Undergraduate Advising - CBA Undergraduate Student Grade Appeal Process

The Nebraska Regents By-Laws and the College of Business Administration (CBA) Policies and Procedures require a process that allows a student to appeal a final course grade. The process allows a student to initiate a grade appeal when he or she believes a course grade was awarded prejudicially or capriciously.

Capricious means that the instructor acted with a sudden change of mind without notifying students about criteria and/or requirements which ultimately affected the student’s grade. That is, the instructor acted impulsively and unpredictably.

Prejudicial means the instructor treated the student differently, apart from the norm, thereby detrimentally affecting the student’s grade.

The student MUST provide specific information regarding how the instructor behaved in a capricious or prejudicial manner in awarding the student's grade.

Prior to submitting the completed and signed grade appeal form to the CBA Dean's Office (RH 414), the student must have spoken with the course instructor about the grade. The student must document in writing all conversations with (or attempts to contact) the instructor about the grade. If the instructor is not available or resolution is not achieved the next step is for the student to meet with the instructor's department chairperson. The student must document in writing all conversations with (or attempts to contact) the department Chairperson.

The chair’s role in the grade appeal process is as an informal facilitator, the chair does not have the authority to change a student's grade. The chair will attempt to collect the relevant information from both student and instructor. The chair may ask that the three meet together (student, faculty member, and chair person), or may facilitate communication between the two parties individually. A formal grade appeal is filed only if resolution is not achieved during this process.

Informational packets, including the Grade Appeal Filing Form, are available in the Undergraduate Advising Office (RH 310) and the CBA Dean’s office (RH414). A microsoft word version of the Grade Appeal Filing Form is available below.

Grade Appeal Filing Form

The deadlines for initiating an Undergraduate grade appeal are:
For a grade from a Fall course: the last business day in January.
For a grade from a Spring course: the last business day in June.
For a grade from any Summer course: the last business day in September.

Students are encouraged to initiate the process as soon as possible after final course grades are posted.