Policies

Students transferring a community college biology course that is offered at KU at the Jr/Sr level (courses numbered 300 or above) may petition to have the transfer course substitute for the KU course as part of their biology degree requirements. For a petition to be considered, 1) the grade earned in the transferring course must be an “A” and 2) a syllabus for the transferring course and a copy of final exam questions from the transferring course must be submitted to the Director of the Undergraduate Biology Program. Petitions will be reviewed by a committee of biology faculty who teach the KU course that is the petition’s target. This policy is open to KU biology majors only and a successful petition results in an internal substitution only. No transcript change will occur and Jr/Sr credit will not be earned. The committee’s decision is final.

• For the purposes of this policy, the Appeal Officer shall be one of the co-directors in Undergraduate Biology, for grade appeals by undergraduate students, and shall be the director of graduate studies in EEB or MB, as appropriate, for grade appeals by graduate students.
• A student may appeal a final course grade solely on the grounds of “ improper application of the grading procedure announced for the course by the instructor.” (USRR 2.4.5)
  • Only the final course grade can be appealed; individual assignment, quiz, and examination grades cannot be appealed.
  • Except as provided in USRR 6.5.4, no person shall be disciplined for using the grade appeal procedure or assisting another in using the procedure.
• A student wishing to appeal a final course grade will first consult with the course instructor and attempt to resolve the matter informally.
• If consultation with the instructor does not resolve the issue, the student may undertake the following to appeal the grade within 6 months of the posting of the final grade:
  • Provide a course syllabus and/or any other written notice of grading policies from the instructor, a written explanation of why the student thinks there has been an improper application of the grading procedure announced for the course by the instructor, a summary of steps taken to resolve the grade dispute with the instructor, and all available graded works of the student from the course to the Appeal Officer.
  • For any course for which there is not a specific written syllabus, e.g., readings courses, independent study, research hours, thesis or dissertation hours, etc. The student must provide written documentation of the grade basis agreed upon by both the instructor and student, including the date of agreement. In the absence of specific written documentation, there shall be no basis for an appeal of the final grade.
• Upon receiving the appeal, if, after consultation with the instructor, the Appeal Officer determines that any of the following grounds exist, the complaint may be dismissed without further proceedings. The grounds for such dismissal are:
  • A grade appeal or a grievance involving substantially the same underlying occurrence or events has already been, or is being, adjudicated by proper University procedures; or
  • the grade appeal has not been filed in a timely fashion; or
  • the Department lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter; or
  • the grade appeal fails to specify which grading procedures are alleged to have been improperly applied; or
  • the party filing the grade appeal lacks standing because his or her grade in the course was not adversely affected by the alleged violation of grading procedures; or
  • the party filing the grade appeal has been denied the right to file grievances pursuant to USRR 6.5.4.
• If dismissed, the Appeal Officer will notify the student in writing of the grounds for the dismissal within 15 business days of that decision.
• If not dismissed, the Appeal Officer will convene a panel comprising three faculty members from the Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Molecular Biosciences in accordance with the unit’s grievance procedure.
  • The faculty members will review the written appeal from the student, as well as written comments from the instructor.
  • If the faculty members judge in support of the student’s appeal, they will assign a new final course grade. The instructor may appeal the decision through the Judicial Board (USRR 2.4.5).
  • If the faculty members uphold the original course grade, the panel will provide a written explanation, and the student has the option of appealing through the Judicial Board (USRR 2.4.5).
  • All written communication and correspondence regarding the appeals process will be maintained for at least six months by the Co-director(s) in case of further appeals.

Pursuant to University Senate Code XII.2.IV, an instructor against whom a grade appeal is brought has the privilege of remaining silent and refusing to give evidence in response to the appeal. The instructor also has the right to respond and give evidence in response to the appeal