Review.
Student support
The Conflict Resolution Centre (CRC), operated by the Longo Faculty of Business and the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program offer, have student interns who are trained to offer conflict resolution management tools and strategies on how you can address conflict. The CRC also offers mediation services. In addition, the CRC provides students with information about the many services available at Humber College. The CRC is 100% free and confidential. The CRC ADR Student interns offer their services virtually or in-person. All the CRC ADR Student interns are trained community mediators and circle process facilitators.
The CRC can direct you to Humber resources and websites, specifically the academic regulations where you can locate all the information you require regarding the procedure and process for issue resolution. It is strongly recommended that students review these documents before attending an appointment.
The first step to resolving an appeal is to meet with your faculty member or the Program Coordinator. If you have not done so already, we recommend you complete this initial step immediately as the timeline to file an appeal is 10 days following the release of a mark/grade. Should you require assistance with Conflict Resolution Management, you can schedule an appointment using at https://business.humber.ca/conflictresolutioncentre