Academic Policies & Procedures

Undergraduate Policies & Procedures

Grade Appeals

Grade Changes
On occasion, students inquire about the possibility of changing a grade. This may be because the student believes there was an error in the calculation or assigning of the grade or the student failed to officially withdraw in a timely fashion.
Policy on Consideration of Requests for Change of Grade after Conclusion of the Course

These policies apply to undergraduate students only. Any requests by graduate students for change of grade after the conclusion of a course are subject to the policies of the academic unit.

This policy refers to requests for change of grade, grade discrepancies or grade disputes following the conclusion of the course and not requests for withdrawals after the conclusion of the course.

Undergraduate units will not consider petitions for change of grade from concluded courses older than 5 years. Academic units may choose to use a shorter time period than the campus limit. Academic units may make an exception only if an extremely serious and documented circumstance (e.g., coma, unmanageable schizophrenia, etc.) literally prevents the student from filing the petition within the 5-year period.

Other options, such as grade forgiveness, grade replacement and probationary readmission are possible alternate methods that students can use to continue their education.

For the situation where a student believes there was an error in the calculation or assigning of a course grade it is the responsibility of the student to contact the course instructor to discuss the grade and make his or her case to have the grade changed. If the course instructor declines to support the student's request for a change of grade or in situations where the instructor cannot be contacted, the student may appeal the course grade following the procedures established by awarding academic unit.

Requests for change of grade after the conclusion of a course will be honored only to correct a mistake or error in calculating or assigning the course grade. To facilitate this process, the Office of the Registrar shall maintain a Change of Grade Petition document.

The Change of Grade Petition shall require course information, a provision for the student to make a personal statement explaining why she or he believes the grade should be changed and a provision to include supporting documentation.

Decisions on grade changes are made within the schools. If the request is supported, the school will notify the Office of the Registrar of the new grade and the student will be mailed a notification of the grade change, including a new cumulative GPA. For this reason it is important that students keep their addresses current. If the request is denied, students will be so notified by the school.

Approved by IUPUI Faculty Council December 5, 2002

Process

The student may appeal a grade following the process established by the IU school offering the course. A change of grade petition is found on the IUPUC Change of Grade web page. The form should be completed online, printed, and returned to the Office of Registrar Services.

The Change of Grade Petition requires course information (course title, semester taken) as well as provides the student the chance to make a personal statement explaining why she or he believes the grade should be changed. Please note that individual schools may impose a deadline beyond which they will not consider requests for changes of grade for a particular semester.

If the student's performance or withdrawal was medically related, the student should provide appropriate supporting documentation. Only persons with a need to know will see any confidential materials you may submit.

Decisions on grade changes are made within the schools. Please allow 3-4 weeks for the review process and somewhat longer in the summer and during semester breaks. You will be notified in writing with the decision. Please be sure your address is current.