Students may challenge a final grade on academic or nonacademic grounds.

Academic challenges are more common. Try to resolve the dispute informally with the student. If you disagree with the student’s challenge, you might offer to write a letter for the student’s file describing in detail the reasons for the grade and any extenuating circumstances that may have influenced your grading. If you and the student cannot resolve the disagreement, the student should approach a disinterested third party (e.g.,the chair of your department) or ask the Ombudsperson for Students and Postdoctoral Appointees (642-5754) for help in settling the dispute.

Grounds for formal grievance are "improper academic procedures" or the application of nonacademic criteria, such as considerations of race, politics, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or evaluation of student work by criteria not directly reflective of performance related to course requirements (see Berkeley Division Regulation A207). Campus procedures for the informal resolution and formal settlement of such grievances are described in Regulation A207 and the "Procedures for Grade Appeals Based on the Alleged Use of Non-Academic Criteria" by the Berkeley Division's Committee on Courses of Instruction.

If a challenge arises, you can expedite its resolution by preparing a written description of course content, measures used to evaluate student performance, and a complete record of the individual student’s work.

last updated on 3/15/07